Saint Quote of the Day: Pope Saint John Paul II

What emanates from the figure of Saint Joseph is faith. Joseph of Nazareth is a "just man" because he totally "lives by faith." He is holy because his faith is truly heroic. Sacred Scripture says little of him. It does not record even one word spoken by Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth. And yet, even without words, he shows the depth of his faith, his greatness. Saint Joseph is a man of great spirit. He is great in faith, not because he speaks his own words, but above all because he listens to the words of the Living God. He listens in silence. And his heart ceaselessly perseveres in the readiness to accept the Truth contained in the word of the Living God. We see how the word of the Living God penetrates deeply into the soul of that man, that just man. And we, do we know how to listen to the word of God? Do we know how to absorb it into the depths of our human personalities? Do we open our conscience in the presence of this word?

– Pope Saint John Paul II from Daily Meditations

Pope Saint John Paul II's patronage: Archdiocese of Kraków; World Youth Day (Co-Patron); World Meeting of Families 2015 (Co-Patron); Young Catholics; Families; Świdnica

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

Children of justice, follow John’s exhortation: “Make straight the way of the Lord.” Remove all obstacles and stumbling blocks so that you will be able to go straight along the road to eternal life. Through a sincere faith prepare yourselves so that you may be free to receive the Holy Spirit. My brothers, this is truly a great occasion. Approach it with caution. You are standing in front of God and in the presence of the hosts of angels. The Holy Spirit is about to impress his seal on each of your souls. You are about to be pressed into the service of a great king. And so prepare yourselves to receive the sacrament. The gleaming white garments you are about to put on are not the preparation I am speaking of, but rather the devotion of a clean conscience.

– Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Patrick of Ireland

I came to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others. If I am worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most willingly, for Christ’s name. I want to spend myself for that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor. It is among that people that I want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He makes this promise in the Gospel: “They shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world.

– Saint Patrick of Ireland from "The Confessions of Saint Patrick"

Saint Patrick of Ireland's patronage: Ireland; against snakes; against ophidiophobia; archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts; diocese of Burlington, Vermont; engineers; excluded people; fear of snakes; diocese of Fort Worth, Texas; diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; archdiocese of New York; Nigeria; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; ophidiophobics; diocese of Portland, Maine; diocese of Sacramento, California; snake bites.

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint John Vianney

God commands you to pray, but forbids you to worry.

– Saint John Vianney

Saint John Vianney's patronage: Parish priests; Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney; Archdiocese of Dubuque; confessors; Archdiocese of Kansas City

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Louise de Marillac

I felt a great attraction for the holy humanity of Our Lord and I desired to honor and imitate it insofar as I was able in the person of the poor and of all my neighbors.

– Saint Louise de Marillac

Saint Louise de Marillac's patronage: Disappointing children; widows; loss of parents; sick people; social workers; Vincentian Service Corps; people rejected by religious orders.

Saint Quote of the Day: Pope Saint Gregory the Great

If we are, in fact, now occupied in good deeds, we should not attribute the strength with which we are doing them to ourselves. We must not count on ourselves, because even if we know what kind of person we are today, we do not know what we will be tomorrow. Nobody must rejoice in the security of their own good deeds. As long as we are still experiencing the uncertainties of this life, we do not know what end may follow…we must not trust in our own virtues.

– Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Pope Saint Gregory the Great's patronage: Choir boys; educators; gout; masons; music; musicians; choirs; singers; stonecutters; teachers; popes; students; scholars; against plague; against gout; against fever; England; West Indies.

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint John Chrysostom

Reflect then how great an evil it is for us, who ought to live so purely as not even to need written words, but to yield up our hearts, as books, to the Spirit; now that we have lost that honor, and are come to have need of these, to fail again in duly employing even this second remedy. For if it be a blame to stand in need of written words, and not to have brought down on ourselves the grace of the Spirit; consider how heavy the charge of not choosing to profit even after this assistance, but rather treating what is written with neglect, as if it were cast forth without purpose, and at random, and so bringing down upon ourselves our punishment with increase.

– Saint John Chrysostom from a homily on the Gospel of Matthew

Saint John Chrysostom's patronage: Constantinople; epilepsy; Istanbul, Turkey; lecturers; orators; preachers; speakers.