April 30th

St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), Virgin, Doctor of the Church; Siena, Italy; Feast day April 30

"To acquire purity of the soul, it is necessary to guard against passing judgment on our neighbor, or useless remarks on his conduct."

"What have You taught me, O Love Uncreated?  You have taught me that I should bear patiently like a lamb, not only harsh words, but even blows harsh and hard, and injury and loss."

"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 hart 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."

"O loving, tender Word of God, You tell me: 'I have marked the path and opened the gate with My blood; do not be negligent in following it, but take the same road which I, eternal Truth, have traced out with My Blood.'  Arise, my soul, and follow your Redeemer, for no one can go to the Father but by Him.  O sweet Christ, Christ-Love, You are the way, and the door through which we must enter in order to reach the Father."

"O You who are mad about Your creature! true God and true Man, You have left Yourself wholly to us, as food, so that we will not fall through weariness during our pilgrimage in this life, but will be fortified by You, celestial nourishment."

April 29th
St Louis de Montfort (1673-1716), Priest, Confessor; Montfort, France; Feast day April 29th

"Can we love someone we do not even know?  Can we love deeply someone we know only vaguely?  Why is Jesus, the adorable, eternal and incarnate Wisdom loved so little if not because he is either too little known or not known at all?...Yet this is the most noble, the most consoling, the most useful and the most vital of all sciences and subjects in heaven and on earth."

"Pray with great confidence, with confidence based on the goodness and infinite generosity of God and upon the promises of Jesus Christ.  God is a spring of living water which flows unceasingly into the hearts of those who pray."

"The cross is the greatest gift God could bestow on His Elect on earth.  There is nothing so necessary, so beneficial, so sweet, or so glorious as to suffer something for Jesus.  If you suffer as you ought, the cross will become a precious yoke that Jesus will carry with you."

"Mary alone gives to the unfortunate children of unfaithful Eve entry into that earthly paradise where they may walk pleasantly with God and be safely hidden from their enemies.  There they can feed without fear of death on the delicious fruit of the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They can drink copiously the heavenly waters of that beauteous fountain which gushes forth in such abundance."

"She [Mother Mary] is an echo of God, speaking and repeating only God.  If you say 'Mary' she says 'God'."

"If you put all the love of all the mothers into one heart it still would not equal the love of the Heart of Mary for her children."

"Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray.  This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood."

"We fasten our souls to Your hope, as to an abiding anchor.  It is to Her that the saints who have saved themselves have been the most attached and have done their best to attach others, in order to persevere in virtue.  Happy, then, a thousand times happy, are the Christians who are now fastened faithfully and entirely to Her, as to a firm anchor!"

April 28th
St Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962), Confessor; Magenta, Italy; Feast day April 28th

"If one were to consider how much Jesus has suffered, one would not commit the smallest sin."

Ven. Louis of Granada (1505-1588), Confessor; Granada, Spain

"Remember that Our Lord and Saviour, at His coming into this world, disdained to possess riches, which are the object of your desires.  On the contrary, He so loved poverty that He chose for His Mother not a rich and powerful queen, but a poor and humble Virgin.  He willed to be born, not in a palace, but in a bleak stable, the manger of which, covered with a little straw, was His only couch....

"Man cannot freely rise to God and the contemplation of His beauty while he is breathless in the pursuit of riches.  A heart filled with material and earthly pleasures can never know spiritual and divine joys.  No; it is impossible to unite what is false with what is true; what is spiritual with what is carnal; what is temporal with what is eternal; they can never dwell together in one heart."

April 27th
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Roccasecca, Italy; Feast day March 7th

"All sin proceeds from self-love, for we never commit sin without coveting some gratification for self."

Ven. Louis of Granada (1505-1588), Confessor; Granada, Spain

"Be patient in bearing persecution, for the patient endurance of affronts is the touchstone of true humility.  Never despise the poor and abject, for their misery should move us to compassion rather than contempt.  Be not too eager for rich apparel, for humility is incompatible with a love of display.  One who is too solicitous about his dress is a slave to the opinions of men, for he certainly would not expend so much labor upon it if he thought he would not be observed.  Beware, however, of going to the other extreme and dressing in a manner unsuited to your position.  While claiming to despise the approbation or notice of the world, many secretly strive for it by their singularity and exaggerated simplicity.  Finally, do not disdain humble and obscure employments.  Only the proud seek to avoid these, for the  man of true humility deems nothing in the world beneath him."

April 26th

St Bernard (1090-1153), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Fontaine-les-Dijon, France; Feast day August 20th

"God has two feet, one of justice and the other of mercy.  We must embrace both, lest justice separated from mercy should cause us to despair, or mercy without justice should excite in us presumption."

St Mary Magdalena de Pazzi (1566-1607), Virgin; Florence, Italy; Feast day May 29th

"If I am in contemplation, God is helping me; if I assist my neighbor, I am helping God."

St Ambrose (340-397), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Present day Trier, Germany; Feast day December 7th

"If strength is wanting, pray to God and He will give it to you."

April 25th
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Roccasecca, Italy; Feast day March 7th

"In recalling to mind the life and actions of the saints, walk in their footsteps as much as possible, and humble yourself if you can not attain to their perfection."

St Alphonsus (1696-1787), Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Marianella, Naples; Feast day August 2nd

"Blessed are the actions enclosed between two Hail Marys."

St Vincent de Paul (1580-1660), Confessor, Priest, Founder; Gascony, France; Feast day July 19th

"Prayer teaches us the need of laying before God all our necessities, of corresponding with His grace, of banishing vice from our heart and of establishing virtue in it."

April 24th
St Fidelis of Sigmarengen (1577-1622), Martyr; Sigmarengen, Germany; Feast day April 24th

"Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by passion, they know not what they do.  Lord Jesus, have pity on me.  Mary, mother of Jesus, assist me."

St Bernard (1090-1153), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Fontaine-les-Dijon, France; Feast day August 20th

"The deceitful charms of prosperity destroy more souls than all the scourges of adversity."

St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), Virgin, Doctor of the Church; Avila, Spain; Feast day, October 15th

"I have noticed that all persons who have true devotion to St Joseph and tender him special honor, are very much advanced in virtue, for he takes great care of souls who recommend themselves to him; and I have never asked of him anything which he did not obtain for me."

April 23rd
St Adalbert (956-997), Bishop, Martyr; Bohemia; Feast day April 23rd

"It is an easy thing to wear the mitre and a cross; but it is a most dreadful circumstance to have an account to give of a bishopric to the Judge of the living and the dead."

St Gregory the Great (540-604), Confessor, Pope, Doctor of the Church; Rome, Italy; Feast day March 12th

"By the other virtues we give to God what belongs to us; by obedience we give Him ourselves."

St Coletta (1380-1447), Virgin; Picardy, France; Feast day March 6th

"The renunciation of self-will is more meritorious than the sacrifice of all the riches of the world."

April 22nd
St Tharba (d. 341), Martyr; Persia; Feast day April 22nd

"Most impudent of men, how could you again entertain such a dishonest thought?  For me courageously to die is to live; but life, purchased by baseness, is worse than any death."

St Epipodius (d. 177), Martyr; Lyon, France; Feast day April 22nd

"You, after having defiled yourselves with pleasures like brute beasts, find nothing at last but a sorrowful death; whereas we, when you destroy us, enter into eternal life."

"I confess that Jesus Christ is God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  It is but reasonable that I should resign my soul to Him who has created me and redeemed me.  This is not losing my life, but changing it into a better."

St Alexander (d. 177), Martyr; Lyon, France; Feast day April 22nd

"The God Whom I adore, and Who alone is the Almighty and Eternal God, I trust will give me grace to confess Him to my last breath, as the guardian of my faith and resolution."

April 21st

St Anselm (1033-1109), Confessor, Bishop; Aosta, Burgundy; Feast day April 21st

"Redeemer, my good Jesus, do not despise the prayers of one who has sinned against You, but strengthen the efforts of a weakling that loves You.

"Shake my heart out of its indolence, Lord, and in the ardour of Your love bring me to the everlasting sight of Your glory where with the Father and the Holy Spirit, You live and reign, God, for ever.  Amen."

"Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand.  For this, too, I believe, that, unless I first believe, I shall not understand."

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Roccasecca, Italy; Feast day March 7th

"The understanding can never be so filled that it will not desire to grasp more while there remains more to be learned; and the will can never love and relish so  much good that it will not desire to possess more, if more be possible.  Consequently these two powers will never know rest until thy have attained a universal object containing all good, which, once known and loved, leaves no other truth to be known, no other good to be desired.  Hence no created thing, were it the whole universe, can satisfy man's heart.  God alone, for whom he was created, can do this."

April 20th
Ven. Louis of Granada (1505-1588), Confessor; Granada, Spain


"Nor will these offenses remain unpunished, for God's justice, which protects His mercy, cannot permit your sinful abuse of it to remain unavenged.  This is not a new pretext; the world has long made use of it.  In ancient times it distinguished the false from the true prophets.  While the latter announced to the people, in God's name, the justice with which He would punish their iniquities, the former, speaking in their own name, promised them mercy which was but a false peace and security.  You say God's mercy is great; but if you presume upon it you show that you have never studied the greatness of His justice...

"But the strongest proof of the rigor of God's justice was the satisfaction required for sin, which was nothing less than the death of His only-begotten Son.  Think of the Price of man's Redemption, and you will begin to realize what sin is and how the justice of God regards it.  Think, too, of the eternity of Hell, and judge of the rigor of that justice which inflicts such punishment.  This justice terrifies you, but it is no less certain than the mercy in which you trust."

Padre Pio (1887-1968), Confessor, Stigmatic; Pietrelcina, Italy; Feast day September 23rd 

"Do you not see our Lady always beside the tabernacle?"

April 19th
St Elphage (AD 1012), Bishop, Martyr; Derherste, England; Feast day April 19th

"O good Shepherd!  O incomparable Shepherd! look with compassion on the children of thy church, which I, dying, recommend to thee."

St Augustine (354-430), Confessor, Bishop, Father of the Church; Thagaste, Algeria; Feast day August 28th

"I was plunged in iniquity, and Thy anger was aroused against me, but I knew it not.  I was deaf to the noise which the chains of my sins made.  But this ignorance, this deafness, were the punishments of my pride."

Padre Pio (1887-1968), Confessor, Stigmatic; Pietrelcina, Italy; Feast day September 23rd 

"Suffering, no matter how difficult it may be, when compared to the good that is accomplished, makes every pain a joy for the soul."

April 18th
St Apollonius the Apologist (d. 185), Martyr; Rome, Italy; Feast day April 18th

"There is waiting for me something better: eternal life, given to the person who has lived well on earth."

Bl Marie-Anne Blondin (1809-1890), Virgin, Foundress; Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada; Feast day April 18th

"As for me, my Lord, I bless Divine Providence a thousand times for the maternal care she shows me in making me walk the way of tribulations and crosses."

"May Holy Eucharist and perfect abandonment to God's Will be your heaven on earth."

"There is more happiness in forgiving than in revenge."

Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Confessor; Kempen, Germany

"Without any delay You forgave Mary Magdalen's many sins, as she wept copious tears at Your feet.  And Peter, after he had three times denied You and had cried bitterly, You again took into Your fellowship.  In Your mercy You restored to health those afflicted with various diseases and because of Your abundant love You freed those held captive by their serious sins.  This is clear in the case of the adulteress, whom You snatched from the clutches of her accusers and delivered from being stoned.

O lovable Jesus, my mercy and my refuge, who protect and deliver me from the wrath of my enemies, be merciful to me and let not my soul perish among the ungodly, for it was precisely in order to redeem my soul that You voluntarily suffered Your crucifixion.

April 17th
St Stephen Harding (d. 1134), Abbot, Confessor; Dorset, England; Feast day April 17th

"I assure you that I go to God in fear and trembling.  If my baseness should be found to have ever done any good, even in this I fear, lest I should not have preserved that grace with the humility and care I ought."


St Simeon (AD 341); Bishop, Martyr; Persia; Feast day April 17th

"I would not adore you, O king; and you far excel the sun, being endued with reason.  We Christians have no Lord but Christ, who was crucified."
"Hear me, O Jesus, though most undeserving and unworthy, grant that I may drink this cup on this day, and at the hour of Your passion.  May all know that Simeon was obedient to his Lord and was sacrificed with Him."

St Augustine (354-430), Confessor, Bishop, Father of the Church; Thagaste, Algeria; Feast day August 28th

"Men go to Hell through hope, as well as through despair: through a presumptuous hope during life, and through despair at the hour of death."

April 16th
St Bernardette Soubirous (1844-1879), Virgin; Lourdes, France; Feast day April 16th

"[She is] so lovely that, when you have seen her once, you would willingly die to see her again!"

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a poor sinner."

"The Blessed Virgin chose me only because I was the  most ignorant."


Bl Joachim Piccolomini (1258-1305), Confessor; Sienna, Italy; Feast day April 16th

"You have taught me that an alms is given to Jesus Christ, in the persons of the poor: can we refuse Him anything?  And what is the advantage of riches, but that they be employed in purchasing treasures in heaven?"

St Magnus (d. 1104), Bishop, Martyr; Orkney, Scotland; Feast day April 16th

"I am ready to die a thousand times over for the cause of God and his flock; but in his name I command you to spare his people."

April 15th
St Peter Gonzales (1190-1246), Priest, Confessor; Galicia, Spain; Feast day April 15th

"If you love me, follow me!  If you cannot follow me, forget me!"

Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Confessor; Kempen, Germany

"Lord, I praise and glorify Your steadfastness and perseverance in remaining on the Cross You embraced, and from which neither flattery nor empty promises could induce You to descend -- not for one brief moment would You have abandoned that which You had willingly ascended.  It was Your firm decision to remain unto the end and to die on the Cross You had chosen with so holy a love; likewise it was always Your desire to bring to a glorious end the work of salvation that You had initiated.  You, who taught others to persevere in doing good works, manifested Your obedience by remaining on the Cross, and by that example of Yours, You indicated to Your followers that they too must show constancy in being obedient."

St John Chrysostom (347-407), Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Antioch; Feast day September 13th

"If we keep ourselves in the presence of God we shall neither think nor say nor do what is wrong, convinced as we are that God is the witness of all our thoughts and words and actions."

"If you remove boiling water from the stove, it will soon cool off.  So it is with the human soul; to keep the fire of God's love aglow, the thought of His presence must be constantly before us."

April 14th
Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Confessor; Kempen, Germany

Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all things and Giver of all good things, I bless and thank You for enduring Your violent disrobing and, amid mockery, the ripping off of Your clothing....By doing without Your clothes You clearly indicate what I must do when something I deem necessary is taken from me.  You want me to be prepared to prefer temporal losses rather than to seek whatever is legitimately due me....

To meditate on such great affliction arouses compassion in us and to witness such great endurance invites us to imitation.  Therefore, show more patience when something you consider a necessity has been taken from you, or when what you deeply desire is denied you....

Grant me, as your seamless garment is its sign, to preserve the unity of brotherly love in the bond of peace and, for the love of interior peace, to reject all that may lead to dissension.  May I avoid the bustle of this world, abstain from wandering about, and engaging in useless gossip, and may I desire to lead a pure and hidden life with You.  Let me not crave worldly happiness or want to own things.  While You were on this earth You possessed no worldly goods, and the little that You seemed to use to fulfill Your needs, even this You permitted the despoilers to take from You and disperse.  In this manner You give an example of patience to all who suffer wrongs done to them, lest they yield to inordinate sadness over the loss of their belongings.

April 13th
St Hermenegild (AD 586), Martyr; Spain; Feast day April 13th

"I confess your goodness to me has been extreme.  I will preserve to my dying breath the respect, duty, and tenderness which I owe you; but is it possible that you should desire me to prefer worldly greatness to my salvation?  I value the crown as nothing; I am ready to lose sceptre and life too, rather than abandon the divine truth."

Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Confessor; Kempen, Germany

"Who of us can now despair about not having his sins forgiven,when they, who crucified the Dispenser of pardon, experienced such abounding kindness?  My soul, though you may be guilty of many crimes, do not despair.  You may be caught in the web of your evil passions and may be subject to many severe temptations, nevertheless, disheartened one, you still have the hope of life.  The bowels of mercy are available to you, and the Cross, nails, lance, and Jesus' many blood-covered wounds are witnesses of that mercy.

"Penetrate deeply into the five sacred wounds of the Crucified, kiss His other wounds, cling to the tree of life with loving arms, and hold fast to Jesus hanging on His Cross, for He is the certain pledge of our salvation.  Worship Him devoutly, commit yourself to Him with full faith, and abandon yourself completely into His hands.  Since He had shown Himself to be good and merciful to His enemies, then He will certainly be more gracious to one who sorrows over his sins."

April 12th
St Zeno (AD 380), Bishop of Verona, Confessor; Africa; Feast day April 12th

"For what can be richer than a man to whom God is pleased to acknowledge himself debtor?"

"How earnestly do I desire, if I were able, to celebrate thee, O Patience, queen of all things! but by my life and manners more than by my words.  For thou rest in thy own action and council more than in discourses, and in perfecting rather than in multiplying virtues.  Thou are the support of virginity, the secure harbour of widowhood, the guide and directress of the married state, the unanimity of friendship, the comfort and joy of slavery, to which thou art often liberty.  --By thee, poverty enjoys all, because, content with itself, it bears all.  By thee, the prophets were advanced in virtue, and the apostles united to Christ.  Thou are the daily crown and mother of the martyrs.  Thou are the bulwark of faith, the fruit of hope, and the friend of charity.  Thou conduct all the people and all divine virtues, as disheveled hairs bound up into one knot, for ornament and honour.  Happy, eternally happy, is he who shall always possess thee in his soul."

"O Charity! how tender, how rich, how powerful art thou!  He who possesses not thee, has nothing.  thou could change God into man.  Thou have overcome death, by teaching a God to die."

St Julius (AD 352), Pope, Confessor; Rome, Italy; Feast day April 12th

"If they had been guilty, you should have written to us all, that judgment might have been given by all: for they were bishops and churches that suffered, and these not common churches, but the same that the apostles themselves had governed.  Why did they  not write to us especially concerning the church of Alexandria?  Are you ignorant, that it is the custom to write to us immediately, and that the decision ought to come from hence?  In case therefore that the bishop of that see lay under any suspicions, you ought to have written to our church.  But now, without having sent us any information on the subject, and having acted just as you thought proper, you require of us to approve your measures, without sending us any account of the reasons of your proceedings.  These are not the ordinances of Paul, this is not the tradition of our fathers; this is an unprecedented sort of conduct.  I declare to you what we have learned from the blessed Apostle Peter, and I believe it so well known to everybody, that I should not have mentioned it, had not this happened."

April 11th
St Leo the Great (400-461), Pope, Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Tuscany, Italy; Feast day April 11th

"Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad.  For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity.  No one is kept from sharing in this happiness.  There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord, the destroyer of sin and death, finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all.  Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory.  Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon.  Let the gentile take courage in that he is called to life."

"For what is the fruit of our partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, but that we may pass into that which we receive; and that in Whom we are dead, and buried, and raised again (in the newness of our spirit and life) we may bear Him both in spirit and in our flesh through all things."

St Gemma Galgani (1878-1903), Virgin; Camiliagno, Italy; Feast day April 11th

"I felt an inward sorrow for my sins, but so intense that I have never felt the like again...My will made me detest them all, and promise willingly to suffer everything as expiation for them.  Then the thoughts crowded thickly within me, and they were thoughts of sorrow, love, fear, hope and comfort."

"Is it possible that there are souls who do not understand what the Blessed Eucharist is?  Who are insensible to the Divine Presence...to the mysterious and fervent effusions of the Sacred Heart of my Jesus?  O Heart of Jesus!  Heart of love!"

"...Gemma alone can do nothing.  But together, Gemma and Jesus can do all things!"

April 10th
Ven. Louis of Granada (1505-1588), Confessor; Granada, Spain

"Make a firm resolution never to speak or act under the influence of anger, nor to heed any suggestions, however plausible, which your heart may urge at such moments.  Never act until your anger has subsided, or until you have once or twice repeated the Our Father or some other prayer."

St Gregory the Great (540-604), Confessor, Pope, Doctor of the Church; Rome, Italy; Feast day March 12th

"God promises to receive the repentant sinner when he returns to Him, but nowhere does He promise to give him tomorrow."

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Roccasecca, Italy; Feast day March 7th

"God never punishes twice for the same fault, if a first chastisement suffices and if the fault be corrected following the punishment.  Yet we, miserable creatures that we are, would inflict, if it were in our power, one hundred quite terrible punishments for one single injury that is done to us."

"The more a soul has been modeled on its Creator in this world, the more it will be like Him in the life to come; and the more it is like Him, the greater will e its bliss, the more it will give glory to God, and the more it will be useful to every creature."

April 9th
St Mary of Egypt (d. 421), Penitent, Hermit; Egypt

"Often the tyranny of my old passions seemed ready to drag me out of the desert: at those times I threw myself on the ground and watered it with my tears, raising my heart continually to the Blessed Virgin till she procured me comfort: and she has never failed to show herself my faithful protectress."

Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Confessor; Kempen, Germany

"So forcibly were You nailed to the Cross that Your body's veins suddenly burst open and streams of Your precious blood flowed freely from Your various wounds.  So harshly were You stretched, both lengthwise and in breadth -- similar to the skin membrane on a drum -- that all the joints in Your body gave way and Your every bone could be counted.  You allowed Your hands and feet to be transfixed by evil men, and in this way Your sacred hands, while nailed to the Cross, paid back the heavy debt incurred by Adam, who had extended his deadly hands to the forbidden tree.  By Your precious blood You wiped away that long-standing debt."

"Do not place too much trust in men.  There are few who, in the time of need, prove faithful, and loyal friends are rare.  Do not be surprised at this nor take it amiss.  Christ knew what it was to be deserted by friends and to be surrounded by enemies.  He, who always did good to others, received gross ingratitude in return."

April 8th
St Dionysius of Corinth (d. 171), Bishop, Confessor; Corinth, Greece

"You also by this instruction have mingled together the Romans and Corinthians, who are the planting of Peter and Paul.  For they both came to our Corinth and planted us, and taught alike; and alike going to Italy and teaching there, were martyred at the same time."

Padre Pio (1887-1968), Confessor, Stigmatic; Pietrelcina, Italy; Feast day September 23rd

"The harm that comes to souls from the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder . . . What power spiritual reading has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into the way of perfection."

Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Confessor; Kempen, Germany

"For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step."

April 7th
St Mary Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), Virgin; Glogowiec, Russian Empire (now Poland); Feast day October 5th

"He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God.  As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart."

"All for you, Jesus.  I desire to adore Your mercy with every beat of my heart and to the extent that I am able, to encourage souls to trust in that mercy, as You Yourself have commanded me, O Lord."

"If only souls would become recollected, God would speak to them at once, for dissipation drowns out the word of the Lord."

"I rejoice that God dwells within me; here I abide with Him unendingly; it is here that my greatest intimacy with Him exists; here I dwell with Him in safety; here is a place not probed by the human eye."

"Now I understand that what unites our souls most closely with God is self-denial; that is, joining our will to the will of God.  This is what makes the soul truly free, contributes to profound recollection of the spirit, and makes all life's burdens light, and death sweet."


St Albert the Great (1206-1280), Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Lauingen, Bavaria; Feast day November 15th

"The Eucharist produces impulses of angelic love and has the singular capacity of effecting in souls a holy, instinctive tenderness for the Queen of the Angels.  She has given us Flesh of her flesh and Bone of her bone, and in the Eucharist she continues to give us this sweet, virginal, Heavenly Food."

April 6th
St Celestine I (d. 432); Pope, Confessor; Rome, Italy

"We are deservedly to blame if we encourage error by silence."

Ven. Louis of Granada (1505-1588), Confessor; Granada, Spain

"To the worldly, virtue wears a forbidding look; to sacrifice their worldly pleasures for her would be to buy her at too dear a rate.  But when they draw near they see how lovely she is, and when they have once tasted the sweetness she possesses they cheerfully surrender all they have to win her friendship and love.  How gladly did the man in the gospel hasten to sell all he had to purchase the field which contained a treasure!

"Why, then, do Christians make so little effort to obtain this inestimable good?  If a companion assured you that a treasure lay hidden in your house, you would not fail to search for it, even though you doubted its existence.  Yet though you know, on the infallible word of God, that you can find a priceless treasure within your own breast, you do nothing to discover it.  Oh!  That you would realize its value!  Would that you knew how little it costs to obtain it, and how 'nigh is the Lord unto all them that call upon him, that call upon him in truth.'"


 

April 5th
St Vincent Ferrer (1357-1419), Priest, Confessor; Valencia, Spain

"Do you desire to study to your advantage?  Let devotion accompany all your studies, and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint.  Consult God more than your books, and ask Him, with humility, to make you understand what you read.  Study fatigues and drains the mind and heart.  Go from time to time to refresh them at the feet of Jesus Christ under His cross.  Some moments of repose in His sacred wounds give fresh vigour and new lights.  Interrupt your application by short, but fervent and ejaculatory prayers: never begin or end your study but by prayer.  Science is a gift of the Father of Lights: do not therefore consider it as barely the work of your own mind or industry."

"For whosoever will proudly dispute or contradict, will always stand without the door.  Christ, the master of humility, manifests His truth only to the humble, and hides Himself from the proud."

St Maria Crescentia Hoss (1682-1744), Virgin; Kaufbeuren, Bavaria

"God wants the monastery rich in virtue, not in temporal goods."

St Augustine (354-430), Confessor, Bishop, Father of the Church; Thagaste, Algeria; Feast day August 28th

"A single tear shed at the remembrance of the Passion of Jesus is worth more than a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or a year of fasting on bread and water."

April 4th
St Gaetano Catanoso (1879-1973), Priest, Confessor; Chorio, Italy

"The Holy Face is my life.  He is my strength."

Padre Pio (1887-1968), Confessor, Stigmatic; Pietrelcina, Italy; Feast day September 23rd 

"It is quite true, we are not worthy of such a gift [the Blessed Sacrament].  However, to approach the Blessed Sacrament in a state of mortal sin is one thing, and to be unworthy is quite another.  All of us are unworthy, but it is He who invites us.  It is He who desires it.  Let us humble ourselves and receive Him with a heart contrite and full of love."

"Every experienced merchant in this world not only keeps track throughout the day of whether he has lost or gained on each sale.  In the evening, he does the bookkeeping for the day to determine what he should do on the morrow.  It follows that it is indispensable to make a rigorous examination of conscience, brief but lucid, every night."

St Paul of the Cross (1694-1775), Confessor; Ovada, Italy; Feast day April 28th

"The holy sufferings of Jesus is a sea of sorrows, but it is also a sea of love.  Ask the Lord to teach you to fish in this sea.  Immerse yourself in it, and, no matter how deeply you go, you will never reach the bottom.  Allow yourself to be penetrated with love and sorrow.  In this way you will make the sufferings of the gentle Jesus your own.  Fish for the pearls of the virtues of Jesus.  This holy fishing is done without words."

April 3rd
St Richard (1197-1253), Bishop, Confessor;  Doitwich, England  

"Lord Jesus Christ, I thank Thee for all the blessings Thou hast given me, and for all the sufferings and shame Thou didst endure for me, on which account that pitiable cry of sorrow was Thine:  "Behold and see, if there was any sorrow like unto My sorrow!"  Thou knowest, Lord, how willing I should be to bear insult, and pain, and death for Thee; therefore have mercy on me, for to Thee do I commend my spirit.  Amen."

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Confessor, Doctor of the Church; Haute Savoie, France; Feast day, January 29th

"But especially I commend earnest mental prayer to you, more particularly such as bears upon the Life and Passion of our Lord.  If you contemplate Him frequently in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with Him, you will grow in His Likeness, and your actions will be molded on His.  He is the Light of the world; therefore in Him, by Him, and for Him we shall be enlightened and illuminated."


Padre Pio (1887-1968), Confessor, Stigmatic; Pietrelcina, Italy; Feast day September 23rd



"If you do not succeed in meditation well, do not give up doing your duty.  If the distractions are numerous, do not be discouraged; do the meditation in patience, and you will still profit.  Decide upon the length of your meditation, and do not leave your place before finishing, even if you have to be crucified.  Why do you worry so much because you do not know how to meditate as you would like?  Meditation is a means to attaining God, but it is not a goal in itself.  Meditation aims at the love of God and neighbor.  Love God with all your soul without reserve, and love your neighbor as yourself, and you will have accomplished half of your meditation."

April 2nd
St Theodosia (d. 308), Virgin, Martyr; Tyre, Lebanon

"By your cruelty you procure  me that great happiness which it was my grief to see deferred.  I rejoice to see myself called to this crown, and return hearty thanks to God for vouchsafing me such a favor."

St Bonaventure (1221-1274), Bishop, Doctor of the Church;  Bagnoregio, Italy; Feast day July 14th

"He who desires to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace should meditate continually on the Passion of Jesus.  There is no practice more profitable for the entire sanctification of the soul than the frequent meditation of the sufferings of Jesus Christ."

St Paul of the Cross (1694-1775), Confessor; Ovada, Italy; Feast day April 28th

"The remembrance of the most holy Passion of Jesus Christ is the door through which the soul enters into intimate union with God, interior recollection and most sublime contemplation...."

April 1st
St Hugh (1053-1132), Bishop, Confessor; Grenoble, France

"By prayer, I always find myself stronger."

"Vanity and inordinate affections suffice to damn a soul.  It is only through the divine mercy that we can hope to be saved, and shall we ever cease to implore it?"

"This life is all given us for weeping and penance, not for idle discourses."

Bl Anacleto Gonzalez Flores (1888-1927), Martyr; Jalisco, Mexico

"The country is a jail for the Catholic Church....We are not worried about defending our material interests because these come and go; but our spiritual interests, these we will defend because they are necessary to obtain our salvation."

"I die, but God does not die!"

Padre Pio (1887-1968), Confessor, Stigmatic; Pietrelcina, Italy; Feast day September 23rd

"Confession is the soul's bath.  You must go at least once a week.  I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week.  Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week and you will see that it needs dusting again!"