christian-saints

"Much obscurity attaches to her history, and it is not easy to disentangle the actual facts of her history from the network of legend which medieval writers interwove with her acts. However, her fame, apart from her relationship to Ireland's national apostle, stands secure as not only a great saint but as the mother of many saints."

"Te de pauperibus natum suscepit alendum Christus, et immeritum sic enutriuit et auxit, Vt collata tibi miretur munera mundus. Nam puero faciles prouidit adesse magistros, Et iuuenem perduxit ad hoc ut episcopus esses. Reges, pontifices, populi te magnificabant, Seruum prudentem censentes atque fidelem Esse pii Domini. Sed pro pudor ipse nefande. Nec prudens neo fidus eras ut res manifestat. Nam contra memorare pudet quam nequiter ipsum Laeseris et sanctos eius tua praua tuentes, Quae uix ulla satis possunt tormenta piare. Prestolatur adhuc Dominus tamen ille benignus, Et te uiuere perpetitur, si forte resciscens Segnitiem zelo perimas, meritoque reatum."

"Chorus novae Ierusalem novam meli dulcedinem promat colens cum sobriis paschale festum gaudiis.Quo Christus, invictus leo, dracone surgens obruto, dum voce viva personat, a morte functos excitat."

"Fontaneto fontem dicunt, villam quoque rustici, ubi strages et ruina Francorum de sanguine; orrent campi, orrent silvae, orrent ipsi paludes.Gramen illud ros et ymber nec humectat pluvia, in quo fortes ceciderunt, proelio doctissimi, pater, mater, soror, frater, quos amici fleverant.Hoc autem scelus peractum, quod descripsi ritmice, Angelbertus ego vidi pugnansque cum aliis, solus de multis remansi prima frontis acie."

"O luctum atque lamentum! nudati sunt mortui. horum carnes vultur, corvus, lupus vorant acriter; orrent, carent sepulturis, vanum iacet cadaver."

"Ploratum et ululatum nec describo amplius; unusquique quantum potest restringatque lacrimas; pro illorum animabus deprecemur dominum."

"Maledicta dies illa, nec in anni circulo numeretur, sed radatur ab omni memoria, iubar solis illi desit, aurora crepusculo.Noxque illa, nox amara, noxque dura nimium, in qua fortes ceciderunt, proelio doctissimi, pater, mater, soror, frater, quos amici fleverant."

"Karoli de parte vero, Hludovici pariter albent campi vestimentis mortuorum lineis, velut solent in autumno albescere avibus."

"In the academy of men of letters which rendered Charlemagne's court illustrious Angilbert was known as Homer, and portions of his works, still extant, show that his skill in verse was considerable."

"Ima vallis retrospexi, verticemque iuieri, Ubi suos inimicos rex fortis Hlotharius Expugnabat fugientes usque forum rivulli."

"All the lands of the West have their eyes directed toward our humility; by them we are considered as a God upon earth."

"He was untiring in his efforts to conserve the moral life within his diocese, especially among the clergy and the religious orders."

"(To Pontius Pilate referring to Jesus) Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."

"At first we were confused. The East thought that we were West while the West considered us to be the East. Some of us misunderstood our place in this clash of currents, so they cried that we belong to neither side, and others that we belong exclusively to one side or the other. But I tell you, Irinej, we are doomed by fate to be the East in the West, and the West in the East, to acknowledge only heavenly Jerusalem beyond us and here on earth — no-one."

"In ipsa item catholica ecclesia magnopere curandum est, ut id teneamus quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est."

"Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”"

"(Before the Feeding the multitude) There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"

"(To Saint Peter referring to Jesus) We have found the Messiah."

"Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”"

"Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”"

"The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”"

"But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life."

"The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”"

"And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him."

"Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do."

"[Jesus:] "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”"

"Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”"

"My name is Onnophrius, and for sixty years I have lived in this solitary place and desert. I walk in the mountains like the wild beasts, and I live on the plants and trees, and I have not seen anyone I know."

"I rose and stretched out my hands and I prayed, and suddenly a man of light came to me, the one who had come to me the first time. And when he came, he stood over me and he strengthened me as he had done the first time. In short, seventeen days passed while I journeyed in this manner. Suddenly I looked in the distance. I saw a man coming who was completely fire, his hair spread out over his body like a leopard’s. Indeed, he was naked, and leaves from a plant covered his shameful parts. Now when he came close to me, I climbed up on a mountain ledge, thinking that he was a mountain man. Now when he came closer, he threw himself under the mountain ledge in the shade because he was exhausted and because of his hunger and thirst. Indeed, he was in grave danger of dying. He raised his eyes to the mountain ledge and called to me, saying, “Paphnutius, come down to me, man of God. I, too, am a man of the desert, like yourself. I live in this desert on account of God.”"

"He visited the main church dedicated to Saint Agatha, whose choir features forty-two beautifully carved images depicting the life of the saint, culminating in her coronation by Christ and Mary. The seats in the apse can accommodate sixteen clergymen, all of whom must be of noble birth and receive an annual income of one hundred and fifty scudi. In the church, which is long and narrow in shape, there is a chapel where the body of Saint Agatha is kept, securely closed by two doors, one made of iron and the other of copper, with eight different locks. The ceiling is decorated with ancient but still splendid paintings depicting the sufferings of Christ. The church has a beautiful bell tower with a melodious bell, which can be reached after climbing two hundred and forty-two steps."

"Lucy, a noble maiden from Syracuse, having heard of Saint Agatha's fame throughout Sicily, went to her tomb with her mother Euticia, who had been suffering from blood loss for four years and whom the doctors had been unable to cure. It so happened that during the celebration of Mass that day, the passage from the Gospel was read in which it is said that the Lord healed a woman from that same illness. Lucia then said to her mother: ‘If you believe what has been read, believe that Agatha always has beside her the one for whom she suffered martyrdom. Therefore, if you touch her tomb with faith, you will immediately regain your health.’ When everyone had left, the mother and daughter remained in prayer at the tomb. Lucia fell asleep and saw Agatha before her, adorned with precious stones, surrounded by angels, who said to her: 'My sister Lucy, virgin devoted to God, why do you ask me for what you yourself could obtain for your mother? Behold, thanks to your faith, she is healed."

"[Italian graphic novelist Fabia] Mustica recounts a promise made to Agatha years ago, following the moment her cherished cousin awoke from a deep coma caused by a car accident. This event coincided with the night the hospital chaplain circulated the Veil of Saint Agatha in the intensive care unit. This relic, treasured by the residents of Catania, is believed to be the same veil that endured while her tormentor, Quintianus, forced Agatha to walk over scorching coals and burn. Mustica vowed to dedicate a graphic novel to the saint. However, distracted by her busy life, she delayed fulfilling this promise until the saint reminded her during her prayer before her statue in Catania Cathedral."

"[5 February] Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr, who, while still young, preserved the purity of her body and the integrity of her faith during the persecution in Catania, Sicily, offering her testimony for Christ the Lord."

":*Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, quoted in Carlo Ruta (editor), Viaggiatori in Sicilia tra rinascimento e illuminismo, Edi.bi.si, Messina, 2007, pp. 34-35 (in Italian)."

"My opinion is that the best law is an education of quality, that begins in the family, grows at school and finds in society a stimulus for the formation of people. We are greatly lacking in civic friendship, we look at one another as mad people and not as brethren or as people who share the same ideal, the same purpose."

"We are both poets and we both like to play. That's the similarity. The difference is this: I like to play euchre. He likes to play Eucharist."

"The missionary mandate to evangelise brings with it profound social implications of the charity of proclamation and solidarity. The soul of this ecclesial charity is the Eucharistic Body of the Lord which makes the Church and unites the earthly people with the heavenly Church of the saints. In the liturgy, her action among peoples, the Church has always exercised a special mission, that of accessibility of liturgical forms for disciples of the innumerable human cultures."

"In his own poetic style, the French Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin liked to meditate on the Eucharist as the firstfruits of the new creation. In an essay called The Monstrance he describes how, kneeling in prayer, he had a sensation that the Host was beginning to grow until at last, through its mysterious expansion, "the whole world had become incandescent, had itself become like a single giant Host." Although it would probably be incorrect to imagine that the universe will eventually be transubstantiated, Teilhard correctly identified the connection between the Eucharist and the final glorification of the cosmos."

"...my belief in the sacrament of the Eucharist is simple: without touch, God is a monologue, an idea, a philosophy; he must touch and be touched, the tongue on flesh, and that touch is the result of the monologues, the idea, the philosophies which led to faith; but in the instant of the touch there is no place for thinking, for talking; the silent touch affirms all that, and goes deeper: it affirms the mysteries of love and mortality."

"Much is invested in the Liturgy. The number of persons that assist in the Eucharistic celebration, however, continues to decrease. The Liturgy finds itself involved in a continuous and damaging change. To the loss of the mystery, the sacred, the respect one must respond with an interiorization of the Liturgy: religiosity, holy silence, Eucharistic devotion and rediscovery of confession."

"For millions of men and women, the church has been the hospital for the soul, the school for the mind and the safe depository for moral ideas."

"We are looking to be more numerous, to gather more faithful for the Eucharist, to manifest more strongly the Catholic presence in our secularized societies. However, we cannot be satisfied by these quantitative perspectives. We are also called upon to a task of internal renewal of our Christian life."

"I'm so blessed by the Lord, the way He has revealed Himself to me through His Eucharist, and by the priests who have supported me all these years, and the people."

"I think I can say that living in the Divine Will is to walk precisely in this direction: to enter into intimacy with the Lord Jesus in the shadow of God's presence, allowing Jesus to accompany us and living our life with Him in every aspect. And so, it is not a question of doing the Divine Will in the sense of a purely material execution, as servants, but of living in It as children and letting ourselves be embraced by the love of God."

"We must work for this. Our God is the God of life and life is his gift. In no way can we be among those who work for death, on the contrary we must work for life. The Congress was a call to all men and women to remember we are loved by God and we must love him in return."

"It is my firm belief, that any devotion that leads the faithful to a more frequent and fruitful celebration of the sacraments, especially reconciliation and the most holy Eucharist, deserves to be supported."

"Experience tells me that when there is great concern about cultivating this intrinsic dynamism in the Eucharistic celebration, the way of our communities and of the individual faithful becomes alive and strong."

"If they love their eternal health, never neglect a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to the Most Holy Mary of Sorrows."

"A mystery is something that can never be fully known. There's always more to know about a mystery. And the beautiful thing is, it's a mystery that can capture your whole life. This mystery has the power to not only transform us through an encounter but then actually teach us how to live a eucharistic life, which is a life of self-gift in imitation of Jesus' gift. It makes me want to be able to give myself more and more with, for and in Jesus. It's this mystery that will never be exhausted."

"Dear young people, today as we look up at the sky, we see that the rain we wanted all summer long is falling. I am also looking at you and believe that you are the saving rain that soaks the earth and makes it fertile."