The following quotes touch upon the Catholic faith and the culture.  The topics are broad but inspirational.  More quotes can be obtained at chastity.org and therealpresence.org.


"Pray, hope, and don't worry." (Saint Padre Pio)

"I choose all!" (Saint Therese of Lisieux)

"Give respect to whom respect is due." (Saint Paul the Apostle)

"Pray the Rosary for peace in the world." (Our Lady of Fatima)

"Prudence is the Queen of Virtues." (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

"God alone suffices." (Saint Terese of Avila)

"Onward! Be daring!" (Saint Josemaria Escriva)

"Suffering is but a kiss from Jesus." (Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Persons and things look great at a distance which are not so when seen up close. (Blessed Cardinal Newman)

"Every unborn child, though unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of the Lord, who even before his birth, and then as soon as he was born, experienced the rejection of the world."  (Pope Francis Speaking to the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations on 9/20/2013)

“Our response to this mentality is a 'yes' to life, decisive and without hesitation. 'The first right of the human person is his life. He has other goods and some are precious, but this one is fundamental – the condition for all the others'.” (Pope Francis Speaking to the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations on 9/20/2013)

"...Somehow we must restore the notion of respect for life into the fabric of the Nation. When the uniqueness of the human person created in the image and likeness of God is universally recognized, the possibility of a mass shooting is more remote." (Statement Issued on 2013 Navy Yard Shootings by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services)


Reflecting upon his office and his duties, the bishop should consider as the key to his identity and mission the mystery of Christ and the attributes willed by the Lord Jesus for his Church, "a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Lumen Gentium 4) (Presidential Address - Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, Bishop of Belleville, Washington D.C. – November 15, 2004)

We bishops, in the dioceses and the eparchies that we serve, are called to be the instruments and the visible signs of the unity that the Lord Jesus desires for his Church. We are also called to experience and to promote, in communion with our Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the unity that is at the heart and constitutive of the College of Bishops to which we belong. (Presidential Address - Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, Bishop of Belleville, Washington D.C. – November 15, 2004)


St. Luke has given three parables successively; the sheep which was lost and found, the piece of silver which was lost and found, the son who was dead and came to life again, in order that invited by a threefold remedy, we might heal our wounds. Christ as the Shepherd bears you on His own body, the Church as the woman seeks for thee, God as the Father receives you, the first, pity, the second, intercession, the third, reconciliation. (St. Ambrose)

"Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee; Trust Him when trust is small. Trust Him when to trust Him is the hardest thing of all." (Bishop Fulton Sheen) 

She went into the mountains, because Zacharias dwelt there. As it follows, To a city of Juda, and entered into the house of Zacharias. Learn, O holy women, the attention which you ought to show for your kinswomen with child. For Mary, who before dwelt alone in the secret of her chamber, neither virgin modesty caused to shrink from the public gaze, nor the rugged mountains from pursuing her purpose, nor the tediousness of the journey from performing her duty. Learn also, O virgins, the lowliness of Mary. She came a kinswoman to her next of kin, the younger to the elder, nor did she merely come to her, but was the first to give her salutations; as it follows, And she saluted, Elisabeth. For the more chaste a virgin is, the more humble she should be, and ready to give way to her elders. Let her then be the mistress of humility, in whom is the profession of chastity. Mary is also a cause of piety, in that the higher went to the lower, that the lower might be assisted, Mary to Elisabeth, Christ to John. (Theophyl)

As we stressed in our 1995 statement Political Responsibility: "The application of Gospel values to real situations is an essential work of the Christian community." Adopting a consistent ethic of life, the Catholic Church promotes a broad spectrum of issues "seeking to protect human life and promote human dignity from the inception of life to its final moment." Opposition to abortion and euthanasia does not excuse indifference to those who suffer from poverty, violence and injustice. Any politics of human life must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas. Catholic public officials are obliged to address each of these issues as they seek to build consistent policies which promote respect for the human person at all stages of life. But being 'right' in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life. Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the 'rightness' of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community. If we understand the human person as the "temple of the Holy Spirit" -- the living house of God -- then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house's foundation. These directly and immediately violate the human person's most fundamental right -- the right to life. Neglect of these issues is the equivalent of building our house on sand. Such attacks cannot help but lull the social conscience in ways ultimately destructive of other human rights. As Pope John Paul II reminds us, the command never to kill establishes a minimum which we must respect and from which we must start out "in order to say 'yes' over and over again, a 'yes' which will gradually embrace the entire horizon of the good" (Evangelium Vitae, 75). (Paragraph 23 of "Living the Gospel of Life", by the USCCB, 1998)

Now mystically, by Martha’s receiving our Lord into her house is represented the Church which now receives the Lord into her heart. Mary her sister, who sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word, signifies the same Church, but in a future life, where ceasing from labor, and the ministering to her wants, she shall delight in Wisdom alone. But by her complaining that her sister did not help her, occasion is given for that sentence of our Lord, in which he shows that Church to be anxious and troubled about much service, when there is but one thing needful, which is yet attained through the merits of her service; but He says that Mary has chosen the good part, for through the one the other is reached, which shall not be taken away. (St. Augustine)

"Thank you, my God, for placing in my heart such love for the pope." (Saint Josemaria Escriva)

"I am God's grain, and I am being ground by the teeth of wild beasts in order that I may be found [to be] pure bread for Christ. My [earthly] love [lit. eros] has been crucified, and there is in me no fire of material love, but rather a living water, speaking in me and saying within me, "Come to the Father". I take no pleasure in corruptible food or in the delights of this life. I want the Bread of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ, who is of the seed of David; and as drink I want his Blood, which is incorruptible love." (St. Ignatius of Antioch)

Hold on tightly to the Rosary. Be very grateful to the Madonna because it was she who gave us Jesus. (St. Padre Pio)

Love our Lady and make her loved; always recite the Rosary and recite it as often as possible. (St. Padre Pio)

Imagine Jesus crucified in your arms and on your chest, and say a hundred times as you kiss His chest, "This is my hope, the living source of my happiness; this is the heart of my soul; nothing will ever separate me from His love." . . . Say to Him often, "What can I have on earth, or what can I hope to have in Heaven, if not You, oh my Jesus? You are the God of my heart and the inheritance that I desire eternally." (St. Padre Pio)

The more you are afflicted, the more you ought to rejoice, because in the fire of tribulation the soul will become pure gold, worthy to be placed and to shine in the heavenly palace. (St. Padre Pio)

Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. (St. Padre Pio)

Pray for the reestablishment of the kingdom of God, for the spread of faith, for the praise and triumph of our holy mother Church. . . Pray for the unfaithful and for heretics and for the conversion of sinners. (St. Padre Pio)

Every holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we ourselves, do not know. (St. Padre Pio)

So many people pray to God to be healed; so few pray for strength to bear their cross. (St. Padre Pio)

Place your heart gently in Our Lord's wounds. Have great confidence in His mercy for He will never abandon you. (St. Padre Pio)

The earth could exist more easily without the sun than without the holy sacrifice of the Mass. (St. Padre Pio)

The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease. (Blessed John Paul II, Dominicae cenae, 3)

"With how much intensity we must pray, brothers, for the conversion of the killers, who denigrate and brutalize themselves and threw themselves into eternal damnation if they reject all repentance!" ("Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela's homily on the March 11, 2004, MADRID, Spain terrorist attack")

"Terrorism can destroy our lives and snatch our loved ones; it can throw us into the most intense and inexplicable sorrow." ("Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela's homily on the March 11, 2004, MADRID, Spain terrorist attack")

"But it will never be able to take away from us the certainty that the death of Christ, who died for each and every man, has opened for us the doors of a hope that is nourished, even against all hope, with the Life that comes to us from God." ("Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela's homily on the March 11, 2004, MADRID, Spain terrorist attack")

"To kill a fellow human being, to murder a brother, is to attack God himself, the only One who has in his hands the keys of life and death." ("Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela's homily on the March 11, 2004, MADRID, Spain terrorist attack")

we must always begin again, for up to now, we have done nothing. (Spoken by St. Francis of Assisi)

Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves,

That He Who gives Himself totally to you

May receive you totally! (Saint Francis of Assisi)

 

This I pray for this I desire, that I may be wholly united to you, and may withdraw my heart from all created things, and by the Holy Communion, and often celebrating, may more and more learn to relish heavenly and eternal things. Then all that is within me shall rejoice exceedingly when my soul shall be perfectly united to my God then will He say to me: If you will be with Me, I will be with you and I will answer Him: O Lord, to remain with me, and I will willingly be with you. This is my whole desire, that my heart may be united to you. Amen. (Thomas `a Kempis)

“Looking at a picture of Our Lord on the Cross, I was struck by the blood flowing from one of His hands. I felt great sadness when I realized that this blood was falling to the ground without anyone’s rushing to gather it up.  I was resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross, to receive it, and pour it out upon souls.” -Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

"When a mother can kill her own child, what is left of the West to save?" (Blessed Mother Teresa)


"In matters of the moral law, the Church does not have the right to be silent." (Fr. Frank Pavone)

Two thousand two years ago, as it is written in Saint Matthew"s gospel, Herod "ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years and younger." Thirty years ago, as it is written in the Supreme Court Decision, Roe vs Wade, seven men ordered that all unborn boys and girls in the womb nine months and under may be put to death through abortion. Herod"s order was carried out and mothers mourned the killing of their innocent children. Roe vs Wade"s orders were carried out and in three decades more than 40 million innocent children were put to death, many not mourned by anyone, not even by their own mothers. But tonight and every day we weep and we mourn for them. ("Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua's Homily", 1/21/2003)

In 1965 our country was visited for the first time by the Vicar of Christ, Pope Paul VI. He gave a famous speech to the United Nations. Remember at that time we were involved in the Vietnam War. In strong and unforgettable words, he said: "War no more; war never again." More recently, in 1995, the present Vicar of Christ, Pope John Paul II, reiterated those same words in his visit to the United Nations. Abortion is war on the unborn child. And so, on this 30th anniversary of Roe vs Wade, we paraphrase the words of those two Vicars of Christ, and reiterate in the strongest terms possible the goal for which we will never give up: "ABORTION NO MORE; ABORTION NEVER AGAIN." ("Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua's Homily", 1/21/2003)

Here below, we owe all to Jesus; by His mysteries He has merited for us all the graces of justification, of forgiveness, of sanctification which we need: Christ is the very principle of our perfection. As the vine pours forth its nourishing sap into the branches so that they may bear fruit, so Christ Jesus ceaselessly pours forth His grace into all those who abide in Him. . . .
In heaven likewise all the glory of the saints is derived from this same grace; all the splendor of their triumph comes from this one source; it is because they are dyed with the blood of the Lamb that the garments of the elect shine so resplendently; and the degree of their holiness is measured by the degree of their likeness to the Divine Model. . . . (by Blessed Columba Marmion, a Benedictine abbot of Maredsous and one of the great spiritual writers of the 20th century)

In heaven we shall comprehend that all God’s mercies took their rise on Calvary. The blood of Jesus is the price of the heavenly happiness which we shall then for evermore enjoy. In the heavenly Jerusalem we shall be inebriated with divine gladness; but every instant of this joy will have been paid by the merits of the blood of Christ Jesus. The river of beatitude which eternally flows in this city of God has its source in the sacrifice of our divine High Priest. It will be an immense joy for us to acknowledge this and to sing our joy and praise and thanksgiving to Jesus. (by Blessed Columba Marmion, a Benedictine abbot of Maredsous and one of the great spiritual writers of the 20th century)

Like the elect, we shall cast our crowns at His feet to testify that we owe them to Him.
It is to this last end that all the mystery of Christ tends. God wills that His Son Jesus shall be forever exalted because He is His own Only-begotten Son, the object of His complacency; because this Son, although He was God, annihilated Himself so as to sanctify His Mystical Body: “Therefore God has highly exalted Him.” (by Blessed Columba Marmion, a Benedictine abbot of Maredsous and one of the great spiritual writers of the 20th century)

 "This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come,[13] think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation.[14] Nor, on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age." (Paragraph 43 of Gaudium et Spes)

"Be Not Afraid! Open up, no; swing wide the gates to Christ. Open up to his saving power the confines of the State, open up economic and political systems, the vast empires of culture, civilization and development…. Be not afraid!"  (On October 22, 1978, Pope John Paul II stepped out on to the balcony in St. Peters Square and signaled his mission to cheering throngs of the faithful gathered in St. Peter's square.)

I know that life is a pilgrimage, a testing ground and a time for growth.  

I must be aware of two realities — the visible that I can see and the invisible that 

I cannot see.  My whole life must be 

geared toward a perfect harmony 

between these two realities. (Mother Angelica)

 

It is sad to realize so many believe 

that Jesus is Truly Present 

in the Blessed Sacrament 

and seldom visit Him. 

Men travel across the oceans 

to see ancient ruins, paintings, 

landscapes and celebrities, 

but they do not think of going 

into a church to visit the 

Creator of all beauty. (Mother M. Angelica) 

 

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin. (Mother Teresa)

 

Like Jesus we belong to the world living not for ourselves but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Mother Teresa)

 

Always humble yourself lovingly before God and man, because God speaks to those who are truly humble of heart, and enriches them with His gifts. (St. Padre Pio)

 

Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors. (St. Thérèse)

 

Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing. (St. Thérèse)

 

Be not afraid to tell Jesus that you love Him; even though it be without feeling, this is the way to oblige Him to help you, and carry you like a little child too feeble to walk. (St. Thérèse)

 

For one pain endured with joy, we shall love the good God more forever. (St. Thérèse)

 

Jesus needs neither books nor Doctors of Divinity in order to instruct souls; He, the Doctor of Doctors, He teaches without noise of words. (St. Thérèse)

 

“Being a spiritual child means that we acknowledge our nothingness; that we expect everything from the good Lord, as a child expects everything from its father; it means to worry about nothing, not to build upon fortune; it means to remain little, seeking only to gather flowers, the flowers of sacrifice, and to offer them to the good Lord for His pleasure.” (St. Thérèse)

In this Sacrament of Love, Jesus Christ waits for us.  Let us not fail to be generous in giving our time to Jesus in adoration, contemplating Him in faith, ready to make reparation for our own transgressions, large and small, and for the offences of the world. (Pope John Paul II)

It is of course true that the current vocation situation is a reminder of the constant need for renewal within the Church. In that regard, I personally am convinced that the vision for the Church on every level that Pope John Paul II enunciates in his apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (January 6, 2001) is challenging and exciting. A local Church re-vitalized by that vision will, I believe, encourage women and men to follow Christ in a radical commitment of their lives which welcomes the charism of celibacy for the sake of service to His people. From the ranks of men who will have accepted that charism the Church will continue to call candidates to the diocesan priesthood. I understand that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee itself has experienced a significant increase in seminarians this very year. ("September 3, 2003 letter to Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference")

The reiteration of the perduring value of this long-standing tradition in the Western Church in recent times by Vatican II, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, several Synods of Bishops and numerous episcopal conferences, including our own, recognizes the fruitfulness of this charism for priesthood and the Church, today as much as ever. As we all know, service to Christ and His people through a celibate priesthood was not an arbitrary imposition by the Church of a particular moment in history, but rather the result of a growing consciousness, already from the earliest centuries of the Church's history, that there was a powerful congruence between priesthood and the celibate example of Christ himself. Indeed, the vitality of the Church in the United States today owes much to the tens of thousands of priests who in previous generations were and today are faithful to their commitment to chaste celibacy and who have found it to be a powerful spiritual means to draw closer to Christ. ("September 3, 2003 letter to Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference")

In their letter, the priests rightly note "the ever growing appreciation of marriage and its many blessings." I share their conviction that many of the faithful we serve are eager for support and examples of fidelity that will encourage and assist those called to the vocation of marriage and family. As you well know, Archbishop Dolan, our Bishops' Committee on Marriage and Family Life is constantly working to promote this value. Both marriage and celibacy are complementary in the witness to Christ that they offer the entire Church. Each is a grace that enriches the Church. Together with the marvelous witness of consecrated life, the requirement of celibacy for diocesan priesthood in the Western Church preserves that complementarity and grace for the universal Church. ("September 3, 2003 letter to Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference")

Notwithstanding all of these areas of agreement, I must confess that it is by no means clear that, as their letter states, a change in the discipline of clerical celibacy would necessarily bring about an increase in the numbers of candidates for priesthood. The experience of Protestant Churches is instructive in this regard. A number of studies in recent years indicate that denominations such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran Church --Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as well as other mainline churches with married clergy have also faced a shortage of ministers. Several years ago the Orthodox Church in America reported a clergy shortage, as did the Jewish Reform and Conservative traditions. ("September 3, 2003 letter to Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference")

Perhaps this points out a fundamental issue of much greater urgency for us: the place of religion and the Church in our culture. Ultimately we as priests are challenged to demonstrate with greater creativity and persuasiveness the essential role that our Catholic faith and witness plays in human life and culture. Our own recent Conference document, The Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests highlighted this challenge when it pointed out "the counterpoint of our cultural sexual mores and values and the standards and values of the Church, especially as these are embodied in priests' celibate commitment"(p.21). For bishops and priests, the task of being a builder of a bridge between the Gospel and our culture can be all-consuming and perhaps needs to be highlighted even more in our vocation recruitment. This could certainly be an area of future conversation between priests and their bishops. What I hope is that the good will of the priests who sent me the letters, as evidenced by their appreciation of the great value that the charism of celibacy is and has been to the Church, will encourage them to reflect on the needs of the Church and their priesthood in a way that will foster the interior renewal of priestly life so longed for by Pope John Paul II and the bishops of our country. ("September 3, 2003 letter to Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference")

...the impression is often given that, as an archbishop and a so-called "Vatican loyalist," I have to support the church's tradition of priestly celibacy, but that my heart, as the hearts of most other bishops, is really not in it. This impression is simply wrong. I enthusiastically and confidently embrace my own celibate commitment, and believe it a providential blessing for priests and for the church. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

It is a gift cherished by the church since the time of Jesus, common among the ordained from apostolic times, expected of priests from early centuries, and required of them for close to 1,000 years. It is not some stodgy Vatican "policy" that has been "imposed," but a gift savored for millennia. I wholeheartedly support it, not because I'm "supposed to," or because I reluctantly "have to," but because I want to, and because I sincerely and enthusiastically believe it is a genuine gift to the church and her priests. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

...the reports would have us believe that this letter is revolutionary and novel, requiring "courage" in a climate where free discussion on this issue is rare. Courage, I would propose, characterizes rather all our priests -- those who signed and the 72 percent who did not -- who live their celibate chastity with fidelity and joy; courage characterizes our married couples who generously and obediently live out their vows; courage is found in our young people and unmarried adults who follow the teaching of Jesus, the Bible, and the church on the beautiful virtue of chastity; courage is found in those writers -- priests, religious, lay, Catholic and non-Catholic -- who defend such a countercultural virtue as celibacy in a world that feels one cannot be happy or whole without sexual gratification. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

Bishop Gregory correctly observes that the charism has been reaffirmed by all recent popes, from Blessed John XXIII, Paul VI, and today, often and eloquently by John Paul II; it was extolled and renewed at the Second Vatican Council; and subsequent Synods of Bishops and individual national conferences of bishops, including our own, have accepted the teaching with conviction and gratitude. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

The church, of course, listens intently to many voices, and loud voices are not lacking today. She listens to petitions, committees, authors, advocacy groups, even columnists and editorial writers in newspapers, all free with advice. But she first and foremost listens to Jesus, His Word, and, as my teacher and mentor Msgr. John Tracy Ellis used to say, she listens, "Not to the voice of today as much as to the voice of the centuries." That voice -- of saints, scholars, and faithful of the past -- speaks eloquently in praise of celibate chastity for priests, a praise admirably echoed by the signers of the letter as well. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

...I am very happy that Bishop Gregory invited the signers to engage in a dialogue, not about celibacy, but about some of the urgent pastoral issues that are affecting priesthood and the church today, especially the decline in vocations (characteristic, as the bishop notes, not only of our Catholic Church, but also of other religious bodies who allow a married ministry), the place of religion and the church in a society that more and more acts as if it can get along just fine without God and religion, and the call for renewal in priestly life within the church. We have been doing this well in the archdiocese, but can probably do it better; this initiative may prod us to do so. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

...I worry about the timing of the letter. I'm not talking here about the fact that it was released to the media before Bishop Gregory ever received it, or that it came out when I was on my announced vacation. No. I mean that this is the time we priests need to be renewing our pledge to celibacy, not questioning it. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

The problems in the church today are not caused by the teaching of Jesus and of his church, but by lack of fidelity to them. The recent sad scandal of clerical sexual abuse of minors, as the professionals have documented, has nothing to do with our celibate commitment; and the undeniable challenges of scandal, shortages, increasing work, and public criticism have left a priesthood not disheartened and decimated, but -- if recent studies are to be believed -- on the verge of renewal. Recall the research recently completed by the Los Angeles Times that found more than 90 percent of American priests happy, committed, and eager to do it all over again if given the choice. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

This is the spirit of hope and confidence I gratefully sense in our priests -- both in those who signed and those who did not. It is also obvious in our wonderful seminarians, now close to 30 strong -- the largest number in years -- who tell me that celibacy was actually part of the appeal of the radical call to priesthood, and who have thought long and hard about the joys and demands of this celibate vocation, having to defend it to family, friends, and even former girlfriends! The call of Pope John Paul II, "Love for Jesus and his church must be the passion of your lives," rings in their ears as they yearn to join the priests of this great archdiocese who have inspired their own vocations. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

The most exciting invitation in Bishop Gregory's letter is that we use this moment in the life of the church to promote the interior renewal of our priests, leading to a purified, even-more-committed priesthood. As one priest wrote, "While I did not sign the letter, and while I am not supportive of the call for optional celibacy, I do share in the desire of my brothers to tackle head-on the array of problems facing us in contemporary ministry, especially the need for renewed holiness, joy, confidence, and faithfulness. ("Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan defending Celibacy", SEPT. 4, 2003)

"Having learned with sadness of the death of President Reagan, I offer you and your family my heartfelt condolences and the assurance of my prayers for his eternal rest. I recall with deep gratitude the late president's unwavering commitment to the service of the nation and to the cause of freedom as well as his abiding faith in the human and spiritual values which ensure a future of solidarity, justice and peace in our world. Together with your family and the American people I commend his noble soul to the merciful love of God our Heavenly Father and cordially invoke upon all who mourn his passing the divine blessings of consolation, strength and peace." (Pope John Paul II to Nancy Reagan, 2004)

"I fell in love with the Blessed Sacrament from the beginning and by the mercy of God never have fallen out again." (J.R.R. Tolkien)

"A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent in sweet communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament." (St. Padre Pio)

"The Blessed Sacrament is the Sacrament of Love. It signified love. It produces love." (St. Thomas Aquinas)

"Fortunate, indeed, are souls called by God to a Perpetual Adoration!" (Father José Guadalupe Treviño)

"Happy the souls who in humble adoration surround the sacred monstrance and keep watch with Jesus." (Father Lucas Etlin, O.S.B.)

"O my children! Our Lord is hidden there waiting for us to come and visit Him and make requests." (St. John Marie Vianney)

"The Blessed Sacrament is our Heaven on earth." (St. Alphonsus Marie de Liguori)

"After the Sacrifice of the Mass and the reception of Holy Communion, visiting the Blessed Sacrament is one of the richest sources of Grace for souls." (Father Lucas Etlin, O.S.B.)

"Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life" (St. Dominic, dying, to his brothers)

"I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth" (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)

You should rather humble yourself before God than be distressed if He reserves for you the sufferings of his Son, and makes you experience your weakness. You should offer up to Him the prayer of resignation and hope, even when you fail through frailty, and thank Him for all the benefits with which He continually enriches you. (Spoken by St. Padre Pio)

Have you ever seen a field of fully ripened grain? You can observe that certain ears appear to be tall and fertile; others, however, are bent to the ground. Try to pick the tall, the most vain; you will see that they are empty; if, however, you pick the lowest, the most humble, you will find them loaded with grain. From this you may deduce that vanity is empty. (Spoken by St. Padre Pio)

That Christ you see is not Jesus. It is only the pitiful image that your blurred eyes are able to form... — Purify yourself. Clarify your sight with humility and penance. Then... the pure light of Love will not be denied you. And you will have perfect vision. The image you see will be really his: his! (Number 212 of "The Way" by St. Josemaría Escrivá)

"Christ, make me become and remain the servant of your unique power, the servant of your sweet power, the servant of your power that knows no eventide. Make me a servant. Indeed the servant of your servants." Then the Holy Father spoke these words of encouragement to the hundreds of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square. "Be not afraid to welcome Christ and accept His power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ's power to serve the human person the whole of mankind. Be not afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ. To His saving power open the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Be not afraid. Christ knows what is in man. He alone knows it. . . . I ask you . . . I beg you, let Christ speak to you. He alone has the words of life, yes of eternal life." ("Quotations are taken from Witness to Hope" by George Weigel, published by Harper Collins 1999. p.262)

Catholic faith is my life vocation. (Blessed Ivan Merz)

Why do I love the Church and the Holy Father? Because in the Church I see the clear picture of my beloved Saviour and God Jesus in all His perfection, and in the Holy Father I see the human image of my God and my Lord. (Blessed Ivan Merz)

Died in the peace of the Catholic faith. My life had been Christ, and death was my gain. I am expecting the mercy of the Lord and undivided, complete, eternal possession of the most Holy Heart of Jesus. Happy in peace and joy. My soul is reaching the goal for which it had been created. (Blessed Ivan Merz in a testament he wrote just before his death; today it serves as the epitaph on his tomb)  

These are times that cry out for a genuine reconciliation within the Church in our country; not a reconciliation that merely binds a wound so that we can move forward together in some hobbled kind of fashion. What we need is a reconciliation that heals: one that brings us together to address this issue in a way that ensures that it will not happen again; one that begins with a love of the Truth that is Jesus Christ; one that embraces fully and honestly the authentic elements of the Sacrament of Penance as we celebrate it in the Catholic tradition. Only by truthful confession, heartfelt contrition, and firm purpose of amendment can we hope to receive the generous mercy of God and the forgiveness of our brothers and sisters.  ("USCCB presidential address" by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, June 13th, 2002)  

To our faithful priests, I want to say this on behalf of the Bishops. The Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Orders unites us to you as our first collaborators in ministry and we love you as brothers. We are also proud of and grateful for the selfless way in which you serve the Lord and your brothers and sisters day after day. We Bishops are profoundly sorry that mistakes we have made in dealing with priest-abusers have caused some to call into question your own good name and your reputation as priests. We are also sorry that failures in our leadership have led to a breakdown of trust between priests and bishops, brothers in ministry. We ask your forgiveness. ("USCCB presidential address" by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, June 13th, 2002)  

I ask our priests to continue to work closely with us; we need you. Let us, together, ask God to grant us the grace we need for a full renewal of the priesthood and the episcopate in this country to genuine holiness of life and Christ-like service. This is what the Lord asks of us. The Church deserves nothing less. ("USCCB presidential address" by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, June 13th, 2002)  

First. In your own name and in mine, I have been asking for a lot of forgiveness this morning. From the victim-survivors. From the parents and families of the victim-survivors. From the deacons, the religious and the laity. And from our priests. The reconciliation and healing that we need at this moment in the life of the Church in this country will never happen unless God's grace provides a flood of forgiveness. Let us be models of forgiveness to one another. I believe that the grace for us to forgive one another is there. Let us each in our hearts ask God for the measure we need. He will not disappoint. ("USCCB presidential address" by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, June 13th, 2002)  

These have been months and years and decades of tremendous suffering and pain; especially for the victim-survivors and their families, but also for so many others in the Church. I renew my faith in the words of St. Paul, "where sin has increased, grace has far surpassed it," [Romans 5:20] and I invite each of you to do the same. In Jesus Christ there is no cross without resurrection; no death without life; no purgation without cleansing and grace. Let us embrace the grace that God gives us so abundantly, so that the work we do in these days together may be to his glory and contribute to full reconciliation and healing in the Church. ("USCCB presidential address" by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, June 13th, 2002)  


God has blessed the bond between a husband and wife in the Church as a Sacrament, as a real sign of his abiding presence in your marriage. The fullest blessing that God can give you in your marriage is the gift of children. In the act of parenting, you become partners with God in the creation of new life, and your family becomes a "domestic church" where your children first hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. You have a great responsibility. But how can we Bishops dare to look you parents in the eye and tell you that your children are your greatest treasure if we do not also treasure, love and protect them. ("USCCB presidential address" by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, June 13th, 2002)  

"We are all called to be great saints, don't miss the opportunity." (Spoken by Mother Angelica)

The only cure for sagging of fainting faith is Communion. Though always Itself, perfect and complete and inviolate, the Blessed Sacrament does not operate completely and once for all in any of us. Like the act of Faith it must be continuous and grow by exercise. Frequency is of the highest effect. Seven times a week is more nourishing than seven times at intervals. Also I can recommend this as an exercise (alas! only too easy to find opportunity for): make your communion in circumstances that affront your taste. Choose a snuffling or gabbling priest or a proud and vulgar friar; and a church full of the usual bourgeois crowd, ill-behaved children - from those who yell to those products of Catholic schools who the moment the tabernacle is opened sit back and yawn - open necked and dirty youths, women in trousers and often with hair both unkempt and uncovered. Go to communion with them (and pray for them). It will be just the same (or better than that) as a mass said beautifully by a visibly holy man, and shared by a few devout and decorous people. (It could not be worse than the mess of the feeding of the Five Thousand - after which [our] Lord propounded the feeding that was to come.) ("The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien")

Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth, and more than that: Death: by the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet by the taste (or foretaste) of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained, or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man's heart desires. ("The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien")

We should consider those moments spent before the Blessed Sacrament as the happiest of our lives.  (Spoken by St. John Vianney)

"To arrive at perfect union, there is needed a total and perfect mortification of the senses and desires. The shortest and most effectual method of obtaining it is this: As to the senses whatever pleasing object may offer itself to them, unconnected with pure love to God, we should refuse it to them instantly, for the love if Jesus Christ, who in this life neither had nor desired to have any pleasure except to do the will of his Father, which He called His food. If, for example, there should arise a fancy or wish to hear or see things which do not concern the service of God or especially lead to Him, we should deny this fancy, and refrain from beholding or hearing these things; but if this is not possible, it is sufficient not to consent with the will. Then as to the desires, we should endeavor to incline always to what is poorest, worst, most laborious, most difficult, most unpleasant, and to desire nothing except to suffer and be despised."  (Spoken by St. John of the Cross)

"The air which we breathe, the bread which we eat, the heart which throbs in our bosoms, are not more necessary for man that he may live as a human being, than is prayer for the Christian that he may live as a Christian."  (Spoken by St. John Eudes)

"All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone - for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good."  (Spoken by St. John Vianney)

"If we are to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful should we be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need."  (Spoken by St. John the Almoner)

Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.  (Spoken by St. Francis of Assisi)

"The greatest gift one can receive from God in this world is wisdom, power and will to conquer himself, by denying self-will."  (Spoken by St. Francis of Assisi)

Spiritual joy arises from purity of the heart and perseverance in prayer.  (Spoken by St. Francis of Assisi)

This year our Lenten observance begins with a special meaning. Our Holy Father has asked us today to mark this day as one "of prayer and fasting for the cause of peace, especially in the Middle East." Indeed, my brothers and sisters, fasting is not just a denial of self, for the sake of denial; it is not leaving something out of our mouth for this one day. Rather, as His Holiness said last Sunday during the Angelus message, "with fasting … the Christian prepares to follow Christ … and through it is able to understand better the difficulties and suffering of so many of our brothers and sisters, oppressed by hunger, misery and war." In other words, through fasting we become one with those who are hungry, without homes and living without the basic necessities of life, conditions certainly caused by war.  ("Ash Wednesday homily" by Cardinal Pio Laghi, March 5th, 2003)

In fact, my brothers and sisters, this is the root of the Church's call to peace in this moment of such apprehension over the danger of war. War "always leads to mourning and grave consequences for everyone." The Church announces that peace is always possible, because of her deep concern for those who will suffer as a result of armed conflict. So we begin this Lent with the firm conviction that "peace is in fact a gift of God that we must invoke with humble and insistent trust." As Christians, we are called to be "sentinels of peace in the places in which we live and work."  ("Ash Wednesday homily" by Cardinal Pio Laghi, March 5th, 2003)

For the Holy See, that is for the Catholic Church, peace is built on four pillars: truth, justice, love and freedom. The Church's solicitude for peace has been a constant one and that is why she never tires in her work for the cause of peace. She believes that peace can always be constructed even in the darkest moments. She believes in the power of the human mind and courage of the human heart to find peaceful solutions to disagreements, using the vast and rich patrimony of international law and institutions created for that very purpose. Oh, yes, they may be incomplete; they may act too slowly at times; they may not have yet even caught up with realities of our times that threaten world order. But they are based on principles that are true and relative for all times: honest and patient dialogue between and among disagreeing parties and the absolute duty of each member of the family of Nations to comply fully with all its obligations. That is why she believes that war is a defeat for humanity; that is, it is a defeat for our intelligence, our creativity and our firm conviction that peace is always possible. ("Ash Wednesday homily" by Cardinal Pio Laghi, March 5th, 2003)  

First of all, it is against common sense, which the Church always holds in esteem, to consider the sexual instinct as the most important and the deepest of human tendencies, and to conclude from this that man cannot restrain it for his whole life without danger to his vital nervous system, and consequently without injuring the harmony of his personality. ("SACRA VIRGINITAS", by Pope Pius 12)

To Rulers, who are those principally responsible for the common good, and who can do so much to safeguard moral customs, we say: Do not allow the morality of your peoples to be degraded; do not permit that by legal means practices contrary to the natural and divine law be introduced into that fundamental cell, the family. Quite other is the way in which public authorities can and must contribute to the solution of the demographic problem: namely, the way of a provident policy for the family, of a wise education of peoples in respect of moral law and the liberty of citizens.  ("HUMANAE VITAE", by Pope Paul 6)

The timeliness of this proposal is evident from a number of considerations. First, the urgent need to counter a certain crisis of the Rosary, which in the present historical and theological context can risk being wrongly devalued, and therefore no longer taught to the younger generation. There are some who think that the centrality of the Liturgy, rightly stressed by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, necessarily entails giving lesser importance to the Rosary. Yet, as Pope Paul VI made clear, not only does this prayer not conflict with the Liturgy, it sustains it, since it serves as an excellent introduction and a faithful echo of the Liturgy, enabling people to participate fully and interiorly in it and to reap its fruits in their daily lives.   ("ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE" by Pope John Paul II)

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish! (Blessed Mother Theresa)

"Do not neglect to show
hospitality to strangers, for
thereby some have
entertained angels unawares" (spoken by St.
Paul)

"So valuable to heaven is the
dignity of the human soul that
each member of the human race has a
guardian angel from the moment
the person begins to be" (spoken by St.
Jerome)

"Believe the impossible and you will do the incredible." (Spoken by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen)

"Lord Jesus, Who in the Eucharist make your dwelling among us and become our traveling companion, sustain our Christian communities so that they may be ever more open to listening and accepting your Word. May they draw from the Eucharist a renewed commitment to spreading in society, by the proclamation of your Gospel, the signs and deeds of an attentive and active charity," (Pope John Paul II)

"It is invaluable to converse with Christ, and leaning against Jesus' breast like his beloved disciple, we can feel the infinite love of his Heart. We learn to know more deeply the One who gave Himself totally, in the different mysteries of his divine and human life, so that we may become disciples and in turn enter into this great act of giving, for the glory of God and the salvation of the world. Through adoration, the Christian mysteriously contributes to the radical transformation of the world and to the sowing of the Gospel. Anyone who prays to the Savior draws the whole world with him and raises it to God. Those who stand before the Lord are therefore fulfilling an eminent service. They are presenting to Christ all those who do not know him or are far from him; they keep watch in his presence on their behalf," (from Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II's 1996 letter to the Bishop of Liege, written on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the first celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi)

“Can you feel the fragrance of Paradise which diffuses Itself from the Tabernacle?" (St. Philip)

"Do grant, oh my God, that when my lips approach Yours to kiss You, I may taste the gall that was given to You; when my shoulders lean against Yours, make me feel Your scourging; when my flesh is united with Yours, in the Holy Eucharist, make me feel Your passion; when my head comes near Yours, make me feel Your thorns; when my heart is close to Yours, make me feel Your spear." (St. Gemma Galgani)


"This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus."
- St. Justin Martyr, 2nd Century

"God dwells in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar." (St. Maximilian Kolbe)

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you - for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart...don't listen to the demon, laugh at him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love...
"Receive Communion often, very often...there you have the sole remedy, if you want to be cured. Jesus has not put this attraction in your heart for nothing..." "The guest of our soul knows our misery; He comes to find an empty tent within us - that is all He asks." (St. Therese of Lisieux)

"And just as He appeared before the holy Apostles in true flesh, so now He has us see Him in the Sacred Bread. Looking at Him with the eyes of their flesh, they saw only His Flesh, but regarding Him with the eyes of the spirit, they believed that He was God. In like manner, as we see bread and wine with our bodily eyes, let us see and believe firmly that it is His Most Holy Body and Blood, True and Living. For in this way our Lord is ever present among those who believe in him, according to what He said: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." (Mt. 28, 20) (St. Francis of Assisi)

"In each of our lives Jesus comes as the Bread of Life - to be eaten, to be consumed by us. This is how He loves us. Then Jesus comes in our human life as the hungry one, the other, hoping to be fed with the Bread of our life, our hearts by loving, and our hands by serving. In loving and serving, we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is Love and when we love we are like God. This is what Jesus meant when He said, "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

"O eternal Trinity, You are a deep sea in which the more I seek the more I find, and the more I find, the more I seek to know You. You fill us insatiably, because the soul, before the abyss which You are, is always famished; and hungering for You, O eternal Trinity, it desires to behold truth in Your light. As the thirsty heart pants after the fount of living water, so does my soul long to leave this gloomy body and see You as You are, in truth. “O unfathomable depth! O Deity eternal! O deep ocean! What more could You give me than to give me Yourself? You are an ever-burning Fire; You consume and are not consumed. By Your fire, You consume every trace of self-love in the soul. You are a Fire which drives away all coldness and illumines minds with its light, and with this light You have made known Your truth. Truly this light is a sea which feeds the soul until it is all immersed in You, O peaceful Sea, eternal Trinity! The water of this sea is never turbid; it never causes fear, but gives knowledge of the truth. This water is transparent and discloses hidden things; and a living faith gives such abundance of light that the soul almost attains to certitude in what it believes. “You are the supreme and infinite Good, good above all good; good which is joyful, incomprehensible, inestimable; beauty exceeding all other beauty; wisdom surpassing all wisdom, because You are Wisdom itself. Food of angels, giving Yourself with fire of love to men! You are the garment which covers our nakedness; You feed us, hungry as we are, with Your sweetness, because You are all sweetness, with no bitterness. Clothe me, O eternal Trinity, clothe me with Yourself, so that I may pass this mortal life in true obedience and in the light of the most holy faith with which You have inebriated my soul."  (St. Catherine of Siena)

"If I can give you any advice, I beg you to get closer to the Eucharist and to Jesus... We must pray to Jesus to give us that tenderness of the Eucharist." (Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

“How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment." (St. John Chrysostom)

"Christ held Himself in His hands when He gave His Body to His disciples saying: 'This is My Body.' No one partakes of this Flesh before he has adored it." (St. Augustine)

I hunger for the bread of God, the flesh of Jesus Christ ...; I long to drink of his blood, the gift of unending love. (St. Ignatius of Antioch)


"By our little acts of charity practiced in the shade we convert souls far away, we help missionaries, we win for them abundant alms; and by that means build actual dwellings spiritual and material for our Eucharistic Lord."
"It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down each day from Heaven, but to find another Heaven, the Heaven of our soul in which He takes delight." "You must open a little, or rather raise on high your corolla so that the Bread of Angels may come as divine dew to strengthen you, and to give you all that is wanting to you." (St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church)

"If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion." (St. Maximilian Kolbe)

"When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage; speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing upon Him in your soul where He is present for your happiness; welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly in such a way that your actions may give proof to all of His Presence." (St. Francis de Sales)

"How I loved the feasts!.... I especially loved the processions in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. What a joy it was for me to throw flowers beneath the feet of God!... I was never so happy as when I saw my roses touch the sacred Monstrance..." (from St. Therese's Autobiography Story of A Soul)


"O Sisters, if we would only comprehend the fact that while the Eucharistic Species remain within us, Jesus is there and working in us inseparably with the Father and the Holy Spirit and therefore the whole Holy Trinity is there...," (St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi)

"Words cannot express the perfection of his adoration. If Saint John leaped in the womb at the approach of Mary, what feelings must have coursed through Joseph during those six months when he had at his side and under his very eyes the hidden God! If the father of Origin used to kiss his child during the night and adore the Holy Spirit living within Him, can we doubt that Joseph must often have adored Jesus hidden in the pure tabernacle of Mary? How fervent that adoration must have been: My Lord and my God, behold your servant! No one can describe the adoration of this noble soul. He saw nothing, yet he believed; his faith had to pierce the virginal veil of Mary. So likewise with you! Under the veil of the Sacred Species your faith must see our Lord. Ask St. Joseph for his lively, constant faith." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)


"The Blessed Sacrament is indeed the stimulus for us all, for me as it should be for you, to forsake all worldly ambitions. Without the constant presence of our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai; the foreseen consequence of which begins now to appear on my skin, and is felt throughout the body. Holy Communion being the daily bread of a priest, I feel myself happy, well pleased, and resigned in the rather exceptional circumstances in which it has pleased Divine Providence to put me." ( St. Damien, Apostle of the Lepers)

"If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without food in the desert for fear that they would collapse on the way, it was to teach us that it is dangerous to try to get to heaven without the Bread of Heaven." (St. Jerome)

It is there in His Eucharist that He says to me: "I thirst, thirst for your love, your sacrifices, your sufferings. I thirst for your happiness, for it was to save you that I came into the world, that I suffered and died on the Cross, and in order to console and strengthen you I left you the Eucharist. So you have there all My life, all My tenderness." (Mother Mary of Jesus, foundress of the Sisters of Marie Reparatrice)


(In speaking of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, St. Peter Julian Eymard writes):
"The Lord ‘hath set His tabernacle in the sun,’ says the Psalmist. The sun is Mary’s heart."

"O what a wonderful and intimate union is established between the soul and You, O lovable Lord, when it receives You in the Holy Eucharist! Then the soul becomes one with You, provided it is well disposed by the practice of the virtues, to imitate what You did in the course of Your life, Passion, and death." (St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi)


"In order to be like You, who are always alone in the Blessed Sacrament, I shall love solitude and try to converse with You as much as possible. Grant that my mind may not seek to know anything but You, that my heart may have no longings or desires but to love You. When I am obliged to take some comfort, I shall take care to see that it be pleasing to Your Heart. In my conversations, O divine Word, I shall consecrate all my words to You so that You will not permit me to pronounce a single one which is not for Your glory.... When I am thirsty, I shall endure it in honor of the thirst You endured for the salvation of souls.... If by chance, I commit some fault, I shall humble myself, and then take the opposite virtue from Your Heart, offering it to the eternal Father in expiation for my failure. All this I intend to do, O Eucharistic Jesus, to unite myself to You in every action of the day." ( St. Margaret Mary)


Jesus, what made You so small? LOVE! (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)


"Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love so that I may always long for you alone, who are the bread of angels and the fulfillment of the soul's deepest desires. May my heart always hunger for you, so that soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence" (Saint Bonaventure)

"The Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus. After this, there is nothing more but Heaven itself." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

"On the altar you are looking at the same thing as you saw there last night. You have not heard, however, what this is, what it signifies, or about the greatness of the reality of which it is a sacrament. Your eyes are looking at bread and cup. This is the evidence before your physical sight. But your faith must be instructed concerning it - this bread being Christ 's Body and the cup containing His Blood. Though perhaps these words may be enough to initiate faith, faith must be further instructed in accordance with the Prophet's words: 'Believe that you may understand' ( Is 7:9). (St. Augustine of Hippo)


"All expressions of love, even the highest and the most profound, are verified in the Eucharist. Thus, it is a Love that is crucified, a Love that unites, a Love that adores, a Love that contemplates, a Love that prays, a Love that delightfully satisfies," (Fr. Stefano Manelli, O.F.M. Conv., S.T.D.)

"For One in such a lofty position to stoop so low is a marvel that is staggering. What sublime humility and humble sublimeness, that the Lord of the Universe, the Divine Son of God, should stoop as to hide Himself under the appearance of bread for our salvation! Behold the humble way of God, my brothers. Therefore, do not hold yourselves to be anything of yourselves, so that you may be entirely acceptable to One Who gives Himself entirely to you." ( St. Francis of Assisi)

"In the presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament we ought to be like the Blessed in heaven before the Divine Essence." (St. Teresa of Avila)

"The holy Eucharist contains the whole spiritual treasure of the Church, that is, Christ himself.... He who is the living bread, whose flesh, vivified by the Holy Spirit and vivifying, gives life to men," (Presbyterorum
Ordinis,
Vatican II)

"God is as really present in the consecrated Host as He is in the glory of Heaven," (St. Paschal Baylon)

"Happy is the soul that knows how to find Jesus in the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in all things!," (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

"O Jesus, here present in the Holy Eucharist, Thy Heart is all aglow with
love for me!  Thou dost call me, Thou dost urge me to come to Thee." ( St. Ildephons)

"When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength." (Blessed Mother Teresa)

"Do not think that Jesus Christ is forgetful of you, since he has left you,
as the greatest memorial and pledge of his love, himself in the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Altar." (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

"Eternal Son of the living God, Whom I here acknowledge really present!  I adore Thee with all the powers of my soul.  Prostrate with the Angels in the most profound reverence, I love Thee, O my Saviour, Whom I now behold on the throne of Thy love!  O dread Majesty, O infinite Mercy!  Save me, forgive me!  Grant that I may never more be separated from Thee." (St. Basil)

“Christian love finds its origins in God, only in God. Without God, what is called love would be only sentimentality, but with God, love is an effusive, creative, dynamic force.”  (Most Reverend John H. Ricard, S.S.J., Bishop Emeritus of Pensacola-Tallahassee, speaks at the annual diocesan Marriage Jubilee Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Florida, on Feb. 4, 2007)

"Through the eucharistic prayer, the bread and wine are transformed into Christ, then we are transformed (and) called to transform the world. The Eucharist is not a passive happening. It calls us to be transformed and changed." (The quote is from Msgr. Michael Reed, Fmr. Rector of The Cathedral of The Sacred Heart-Pensacola, Florida. The quote is provided by "The Florida Catholic", 10/28/2005)

“Peter wanted to build tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. He wanted to hang on to this profound, mystical experience of the presence of God. They wanted to stay on that mountaintop. You, too, will want to hold onto the moment of nearness to God, but you will have to come back down from the mountain, just as the apostles did. We all have to come back down into the valley, until our souls are united with God in eternity. It’s God’s way of purifying, of purging us of all that is not of God, of everything that is not holy, not good. God purifies us through our difficulties, suffering and pain. That’s what this journey is all about. Don’t be discouraged by the rocks and stones along this narrow path. If you get off it, get right back on, because this is the path that leads to life eternal.” (Most Reverend John H. Ricard, S.S.J., Bishop Emeritus of Pensacola-Tallahassee, speaks to prospective Catholics at the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Florida, on March 4, 2007)

We still have in our gut the Church’s timeless “Valentine’s Day card,” that the love between a husband and a wife has the same characteristics as does that of God for us: it is faithful; it is forever; it brings about new life in children. (The Witness of Marriage 130th Supreme Convention-KOFC, Cardinal Dolan-2012)

Tension, trial, temptation, turmoil - - they come indeed, but - - just as Jesus worked His first miracle, at the request of His blessed Mother, for a newly married couple at Cana by turning water into wine - - so does Jesus transform those choppy waters of tension, trial, temptation, and turmoil, into a vintage wine of tried-and-true-trust in marriage. (The Witness of Marriage 130th Supreme Convention-KOFC, Cardinal Dolan-2012)

See, it’s not just saints, pontiffs, or theologians who predicate marriage and family as the central, love-promoting cell of the human project, but historians, sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists. They demonstrate that, when the normative relationship for a man and woman’s existence is that of a husband, wife, father, and mother, well, then, home, industry, finance, culture, society, and governing structures are more easily directed to virtue, responsibility, and the restraining of the primitive lust and selfishness that destroy civilization. Ask, for instance, Edward Gibbon, the author of The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, what happens when a culture loses this focus. (The Witness of Marriage 130th Supreme Convention-KOFC, Cardinal Dolan-2012)

The most effective guarantee of a civilization of love rather than the survival of the fittest; the culture of life over the culture of death; the law of the gift rather than the law of the “get”, solidarity rather than selfishness, is precisely the preservation of traditional marriage and family. When that goes, we all go. (The Witness of Marriage 130th Supreme Convention-KOFC, Cardinal Dolan-2012)

At times we lose people because they don’t understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people. Without the grammar of simplicity, the Church loses the very conditions which make it possible "to fish" for God in the deep waters of his Mystery. (Pope Francis to Brazilian Bishops During 2013 WYD)