Blessed John Henry Newman

I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world, which no one else has;

whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man,

God knows me and calls me by my name.

God has created me to do Him some definite service;

He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.

I have my mission–I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.

Somehow I am necessary for His purposes,

as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his

–if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work;

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons.

He has not created me for naught.

I shall do good, I shall do His work;

I shall be an angel of peace,

a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it,

if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.

Therefore I will trust Him.

Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away.

If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him;

in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him;

if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him.

My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end,

which is quite beyond us.

He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it;

He knows what He is about.

He may take away my friends,

He may throw me among strangers,

He may make me feel desolate,

make my spirits sink, hide the future from me

–still He knows what He is about.

-- Blessed John Henry Newman

Saint Mark the Ascetic

Faith consists not only of being baptized in Christ, but also in fulfilling His commandments. Holy Baptism is perfect and gives us perfection, but does not make perfect those who do not follow the commandments. 

-- Saint Mark the Ascetic

Saint Athanasius the Great

The Word who became all things for us is close to us, our Lord Jesus Christ who promises to remain with us always. He cries out, saying: See, I am with you all the days of this age. He is himself the shepherd, the high priest, the way and the door, and has become all things at once for us. 

-- Saint Athanasius the Great

Saint Bruno

Rejoice, my dearest brothers, because you are blessed and because of the bountiful hand of God's grace upon you. Rejoice, because you have escaped the various dangers and shipwrecks of the stormy world. Rejoice because you have reached the quiet and safe anchorage of a secret harbor. Many wish to come into this port, and many make great efforts to do so, yet do not achieve it. Indeed many, after reaching it, have been thrust out, since it was not granted them from above. 

-- Saint Bruno from a letter to the Carthusians

Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska

Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God.

-- Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska from her diary "Divine Mercy in my Soul"

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Flavored Coffee

Available now from Mystic Monk Coffee is a flavored coffee, Cinnamon Coffee Cake (ground regular).  

The good monks say:

"Perfect for those cold fall days!

The aroma of freshly baked coffee cake melts away into a rich and creamy flavored coffee, with essences of hazelnut and brown sugar. Cinnamon Coffee Cake is one of the most outstanding flavors available."

Available for $11.95 per 12 ounce bag, 3 or more bags are $10.95 each.

Remember, your purchase of Mystic Monk Coffee helps support the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming, and this blogger!

Saint Francis of Assisi

Alms are an inheritance and a justice which is due to the poor and which Jesus has levied upon us. 

-- Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Clare of Assisi

Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be you, my God, for having created me. 

-- Saint Clare of Assisi

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ.

-- Saint Augustine of Hippo

Saint Therese of Lisieux

You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them. 

-- Saint Therese of Lisieux

Saint Jerome

I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: “Search the Scriptures,” and “Seek and you shall find.” For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ. No one should think that I mean to explain the entire subject matter of this great book of the prophet Isaiah in one brief sermon, since it contains all the mysteries of the lord. It prophesies that Emmanuel is to be born of a virgin and accomplish marvelous works and signs. It predicts his death, burial and resurrection from the dead as the Savior of all men. Whatever is proper to holy Scripture, whatever can be expressed in human language and understood by the human mind, is contained in the book of Isaiah. 

-- Saint Jerome from a commentary on Isaiah

Pope Saint Gregory the Great

You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels.

-- Pope Saint Gregory the Great from a homily

Saint Laurence Ruiz

That I will never do, because I am a Christian, and I shall die for God, and for him I will give many thousands of lives if I had them. And so, do with me as you please.

-- Saint Laurence Ruiz after being asked to renounce his faith

Saint Vincent de Paul

Extend your mercy towards others, so that there can be no one in need whom you meet without helping. For what hope is there for us if God should withdraw His Mercy from us?

-- Saint Vincent de Paul

Saint Marie Victoire Therese Couderc

I abandon myself with my whole heart to God's will, and to God's good pleasure — and when I have in all sincerity made this act of self-surrender, I experience great tranquility and perfect peace. 

-- Saint Marie Victoire Therese Couderc

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

Only a pure soul can boldly say: "Thy kingdom come." One who has heard Paul say, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies," and has purified himself in action thought, and word will say to God: "Thy kingdom come!" 

-- Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

Saint Basil the Great

By the command of your only-begotten Son we communicate with the memory of your saints...by whose prayers and supplications have mercy upon us all, and deliver us for the sake of your holy name. 

-- Saint Basil the Great

Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more. 

-- Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Saint Julius the Veteran

It was he who died for our sins to give us eternal life. This same man, Christ, is God and abides for ever and ever. Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life; whoever denies Him will have eternal punishment. 

-- Saint Julius the Veteran to his examiners at his trial

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity. 

-- Saint Therese of Lisieux

Saint Andrew Kim Taegŏn

My dear brothers and sisters, know this: Our Lord Jesus Christ upon descending into the world took innumerable pains upon and constituted the holy Church through his own passion and increases it through the passion of its faithful....

Now, however, some fifty or sixty years since the holy Church entered into our Korea, the faithful suffer persecutions again. Even today persecution rages, so that many of our friends of the same faith, among whom I am myself, have been thrown into prison. just as you also remain in the midst of persecution. Since we have formed one body, how can we not be saddened in our innermost hearts? How can we not experience the pain of separation in our human faculties?

However, as Scripture says, God cares for the least hair of our heads, and indeed he cares with his omniscience; therefore, how can persecution be considered as anything other than the command of God, or his prize, or precisely his punishment?...

We are twenty here, and thanks be to God all are still well. If anyone is killed, I beg you not to forget his family. I have many more things to say, but how can I express them with pen and paper? I make an end to this letter. Since we are now close to the struggle, I pray you to walk in faith, so that when you have finally entered into Heaven, we may greet one another. I leave you my kiss of love.

-- Saint Andrew Kim Taegŏn in his last letter to his parish

NOTE: Today in Korea there are approximately 4 million Catholics, and Korea has the 4th largest number of Catholic saints in the world.

Saint Emily de Rodat

I was sixteen years of age when I learned to know Our Lord. This experience overwhelmed me and I wanted God and only God. 

-- Saint Emily de Rodat

Saint Vincent de Paul

It was His Will that after His death the Church should give us His image in the crucifix, that he might appear to us in a condition of utmost ignominy. And why? He did it because He knew the worth of humility and the danger of the sin which opposes it.

-- Saint Vincent de Paul

Saint Robert Bellarmine

Charity is that with which no man is lost, and without which no man is saved. 

-- Saint Robert Bellarmine

Saint Ambrose of Milan

No one heals himself by wounding another. 

-- Saint Ambrose of Milan

Saint Catherine of Genoa

If it were given to a man to see virtue's reward in the next world, he would occupy his intellect, memory and will in nothing but good works, careless of danger or fatigue. 

-- Saint Catherine of Genoa

Saint Aelia Flaccilla

To distribute money belongs to the imperial dignity, but I offer up for the imperial dignity itself personal service to the Giver. 

-- Saint Aelia Flaccilla

Saint John Chrysostom

When you perceive that God is chastening you, fly not to his enemies...but to his friends, the martyrs, the saints, and those who were pleasing to him, and who have great power in God.

-- Saint John Chrysostom

Saint John of Avila

Your life consists in drawing nearer to God. To do this you must endeavor to detach yourself from visible things and remember that in a short time they will be taken from you. 

-- Saint John of Avila

Saint Vincent of Lerins

If one yields ground on any single point of Catholic doctrine, one will later have to yield later in another, and again in another, and so on until such surrenders come to be something normal and acceptable. And when one gets used to rejecting dogma bit by bit, the final result will be the repudiation of it altogether.

-- Saint Vincent of Lerins

Saint Nicholas of Tolentino

The heavens are not pure in the sight of Him Whom I serve; how then shall I, a sinful man, stand before Him? 

-- Saint Nicholas of Tolentino

Saint John Cantius

Avoid slander because it is difficult to retract. Avoid offending anyone for to ask forgiveness is not delightful.

-- Saint John Cantius

Saint Margaret of Cortona

My daughter, I see more Pharisees among Christians than there were around Pilate.

-- Saint Margaret of Cortona

Saint Athanasius the Great

You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading. And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon be observed by his progress. 

-- Saint Athanasius the Great

Pope St. Gregory the Great

Perhaps it is not after all so difficult for a man to part with his possessions, but it is certainly most difficult for him to part with himself. To renounce what one has is a minor thing; but to renounce what one is, that is asking a lot.

-- Pope St. Gregory the Great

Saint John of Damascus

God created man to be straightforward, but he has entangled himself with an infinity of questions.

-- Saint John of Damascus

Saint Madeline Sophie Barat

Our Lord who saved the world through the Cross will only work for the good of souls through the Cross. 

                           
-- Saint Madeline Sophie Barat 

Pope Saint Gregory the Great

If we knew at what time we were to depart from this world, we would be able to select a season for pleasure and another for repentance. But God, who has promised pardon to every repentant sinner, has not promised us tomorrow. Therefore we must always dread the final day, which we can never foresee. This very day is a day of truce, a day for conversion. And yet we refuse to cry over the evil we have done! Not only do we not weep for the sins we have committed, we even add to them. 

-- Pope Saint Gregory the Great 

Saint Josemaria Escriva

The rosary is said not with the lips alone, muttering Hail Marys one after the other. … For a Christian vocal prayer must spring from the heart, so that while the rosary is said, the mind can enter into contemplation of each one of the mysteries.

-- Saint Josemaria Escriva

Saint Catherine of Siena

Eternal Trinity, Godhead, mystery deep as the sea, you could give me no greater gift than the gift of yourself. For you are a fire ever burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love that fills my being. Yes, you are a fire that takes away the coldness, illuminates the mind with its light, and causes me to know your truth. And I know that you are beauty and wisdom itself. The food of angels, you gave yourself to man in the fire of your love. 

-- Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Peter Damian

Let us detach ourselves in spirit from all that we see and cling to that which we believe. This is the cross which we must imprint on all our daily actions and behavior.

-- Saint Peter Damian

Saint Mark the Ascetic

When Scripture says, 'He will reward every man according to his works' (Matthew 16:27), do not imagine that works in themselves merit either hell or the Kingdom. On the contrary, Christ rewards each man according to whether his works are done with faith or without faith in Himself; and He is not a dealer bound by contract, but God our Creator and Redeemer.

-- Saint Mark the Ascetic

Saint Bede the Venerable (On Saint John the Baptist)

As forerunner of our Lord’s birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendour of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord.

-- Saint Bede the Venerable  from a homily on the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet. 

-- Saint Augustine of Hippo

Saint Monica

Son, as far as I am concerned, nothing in this life now gives me any pleasure. I do not know why I am still here, since I have no further hopes in this world. I did have one reason for wanting to live a little longer: to see you become a Catholic Christian before I died. God has lavished his gifts on me in that respect, for I know that you have even renounced earthly happiness to be his servant. So what am I doing here?

-- Saint Monica to her son Saint Augustine of Hippo

Pope Saint Leo the Great

God decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ. 

-- Pope Saint Leo the Great

Saint Louis IX

Be devout and obedient to our mother the Church of Rome and the Supreme Pontiff as your spiritual father. 

-- Saint Louis IX

Saint Nathanael bar Tolomai

Rabbi: Thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel. 

-- Saint Nathanael bar Tolomai from The Gsopel of John 1: 49

Saint Rose of Lima

Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase Your love in my heart. 

-- Saint Rose of Lima