"Necessity is laid upon us to examine ourselves with diligence to find out what are the virtues, which we chiefly lack, and which are the hardest for us to acquire; we should seek to learn the sins that do most easily beset us, and the times and occasions, when we do must often fail." [...]
"The Church is called above all to be a credible witness to mercy, professing it and living it as the core of the revelation of Jesus Christ. From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly." Source: Pope Francis, [...]
"Sometimes thinking yourselves so wicked may be humility and virtue and at other times a very great temptation. I have had experience of this, so I know it is true. Humility, however deep it be, neither disquiets nor troubles nor disturbs the soul; it is accompanied by peace, joy and tranquility." Source: Saint Teresa [...]
"Practice, then, charity always and in all things, for the occasions are numberless. If they do not come to you, seek them. When you are free to choose between two good works, one personal, the other charitable, take the latter. It has double merit. But, above all, I repeat, let your charity be humble. Proud [...]
"No, my child, we must never, in our wish to shun slander, foster or flatter vice in others; but we must call evil evil, and sin sin, and so doing we shall serve God’s Glory." Source: St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Random House, Inc., 2002.
"The faithful need to be reminded that there can be no actuosa participatio in the sacred mysteries without an accompanying effort to participate actively in the life of the Church as a whole, including a missionary commitment to bring Christ's love into the life of society." Source: Pope Benedict XVI, SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS (Sacrament of [...]
"Oh, how great a grace it is to have a spiritual director! One makes more rapid progress in virtue, sees the will of God more clearly, fulfills it more faithfully, and follows a road that is sure and free of dangers. The director knows how to avoid the rocks against which the soul could be [...]
"God loves, and his love may certainly be called eros, yet it is also totally agape." Source: Pope Benedict XVI, God is Love: Deus Caritas Est, Ignatius Press, 2006.
"The lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to Him in secret and God enlightens him. Jesus, by His silence, shamed Pilate; and a man, by his stillness, conquers vainglory. Peter wept bitterly for what he had said." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Now, all our peace in this miserable life is found in humbly enduring suffering rather than in being free from it. He who knows best how to suffer will enjoy the greater peace, because he is the conqueror of himself, the master of the world, a friend of Christ, and an heir of heaven." [...]