Daily quotes on developing virtue from Saints, Popes and others.
"First keep peace with yourself; then you will be able to bring peace to others. A peaceful man does more good than a learned man. Whereas a passionate man turns even good to evil and is quick to believe evil, the peaceful man, being good himself, turns all things to good." Source: Thomas a’ [...]
"My daughter, I entreat you never speak evil of any, either directly or indirectly; beware of ever unjustly imputing sins or faults to your neighbor, of needlessly disclosing his real faults, of exaggerating such as are overt, of attributing wrong motives to good actions, of denying the good that you know to exist in another, [...]
"The first food, then, is humility: bitter but medicinal; the second is charity: sweet and soothing; the third is contemplation: solid and strength giving." Source: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, The Steps of Humility and Pride (Note: This quote was incorrectly attributed to St. Augustine when it was initially posted here.)
"Yet eros and agape – ascending and descending love – can never be completed separated. The more the two, in their different aspects, find a proper unity in the one reality of love, the more the true nature of love in general is realized. Even if Eros is at first mainly covetous and ascending, a [...]
"When we suffer much we have a great chance to show God that we love Him; but when we suffer little, we have less occasion to show God our love; and when we do not suffer at all, our love is then neither great nor pure. By the grace of God, we can attain a [...]
"Someone who had asked me once about stillness told me that talkativeness invariably results from one of the following causes: from a bad or relaxed life-style ('the tongue,' he said, 'is a member of the body, like the rest, and therefore needs to be trained in its habits'); or it comes from vainglory, a particular [...]
"Many say: 'I have labored for years for others and even for God, and what did I get out of it? I am still nothing.' The answer is, they have gained something; they have gained the truth of their own littleness – and of course, great merit in the next life." Source: Ven. Fulton [...]
"The devil makes us believe that we have some virtue – patience, let us say – because we have determination and make continual resolutions to suffer a great deal for God’s sake. We really and truly believe that we would suffer all this, and the devil encourages us in the belief, and so we are [...]
"Make your acts of thanksgiving after Holy Communion. Then invite the Blessed Virgin, all the angels and all the saints to thank God with you." Source: St. John Vianney, The Meditations of the Curé D’Ars
"What, then, are the characteristics of fraternal charity? The same as those of Our Lord's love for us. First, Our Lord loved us for ourselves, and not for Himself. Love that loves others for self, is only egoism. We must, then, love our brethren for their spiritual good, and even for their temporal good according [...]