Catholic Saints

"Here before my eyes is our sweet Saviour crowned with thorns. My crown would mock Him if I dared kneel at His feet bedecked with gold and jewels."

"Of works of charity she never wearied."

"St. Casimir was possessed of great charms of person and character, and was noted particularly for his justice and chastity."

"Well educated himself, he demanded solid learning in his clergy. He was known as a good and fluent speaker."

"Convinced that the great need of her times was a better instruction of young girls in the rudiments of the Christian religion, she converted her home into a school where at stated intervals she daily gathered all the little girls of Desenzano and taught them the elements of Christianity. It is related that one day, while in an ecstasy, she had a vision in which it was revealed to her that she was to found an association of virgins who were to devote their lives to the religious training of young girls. The school she had established at Desenzano soon bore abundant fruit."

"Indefatigable in the cause of education, both ecclesiastical and secular, he raised the standard of study and discipline."

"Great spiritual desolation purified her soul during a great portion of her religious life, but she cheerfully took the royal road of the cross."

"A few days ago, I saw something that consoled me very much. It was during my thanksgiving, when I was making a few reflections on the goodness of God — and how would it be possible not to think of this in such moments: of this infinite goodness, uncreated goodness, source of all goodness! And without which there would be no goodness, neither in people nor in other creatures."

"The surrendered soul has found paradise on earth."

"I understand the full extent of the expression to surrender oneself, but I cannot explain it. I only know that it is very vast, that it embraces both the present and the future."

"My one occupation is to live in the presence of my Heavenly Father."

"Dominic, who wished to found a religious Order of theologian-preachers, reminds us that theology has a spiritual and pastoral dimension that enriches the soul and life. Priests, the consecrated and also all the faithful may find profound "inner joy" in contemplating the beauty of the truth that comes from God, a truth that is ever timely and ever alive. Moreover the motto of the Friars Preachers contemplata aliis tradere helps us to discover a pastoral yearning in the contemplative study of this truth because of the need to communicate to others the fruit of one's own contemplation."

"Per sapïenza in terra fue | di cherubica luce uno splendore. (Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia XI, 37-39)"

"I believe, Most Blessed Father, that in order to reward Mr. Duca's ardent faith in some way, Your Holiness should have the kindness to confer upon him or his brother Don Rodrigo, canon of the cathedral of Toulouse, the sacred purple, which he has already earned through his expeditions, staining it with the accursed blood of those wretches. It is enough for his name to be heard in these countries for the Albigensian heretics to tremble from head to toe. His custom is to go around the courts, dispatching the most angry ones in one fell swoop. Those who fall into his hands are forced to profess our faith with the formula prescribed by Your Holiness. If they refuse, he has them beaten thoroughly while the stake is lit. Then he asks them if they are repentant and, upon hearing that they are not, concludes: “Either believe or die.” They are burned slowly to give them time to repent and earn eternal forgiveness. Some of these wretched souls, though very rarely, showed signs of retraction and horror at the death they deservedly suffered as they breathed their last; and I consoled myself in the Lord by observing those acts that could be signs of repentance. The more they struggled, the more we rejoiced in"

"Be at peace; place everything on my shoulders. I will take care of it. I give my penitents only small penances because I do the rest myself."

"Faith! Have Faith! God is both doctor and medicine."

"Nascondiamo tutto, anche quello che può avere apparenza di dono di Dio, affinché non se ne faccia mercato. A Dio solo l'onore e la gloria! Se fosse possibile, noi dovremmo passare sulla terra come un'ombra che non lascia traccia di sé."

"If I were to meet those men who abducted me, or even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for it that hadn’t happened, I would not be a Christian and a religious today."

"When a person loves another very much, she greatly wished to meet that person. Why then should I be afraid of death? Death brings us to God."

"Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: Who could be the Master of these beautiful things? And I felt a great desire to see him, to know Him and to pay Him homage..."

"I pity them! No doubt they were unaware of the anguish they caused me. They were the masters and I was the slave. Just as it is natural for us to do good, so it is natural for them to behave as they did behave to me. They did so out of habit, not out of wickedness."

"Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!"

"There has been no satisfaction, and I will not absolve them."

"For the Name of Jesus and the protection of the Church I am ready to embrace death."

"I am ready to die for my Lord, that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace. But in the name of Almighty God, I forbid you to hurt my people whether clerk or lay."

"God has assigned each person a specific mission in this world: as He created the universe, He arranged primal causes so that the uninterrupted chain of their effects would engender the conditions and circumstances most favorable to carrying out that mission. Every man, therefore, is born with skills proportionate to the mission entrusted to him and, throughout the course of his life, environment, circumstances, and everything else contribute to make it possible and easy for him to achieve his aim. In fact, man’s perfection entirely consists in the attainment of that aim. The more accurately he manages to realize his task, the more scrupulously he fulfills its mission, the greater and holier he becomes in God’s eyes."

"Why do many today try to convince themselves and others that God does not exist, even though they know perfectly well that not even the effort exercised by all scientists put together can bring to life a miserable mosquito? To affirm everything originates by pure, unexplainable chance is utter absurdity; as if one could think that a simple clock has been assembled, simply by chance, without the help of someone!"

"There is much evil in the world, but let us remember that the Immaculata is more powerful and 'she shall crush the head of the serpent' [cf. Gn 3:15]."

"I am not able to believe that man is a perfected ape. We are dealing here with the problem of evolutionism...This theory not only does not accord with the findings of contemporary experimental sciences, which are in continuous development, but they even contradict them, as has been accurately ascertained. The same Darwin, in the beginning, did not affirm that man descends from apes, but only presented a theory that man might descend from the apes, as a hypothesis."

"External activity is good; but, it is obviously of secondary importance and lesser still in comparison with the interior life, the life of recollection and of prayer, with the life of our personal love towards God"

"I want to be the greatest. But in what? In loving people and loving God!"

"Hate is not a creative force. Love is a creative force."

"No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it. The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the hetacombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we are ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves?"

"A person is great and becomes a witness and a teacher, capable of leaving an authentic message to the world, not so much on account of what one says or writes, but for what one is and what one achieves. What one says or writes deserves attention only insomuch as it is an expression of what one is or does."

"“Modern times are dominated by Satan and will be more so in the future. The conflict with Hell cannot be engaged by men, even the most clever. The Immaculata alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan.”"

"He who wants to live the supernatural life clings to the Mother of Divine Grace. He who wants to convert and sanctify himself must have recourse to the Mother of God, for she is the Mediatrix of all graces. This mystery, that we receive everything through the Immaculate, is still little known. That is why we must propagate it; more, we must conquer the whole world to the Immaculate."

"He who loves will know the Immaculate much more than a philosopher or a theologian."

"Now the bishop is in joy, Lalli in evil torture. The bishop sings with the angels, performs a joyful hymn. Lalli is skiing down in hell. His left ski slides along, Into the thick smoke of torture. With his staff he strikes about him: Demons beset him cruelty. In the swelter of hell They assail his pitiful soul."

"(Last words) Once you have buried your mother next to me, do not spend even one more night within the confines of this city, where the people are without shame as they engage in wickedness and deceit. Recall, my son, what Nadab did to Ahiqar who had raised him. While still alive, Ahiqar was forced to hide in a grave. However, God’s justice did not allow this disgraceful outrage to remain unpunished, inasmuch as Ahiqar came out again into the light of day, while Nadab descended into eternal darkness because of his attempt on Ahiqar’s life."

"My son, take your children and hasten to Media, for I believe the word of God that Nahum spoke about Nineveh. It will all take place. Everything will happen to Assyria and Nineveh that was spoken by the prophets of Israel sent by God. None of their words will be unfulfilled; everything will occur at the appointed time. You will be safer in Media than in Assyria or Babylon. For I know and believe that whatever God has said will be accomplished. Not a single word of the prophecies will remain unfulfilled."

"If you turn to him with all your heart and soul"

"For he both punishes and forgives;"

"Do not do to anyone what you yourself hate. Do not drink wine to excess or allow drunkenness to become your companion on your journey of life."

"Distribute alms from your possessions. If you do not avert your gaze from anyone who is poor, God will never turn his face away from you. Your almsgiving should be in proportion to your means. If you have been blessed with great abundance, give much; if you possess little, do not be afraid to give even some of that. In this way you will be accumulating for yourself a goodly treasure for the day of adversity. For almsgiving delivers the donor from death and saves people from descending into darkness. Those who give alms have a worthy offering in the presence of the Most High."

"With regard to the verse: “These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man, and wholehearted in his generations” (Genesis 6:9), Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Relative to the other people of his generation he was righteous and wholehearted, but not relative to those of other generations. And Reish Lakish says: In his generation he was righteous and wholehearted despite being surrounded by bad influences; all the more so would he have been considered righteous and wholehearted in other generations."

"And the sentence of Noah was also sealed; he was going to die with the rest of the generation of the flood, as it is stated: Nor shall there be No’aḥ for them. The Gemara interprets the term spelled nun, heh, in the aforementioned verse, as if it were spelled nun, ḥet. The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The sentence of Noah was also decided; but he was spared through the kindness of God due to the fact that he found favor in the eyes of God, as it is stated: “For I regret that I have made them. And Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:7–8). The juxtaposition of the term “and Noah” to the phrase “for I regret that I have made them” indicates that Noah should have been killed as well."

"Allah sets forth, for an example to the Unbelievers, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lut: they were (respectively) under two of our righteous servants, but they were false to their (husbands), and they profited nothing before Allah on their account, but were told: "Enter ye the Fire along with (others) that enter!"

"(In the days of old), Noah cried to Us, and We are the best to hear prayer. And We delivered him and his people from the Great Calamity, And made his progeny to endure (on this earth); And We left (this blessing) for him among generations to come in later times: "Peace and salutation to Noah among the nations!""

"And, indeed, [in times long past] We sent forth Noah unto his people, and he dwelt among them a thousand years bar fifty; and then the floods overwhelmed them while they were still lost in evildoing."

"The Bible depicts a world that, seen through modern eyes, is staggering in its savagery. People enslave, rape, and murder members of their immediate families. Warlords slaughter civilians indiscriminately, including the children. Women are bought, sold, and plundered like sex toys. And Yahweh tortures and massacres people by the hundreds of thousands for trivial disobedience or for no reason at all. These atrocities are neither isolated nor obscure. They implicate all the major characters of the Old Testament, the ones that Sunday-school children draw with crayons. And they fall into a continuous plotline that stretches for millennia, from Adam and Eve through Noah, the patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, the judges, Saul, David, Solomon, and beyond. According to the biblical scholar Raymund Schwager, the Hebrew Bible “contains over six hundred passages that explicitly talk about nations, kings, or individuals attacking, destroying, and killing others. . . . Aside from the approximately one thousand verses in which Yahweh himself appears as the direct executioner of violent punishments, and the many texts in which the Lord delivers the criminal to the punisher’s sword, in over one hundred other passages Yahweh expressly gives the command to kill people.” Matthew White, a self-described atrocitologist who keeps a database with the estimated death tolls of history’s major wars, massacres, and genocides, counts about 1.2 million deaths from mass killing that are specifically enumerated in the Bible. (He excludes the half million casualties in the war between Judah and Israel described in 2 Chronicles 13 because he considers the body count historically implausible.) The victims of the Noachian flood would add another 20 million or so to the total. The good news, of course, is that most of it never happened. Not only is there no evidence that Yahweh inundated the planet and incinerated its cities, but the patriarchs, exodus, conquest, and Jewish empire are almost certainly fictions. Historians have found no mention in Egyptian writings of the departure of a million slaves (which could hardly have escaped the Egyptians’ notice); nor have archaeologists found evidence in the ruins of Jericho or neighboring cities of a sacking around 1200 BCE. And if there was a Davidic empire stretching from the Euphrates to the Red Sea around the turn of the 1st millennium BCE, no one else at the time seemed to have noticed it."