"If a sense of guilt weighs down the soul no amount of pleasure on the outside can compensate for the loss of joy on the inside. As sorrow is attendant on sin, so joy is the companion of holiness." Source: Ven. Fulton Sheen, The Way to Happiness
"Dear brothers and sisters, the Eucharist is at the root of every form of holiness, and each of us is called to the fullness of life in the Holy Spirit." Source: St. Alphonsus Liguori, Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament
"In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation [...]
"The Eucharist, as a mystery to be 'lived', meets each of us as we are, and makes our concrete existence the place where we experience daily the radical newness of the Christian life. The eucharistic sacrifice nourishes and increases within us all that we have already received at Baptism, with its call to holiness, and [...]
"'Be ye perfect -as your Heavenly Father is perfect.' Here in a few words is the whole Gospel. Here is the end of Jesus Christ’s coming, the aim of the whole Christian life. All the rest of the Gospel merely points out the way and the means to attain that end. To be perfect as [...]
"The Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and garrulous. He speaks by His quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence. If silence were strictly observed, there would not be any grumbling, bitterness, slandering, or gossip, and charity would not be [...]
"Praise adds nothing to your holiness, nor does blame take anything from it. You are what you are, and you cannot be said to be better than you are in God’s sight. If you consider well what you are within, you will not care what men say about you." Source: Thomas a’ Kempis, The [...]
"Man is thus exceedingly dear to God, Who made him truly in His own image and likeness; he was to exercise all the virtues in the perfection of holiness, as indeed God formed all creatures to do, and to work in humble obedience to do acts of virtue, and so to fulfill the function of [...]
"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.
“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