Saint Quote: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Love is sufficient of itself; it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in the practice. Of all the movements, sensations and feelings of the soul, love is the only one in which the creature can respond to the Creator and make some sort of similar return however unequal though it be. For when God loves, all he desires is to be loved in return. The sole purpose of his love is to be loved, int he knowledge that those who love him are made happy by their love of him.

-- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux from a sermon

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Poemen

Teach your heart to guard that which your tongue teaches. 

-- Saint Poemen

Saint Quote: Saint Benedict of Nursia

He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands.

-- Saint Benedict of Nursia

Saint Quote: Saint Romuald

Better to pray one psalm with devotion and compunction than a hundred with distraction.

-- Saint Romuald

Saint Quote: Saint Maximus the Confessor

For from the coming down of the incarnate Word amongst us, all the Churches in every part of the world have held that greatest Church alone as their base and foundation, seeing that according to the promise of Christ our Saviour, the gates of hell do never prevail against it, that it has the keys of a right confession and faith in Him, that it opens the true and only religion to such as approach with piety, and shuts up and locks every heretical mouth that speaks injustice against the Most High. 

-- Saint Maximus the Confessor

Saint Mark the Ascetic

Even though knowledge is true, it is still not firmly established if unaccompanied by works. For everything is established by being put into practice. 

-- Saint Mark the Ascetic

Saint Chad

God thunders forth from heaven to rouse people to fear the Lord, to call them to remember the future judgment...when God will come in the clouds in great power and majesty to judge the living and the dead. And so we ought to respond to God's heavenly warning with due fear and love so that as often as God disturbs the sky, yet spares us still, we should implore God's mercy, examining the innermost recesses of our hearts and purging out the dregs of our sins, and behave with such caution that we may never deserve to be struck down.

-- Saint Chad

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Are you troubled? think but of Jesus, speak but the name of Jesus, the clouds disperse, and peace descends anew from heaven. Have you fallen into sin? so that you fear death? invoke the name of Jesus, and you will soon feel life returning. No obduracy of the soul, no weakness, no coldness of heart can resist this holy name; there is no heart which will not soften and open in tears at this holy name. 

-- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux