"[God] had never ordained anything in this life should be an obstacle to peoples’ salvation, no matter what their situation, but that everything should serve the exercise and proving of virtue." Source: St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, Paulist Press, 1980 The Dialogue was dictated by Catherine over a period of five days. Three [...]
"What a consolation it is to a poor prisoner to have an affectionate friend, who keeps him company, consoles him, gives him hope, succours him, and thinks of relieving him in his misery! Behold our good Friend Jesus Christ, who in this Sacrament encourages us, saying: 'Behold, I am with you all days.'" Source: [...]
"The State must inevitably face the question of how justice can be achieved here and now. But this presupposes an even more radical question: what is justice? The problem is one of practical reason; but if reason is to be exercised properly, it must undergo constant purification, since it can never be completely free of [...]
"The effect of this sacrament (Eucharist) is received according to man's condition: such is the case with every active cause in that its effect is received in matter according to the condition of the matter. But such is the condition of man on earth that his free-will can be bent to good or evil. Hence, [...]
"If He had not died, He would now mount Calvary to save us; and if He had not already instituted the Blessed Sacrament, He would institute It for each one of us. Does not Saint Paul say: 'He loved me' concentrating in himself alone all the love of Our Lord?" Source: Â St. Peter Julian [...]
"The door to the soul is closed to the entrance of Truth by error, ignorance and prejudice; the door of the heart is closed by pride and unbelief and willful evil, and the door of conscience is barred by the continual habit of evil." Source: Sheen Fulton, Guide to Contentment, Alba House, 2010. [...]
"The first benefit which the soul receives from the Presence of God is that Faith grows more alive and active in all the events of life, particularly when we feel our need." Source: Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God and The Spiritual Maxims
"The keenness of the mind is blunted by bodily pleasures, how much more, in the region of revealed truths, do these same pleasures obscure the light of faith, or even, by the just judgment of God, entirely extinguish it. For these pleasures at the present day an insatiable appetite rages, infecting all classes as with [...]
"The Synod speaks further of the Eucharist as the 'heart of priestly existence.' This means that the presbyter, desiring to be and remain personally and profoundly attached to Christ, finds him first in the Eucharist, the sacrament which brings about this intimate union, open to a growth which can reach the heights of mystical identification. [...]
"The two actions must be joined and never separated, filling our soul with love by prayer, and purifying ourselves exteriorly by mortification. It is easy to say, 'I love God,' but if this word is not followed by mortification, it is vain and unfounded. Self-love has quickly taken the place of the love of God." [...]