Daily quotes on developing virtue from Saints, Popes and others.
"Vices do not submit without a struggle. For however well one maintains the conflict, and however thoroughly he has subdued these enemies, there steals in some evil thing, which, if it does not find ready expression in act, slips out by the lips, or insinuates itself into the thought; and therefore his peace is not [...]
"We must make it clear, on the one hand, that the logic of gift does not exclude justice; nor does it merely sit alongside it as a second element added from without; on the other hand, economic, social and political development, if it is to be authentically human, needs to make room for the principle [...]
“'To work is to pray.' The well-regulated life does not defer prayer until work has been accomplished; it turns the work itself into a prayer." Source: Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, Way to Happiness, St. Pauls, 1998.
"It is, however, necessary to put our whole trust in God, laying aside all other cares, and even some particular forms of devotion, though very good in themselves, yet such as one often engages in unreasonably, because these devotions are only means to attain the end. So when by this exercise of the presence of [...]
"How much I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God! May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already [...]
"True humility consists in our being satisfied with what is given us." Source: Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, Dover Thrift Editions, 2012.
"If what you have commenced well by grace you finish by self-love, it becomes worthless as far as recompense is concerned. So, venial sin renders good things bad. It looks out for them in order eventually to destroy them. We are then, like the laborer who sees the hail destroying in the twinkling of an [...]
"Therefore, O my dearest children, who are so scattered by opposition, rise up quickly in humility and charity, and manfully and unanimously consent to your holy purpose." Source: St. Hildegard of Bingen, Hildegard of Bingen: Scivias (Classics of Western Spirituality (Paperback)), Paulist Press, 1990.
"Foremost among the soul’s affections is love. Love is the ruler of every motion of the heart; drawing all to itself, and making us like to that we love." Source: St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Random House, Inc., 2002.
“Know that the greatest obstacles to holiness are discouragement and an exaggerated anxiety. These will deprive you of the ability to practice virtue." Source: St. Faustina, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul