It is not the soul alone that should be healthy; if the mind is healthy in a healthy body, all will be healthy and much better prepared to give God greater service.
The safest and most suitable form of penance seems to be that which causes pain in the flesh but does not penetrate to the bones, that is, which causes suffering but not sickness.
One rare and exceptional deed is worth far more than a thousand commonplace ones.
In the light of the Divine Goodness, it seems to me, though others may think differently, that ingratitude is the most abominable of sins and that it should be detested in the sight of our Creator and Lord by all of His creatures who are capable of e...
Be slow to speak, and only after having first listened quietly, so that you may understand the meaning, leanings, and wishes of those who do speak. Thus you will better know when to speak and when to be silent.
If I cannot add to my own low level of understanding, I could ill afford to try to raise that of others, seeing that it belongs to our Creator and Lord to give much or little.
Concerning the harsh treatment of the body for our Lord's sake, I would say, avoid anything that would cause the shedding even of a drop of blood.
He who aims at making an entire and perfect oblation of himself, in addition to his will, must offer his understanding, which is a further and the highest degree of obedience.
Even in the angels there is the subordination of one hierarchy to another, and in the heavens, and all the bodies that are moved, the lowest by the highest and the highest in their turn unto the Supreme Mover of all.
To have prevented one single sin is reward enough for the labors and efforts of a whole lifetime.
Occupy yourself in beholding and bewailing your own imperfections rather than contemplating the imperfections of others.
May it please Christ our Lord to grant us true humility and abnegation of will and judgment, so that we may deserve to begin to be His disciples.
We should always be disposed to believe that that which appears white is really black, if the hierarchy of the Church so decides.
Spiritual infirmities such as tepidity are caused, not only by chills but also by fevers, that is, by excessive zeal.
It is one thing to be eloquent and charming in profane speech, and another when the one speaking as a religious.
In the fallen there is danger of pride and vainglory, since they prefer their own judgment to the judgment of everyone else, usurping what is not their own by setting themselves up as judges in their own cause when the rightful judge is their superio...
I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian.
The wellbeing of the head resounds throughout the whole body, and as are the Superiors, so, in turn, will their subjects be.
Experience proves that in this life peace and satisfaction are had, not by the listless but by those who are fervent in God's service. And rightly so. For in their effort to overcome themselves and to rid themselves of self-love, they rid themselves ...
Remember that the good angels do what they can to preserve men from sin and obtain God's honor. But they do not lose courage when men fail.
