"The parable of the Good Samaritan remains as a standard which imposes universal love towards the needy whom we encounter 'by chance' (cf. Lk 10:31), whoever they may be… Anyone who needs me, and whom I can help, is my neighbor. The concept of 'neighbor' is now universalized, yet it remains concrete. Despite being extended to all [...]
"Hypocrisy is the mother of lying and frequently its cause. Some would argue that hypocrisy is nothing other than a meditation on falsehood, that it is the inventor of falsehood laced with lies." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"No nation, as no individual, ever achieves anything worth while except through sacrifice and self-denial." Source: Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, Way to Happiness, St. Pauls, 1998.
"The day you asked me to do it, I thought it might be a distraction to me, but afterwards, Jesus made me realize that simple obedience would please Him best." Source: St. Therese of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul, Saint Benedict Press, 2010.
"The just man walks simply; and the impious man, deceitfully. I counsel you earnestly to make simplicity the mould and the foundation of your life. This virtue was recommended by Our Lord: 'Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of God.' It is the form of humility and Its [...]
"And, of course, you must speak freely in condemnation of the professed enemies of God and His Church, heretics and schismatics – it is true charity to point out the wolf wherever he creeps in among the flock. Most people permit themselves absolute latitude in criticizing and censuring rulers, and in calumniating nationalities, according to [...]
“You cannot arrive at virtue except through knowing yourself and knowing me. And this knowledge is more perfectly gained in time of temptation, because then you know that you are nothing, since you have now power to relieve yourself of the sufferings and troubles you would like to escape. And you know me in your [...]
"We must look for truth in ourselves; in our neighbors; in itself. We look for truth in ourselves when we judge ourselves; in our neighbors when we have sympathy for their sufferings; in itself when we contemplate it with a clean heart." Source: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, The Steps of Humility and Pride (Note: [...]
"God is the absolute and ultimate source of all being; but this universal principle of creation – the Logos, primordial reason – is at the same time a lover with all the passion of true love. Eros is thus supremely ennobled, yet at the same time it is so purified as to become one with [...]
"From a spiritual point of view, he who is proud of his intelligence, talent or voice, and never thanks God for them is a robber; he has taken gifts from God and never recognized the Giver." Source: Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, Way to Happiness, St. Pauls, 1998.