Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Catherine Labouré

When I go to the Chapel, I place myself before the good God and I say to Him: ‘Lord, here I am, give me what You will.’ If He gives me something, I am very pleased, and I thank Him. If He gives me nothing, I still thank Him because I do not deserve anything. And then again, I tell Him all that passes through my mind; I recount my pains and my joys and … I listen. If you listen to Him, He will speak to you also, because with the good God it is necessary to speak and to listen. He will always speak to you if you go to Him simply and sincerely.

– Saint Catherine Labouré

Saint Catherine Labouré's patronage: Miraculous Medal; infirmed people; the elderly; pigeon fanciers; pigeons.

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

It is not sinners, but the wicked who should despair; it is not the magnitude of one’s crime, but contempt of God that dashes one’s hopes.

– Saint Peter Damian

Saint Peter Damian's patronage: Faenza, Italy; traceurs; freerunners.

Saint Quote: Saint John Regis

If you only knew me, you would give me much more than that.

– Saint John Regis after being struck by a man whom he had admonished for being drunk.

Saint John Regis' patronage: Kansas City, MO; marriage; illegitimate children; lacemakers; medical social workers.

Saint Quote: Saint Germaine Cousin

Dear God, please don’t let me be too hungry or too thirsty. Help me to please my mother. And help me to please you.

– Saint Germaine Cousin from a prayer attributed to her

Saint Germaine Cousin's patronage: Abandoned people; abuse victims; against poverty; disabled people; girls from rural areas; illness; impoverishment; loss of parents; shepherdesses; sick people; unattractive people; physical therapists; victims of child abuse.

Saint Quote: Saint Basil the Great, Church Father and Doctor of the Church

Happy is he who night and day entertains no other care and anxiety but how he may be able to render a satisfactory account of his life when he stands before the Judge.

– Saint Basil the Great

Saint Basil the Great's patronage: Cappadocia; hospital administrators; monks; reformers; Russia.

Saint Quote: Saint Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church

Attribute to God every good that you have received. If you take credit for something that does not belong to you, you will be guilty of theft.

– Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony of Padua's patronage: Against shipwrecks; against starvation; against starving; American Indians; amputees; animals; asses; barrenness; boatmen; Brazil; diocese of Beaumont, Texas; domestic animals; elderly people; expectant mothers; faith in the Blessed Sacrament; Ferrazzano, Italy; fishermen; harvests; horses; Lisbon, Portugal; lost articles; lower animals; mail; mariners; oppressed people; Padua, Italy; paupers; poor people; Portugal; pregnant women; sailors; seekers of lost articles; shipwrecks; starvation; starving people; sterility; swineherds; Tigua Indians; travel hostesses; travelers; watermen.

Saint Quote: Saint Faustina Kowalska, Apostle of Divine Mercy

Oh, how great is the goodness of God, greater than we can understand. There are moments and there are mysteries of the divine mercy over which the heavens are astounded. Let our judgment of souls cease, for God’s mercy upon them is extraordinary.

– Saint Faustina Kowalska

Saint Faustina Kowalska's patronage: World Youth Day 2016; Sisters of Reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Saint Quote: Saint Dominic de Guzman

One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.

– Saint Dominic de Guzman

Saint Dominic de Guzman's patronage: Astronomers; astronomy; falsely accused people; scientists; Dominican Republic; prelature of Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; diocese of Bayombong, Philippines; Picpus Fathers; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; Valletta, Malta.

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church

The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.

– Saint Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas' patronage: Academics; against storms; against lightning; apologists; book sellers; Catholic academies; Catholic schools; Catholic universities; chastity; colleges; learning; lightning; pencil makers; philosophers; publishers; scholars; schools; storms; students; theologians; universities; University of Vigo.

Saint Quote: Saint Ephrem of Syria

Lord, shed upon our darkened souls the brilliant light of your wisdom so that we may be enlightened and serve you with renewed purity. Sunrise marks the hour for men to begin their toil, but in our souls, Lord, prepare a dwelling for the day that will never end. Through our unremitting zeal for you. Lord, set upon us the sign of your day that is not measured by the sun. In your sacrament we daily embrace you and receive you into our bodies; make us worthy to experience the resurrection for which we hope. Teach us to find our joy in your favor! Savior, your crucifixion marked the end of your mortal life; teach us to crucify ourselves and make way for our life in the Spirit.

– Saint Ephrem of Syria from a sermon

Saint Ephrem of Syria's patronage: Spiritual directors; spiritual leaders.

Saint Quote: Saint Bonaventure on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Eternal and inaccessible fountain, clear and sweet stream flowing from a hidden spring, unseen by mortal eye! None can fathom your depths nor survey your boundaries, none can measure your breadth, nothing can sully your purity. From you flows the river which gladdens the city of God and makes us cry out with joy and thanksgiving in hymns of praise to you, for we know by our own experience that with you is the source of life, and in your light we see light.

– Saint Bonaventure from a work on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, font of sacramental graces and living water.

Saint Bonaventure's patronage: Bagnoregio, Italy; against intestinal problems; Cochiti Indian Pueblo; Saint Bonaventure University, New York.

Saint Quote: Saint Marianne Cope

I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen Ones, whose privilege it will be, to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders... I am not afraid of any disease, hence it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned ‘lepers.’

– Saint Marianne Cope

Saint Marianne Cope's patronage: Lepers; outcasts; those with HIV/AIDS; Hawaii.

Saint Quote: Saint Marcellin Champagnat

Let there be among you just one heart and one mind. Let it always be said of the Little Brothers of Mary as it was of the early Christians: See how they love one another!

– Saint Marcellin Champagnat from his Spiritual Testament of May 18, 1840

Saint Marcellin Champagnat's patronage: Education; teachers.

Saint Quote: Saint Boniface

Let us pray the gracious defender of our life, the only sure refuge of those in trouble, that His right hand may keep us safe amidst these dens of wolves, and that He may guard us from harm, so that the footsteps of apostates walking in darkness may not be found, where should be the beautiful feet of those who carry the peaceful light of the gospel, but that the most gracious Father and God may help us to gird up our loins, with bright candles in our hands, and that He may enlighten the hearts of the heathen to gaze at the glorious gospel of Christ. Amen.

– Saint Boniface from a prayer attributed to him

Saint Boniface's patronage: Brewers; file-cutters; tailors; Archdiocese of Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, Canada; Diocese of Fulda, Germany; Germany; Prussia.

Saint Quote: Saint Peter Chrysologus, Church Father and Doctor of the Church

God appeals to us in his mercy to avoid having to punish us in his severity. Listen to the Lord’s appeal: In me, I want you to see your own body, your members, your heart, your bones, your blood. You may fear what is divine, but why not love what is human? You may run away from me as the Lord, but why not run to me as your father? Perhaps you are filled with shame for causing my bitter passion. Do not be afraid. This cross inflicts a mortal injury, not on me, but on death. These nails no longer pain me, but only deepen your love for me. I do not cry out because of these wounds, but through them I draw you into my heart. My body was stretched on the cross as a symbol, not of how much I suffered, but of my all-embracing love. I count it no less to shed my blood: it is the price I have paid for your ransom. Come, then, return to me and learn to know me as your father, who repays good for evil, love for injury, and boundless charity for piercing wounds.

– Saint Peter Chrysologus from a sermon

Saint Peter Chrysologus' patronage: Against fever; against mad dogs.

Saint Quote: Saint Justin Martyr

As by the Word of God, Jesus our Savior was made Flesh and had both Flesh and Blood for our salvation, so also the food which has been blessed by the word of prayer instituted by Him is both the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Incarnate.

– Saint Justin Martyr

Saint Justin Martyr's patronage: Apologists; lecturers; orators; philosophers; speakers.

Saint Quote: Saint Bede the Venerable On "The Visitation"

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior". With these words Mary first acknowledges the special gifts she has been given. Then she recalls God’s universal favors, bestowed unceasingly on the human race.

When a man devotes all his thoughts to the praise and service of the Lord, he proclaims God’s greatness. His observance of God’s commands, moreover, shows that he has God’s power and greatness always at heart. His spirit rejoices in God his savior and delights in the mere recollection of his creator who gives him hope for eternal salvation.

These words are often for all God’s creations, but especially for the Mother of God. She alone was chosen, and she burned with spiritual love for the son she so joyously conceived. Above all other saints, she alone could truly rejoice in Jesus, her savior, for she knew that he who was the source of eternal salvation would be born in time in her body, in one person both her own son and her Lord.

– Saint Bede the Venerable

Saint Bede the Venerable's patronage: Lectors; English writers and historians.

Saint Quote: Saint Joan of Arc

If I am not, may God place me there; if I am, may God so keep me. I should be the saddest in all the world if I knew that I were not in the grace of God. But if I were in a state of sin, do you think the Voice would come to me? I would that every one could hear the Voice as I hear it.

– Saint Joan of Arc at her trial responding to a question about whether she believed herself in a state of grace.

Saint Joan of Arc's patronage: Captives; France; imprisoned people; martyrs; opposition of Church authorities; people ridiculed for their piety; prisoners; rape victims; soldiers; WACs; WAVES; Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service; Women’s Army Corps.

Saint Quote: Saint Ursula Ledóchowska

Holiness does not demand anything great, beyond the ability of the person. It depends on God's Love; every daily act can be transformed into an act of love.

– Saint Ursula Ledóchowska

Saint Ursula Ledóchowska's patronage: Sieradz, Poland; Pniewy, Poland; Polish girls; Orphans; Educators.

Saint Quote: Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Early Church Father

Error, indeed is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced more true than truth itself.

– Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons' patronage: Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama.

Saint Quote: Saint Athanasius of Alexandria on the Holy Trinity

We acknowledge the Trinity, holy and perfect, to consist of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In this Trinity there is no intrusion of any alien element or of anything from outside, nor is the Trinity a blend of creative and created being. It is a wholly creative and energizing reality, self-consistent and undivided in its active power, for the Father makes all things through the Word and in the Holy Spirit, and in this way the unity of the holy Trinity is preserved. Accordingly, in the Church, one God is preached, one God who is above all things and through all things and in all things [Ephesians 4:6] . God is above all things as Father, for he is principle and source; he is through all things through the Word; and he is in all things in the Holy Spirit.

– Saint Athanasius of Alexandria

Saint Quote: Saint Philip Neri

He who desires anything but God deceives himself, and he who loves anything but God errs miserably.

– Saint Philip Neri

Saint Philip Neri's patronage: Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy; Gravina, Italy; Rome, Italy; United States Army Special Forces; laughter; humor; joy.

Saint Quote: Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

Prayer ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear.

– Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi's patronage: Against bodily ills; against sexual temptation; against sickness; sick people; Naples, Italy.

Saint Quote: Our Lady, Help of Christians (The Blessed Virgin Mary)

And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.

He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

– Our Lady, Help of Christians (The Blessed Virgin Mary), from Luke 1:46-55, “The Magnificat”

Our Lady, Help of Christians' patronage: Australia; New Zealand; Andorran security forces; Australian military chaplains; New York; Diocese of Shrewsbury, England; Diocese of Townsville, Australia.

Saint Quote: Saint Ambrose of Milan, Church Father, and Doctor of the Church

When we speak about wisdom, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about virtue, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about justice, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about peace, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about truth and life and redemption, we are speaking of Christ.

– Saint Ambrose of Milan

Saint Ambrose of Milan's patronage: Bee keepers; bees; bishops; candle makers; chandlers; domestic animals; French Commissariat; geese; honeycake bakers; learning; livestock; Milan, Italy; police officers; school children; security personnel; starlings; students; wax melters; wax refiners; Archdiocese of Milan; Alassio, Italy; Bologna, Italy; Lombardy, Italy; Archdiocese of Milan, Italy; Monte San Savino, Italy; Stresa, Italy; Vigevano, Italy.

Saint Quote: Saint Rita of Cascia

Love God above all things.

– Saint Rita of Cascia

Saint Rita of Cascia's patronage: Abuse victims; against loneliness; against sterility; bodily ills; desperate causes; difficult marriages; forgotten causes; impossible causes; infertility; lost causes; parenthood; sick people; sickness; sterility; victims of physical spouse abuse; widows; wounds.

Saint Quote: Saint Eugène de Mazenod

Every religious congregation in the Church has a spirit all its own; it is inspired by the Spirit of God to respond to the needs of the Church to work for the salvation of souls. By our particular vocation we are involved with the redemption of humanity… May we, by the sacrifice of our whole being, so cooperate as not to render His redemption fruitless for ourselves and for those we are called upon to evangelize.

– Saint Eugène de Mazenod

Saint Eugène de Mazenod's patronage: Dysfunctional families.

Saint Quote: Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Early Church Father on the Holy Spirit

When love has entirely cast out fear, and fear has been transformed into love, then the unity brought us by our savior will be fully realized, for all men will be united with one another through their union with the one supreme Good. They will possess the perfection ascribed to the dove, according to our interpretation of the text: One alone is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only child of her mother, her chosen one (Song of Songs 6:9).

Our Lord’s words in the gospel bring out the meaning of this text more clearly. After having conferred all power on his disciples by his blessing, he obtained many other gifts for them by his prayer to the Father. Among these was included the greatest gift of all, which was that they were no longer to be divided in their judgement of what was right and good, for they were all to be united to the one supreme Good.

As the Apostle says, they were to be bound together with the bonds of peace in the unity that comes from the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). They were to be made one body and one spirit by the one hope to which they were all called. We shall do better, however, to quote the sacred words of the gospel itself. I pray, the Lord says, that they all may be one; that as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so they also may be one in us (John 17:21).

Now the bond that creates this unity is glory. That the Holy Spirit is called glory no one can deny if he thinks carefully about the Lord’s words: The glory you gave to me, I have given to them (John 17:22). In fact, he gave this glory to his disciples when he said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).

– Saint Gregory of Nyssa