He that seeks here any other thing but simply God and the salvation of his soul, will find nothing but trouble and sorrow.

If thou wilt receive profit, read with humility, simplicity and faith, and seek not at any time the fame of being learned.

Our own opinion of ourselves should be lower than that formed by others, for we have a better chance at our imperfections.

Love Him, and keep Him for thy Friend, who, when all go away, will not forsake thee, nor suffer thee to perish at the last.

Oh, how great peace and quietness would he possess who should cut off all vain anxiety and place all his confidence in God.

If your heart were sincere and upright, every creature would be unto you a looking-glass of life and a book of holy doctrine.

It is better to be affected with a true penitent sorrow for sin than to be able to resolve the most difficult cases about it.

Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death; trust yourself to the glory of Him who alone can help you when all others fail.

No one can obtain from the Pope a dispensation for never dying. [Lat., Nemo impetrare potest a papa bullam numquam moriendi.]

If thou canst not make thyself such an one as thou wouldst, how canst thou expect to have another in all things to thy liking?

Study, therefore, to withdraw the love of your soul from all things that are visible, and turn it to things that are invisible.

O Lord, self-renunciation is not the work of one day, nor children's sport; yea, rather in this word is included all perfection.

Sometimes there are things worth risking your life for. It was Jesus who said if you want to save your life, you have to lose it.

Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying or meditating or endeavoring something for the public good.

Whoever would fully and feelingly understand the words of Christ, must endeavor to conform his life wholly to the life of Christ.

You know, I think Jesus was famous and also in a lot of trouble because he always chose people over sort of established procedures.

Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good. By itself it makes what is heavy light; and bears evenly all that is uneven.

This was a splendid life. Splendid in its obscurity and humility, splendid in its strength and charity, splendid in its achievements.

When you claim to have the truth, as opposed to the truth as you perceive it, then you move us toward a theocratic view of government.

Wait for the Lord. Behave yourself manfully, and be of good courage. Do not be faithless, but stay in your place and do not turn back.

O Lord, you know what is best for me. Let this or that be done, as you please. Give what you will, how much you will, and when you will.

What difference does it make to you what someone else becomes, or says, or does? You do not need to answer for others, only for yourself.

Forasmuch as many people study more to have knowledge than to live well therefore ofttimes they err and bring forth little fruit or none.

To be able to live peaceably with hard and perverse persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as go contrary to us, is a great grace.

The measure of every man’s virtue is best revealed in time of adversity - adversity that does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is.

If you seek Jesus in all things you will surely find Jesus. And if you seek yourself, you will surely find yourself, but only to your ruin.

But because many endeavor to get knowledge rather than to live well, they are often deceived and reap little or no benefit from their labor.

The enemy is more easily overcome if he be not suffered to enter the door of our hearts, but be resisted without the gate at his first knock.

In the morning fix thy good purpose; and at night examine thyself what thou hast done, how thou hast behaved thyself in word, deed, and thought.

One who views thing as they are in reality, and not as they are said or thought to be, is truly wise, taught by God rather than by other persons

Occasions of adversity best discover how great virtue or strength each one hath. For occasions do not make a man frail, but they show what he is.

If you find that you have no love but desire to have it, do the works of love and the Lord will see your desire and effort and put love in your heart.

May not be your peace in the mouth of the men; since no matter if they thing good or bad about you, you should not be a different man because of that.

What canst thou see elsewhere which thou canst not see here? Behold the heaven and the earth and all the elements; for of these are all things created.

Let not your peace rest in the utterances of men, for whether they put a good or bad construction on your conduct does not make you other than you are.

The intention which is fixed on God as its only end will keep people steady in their purposes, and deliver them from being the joke and scorn of fortune.

Too many instances there are of daring men, who by presuming to sound the deep things of religion, have cavilled and argued themselves out of all religion.

Do not let your peace depend on the hearts of men; whatever they say about you, good or bad, you are not because of it another man, for as you are, you are.

And God is always calling me to open myself to all kinds of people that I've never thought about before and also calling me on this inward spiritual journey.

Grace is the mastery of truth, the teacher of discipline, the light of the heart, the comforter of affliction, the banisher of sorrow, the nurse of devotion.

As iron cast into fire loses its rust and becomes glowing white, so he who turns completely to God is stripped of his sluggishness and changed into a new man.

Trust not to friends and kindred, neither do thou put off the care of thy soul's welfare til hereafter; for men will sooner forget thee than thou art aware of.

Love feels no burden, regards not labors, strives toward more than it attains, argues not of impossibility, since it believes that it may and can do all things.

Let this be thy whole endeavor, this thy prayer, this thy desire,-that thou mayest be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only.

In judging others a man laboreth in vain; he often erreth, and easily falleth into sin; but in judging and examining himself he always laboreth to good purpose.

Let nothing disturb thee, Let nothing affright thee; All passeth away: God only shall stay. Patience wins all: Who hath God, needeth nothing; For God is his All.

He does much who loves God much, and he does much who does his deed well, and he does his deed well who does it rather for the common good than for his own will.

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.

Leave off that excessive desire of knowing; therein is found much distraction. There are many things the knowledge of which is of little or no profit to the soul.

If indeed this is the work of God... then it's a crisis that calls for the church to be its very best self, and not worry about risking itself for the right thing.

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