GEMS FROM THE SAINTS

" Oh what inspiration there is in the Crucifix!  who could find it hard to persevere at the sight of a God who never commands us to do anything
which he has not first practised himself?
[St John Vianney Cure of Ars]

" I was all alone without a single friend to give me a word of encouragement.  I could neither pray nor read, but there I remained for hours uneasy in mind and afflicted in spirit on account of the weight of my troubles, and for the fear that perhaps I was being tricked by the devil and wondering what I could do for my relief, not a gleam of hope seem to shine upon me from heaven or earth, except just this:  In the midst of all my fears and dangers, I never forgot how our Lord must be seeing the weight of what I endured.  Oh my Lord Jesus Christ, what a true friend you are, and how powerful, for when you wish to be with us, you can be and you always do wish it, if only we receive you"
[words of St Teresa of Avila taken from Fr. Benedict Groeschel's book 'Arise from Darkness]

" The key to love of God is prayer.  By turning your eyes on God in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with God.  Begin all your prayers in the presence of God.
For busy people of the world, he advised "Retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others and talk to God".

The test of prayer was a persons's actions:  " To be an angel in prayer and a beast in one's relations with people is to go lame on both legs".
He believed the worst sin was to judge someone or to gossip about them.
"Even if we say we do it out of love we are still doing it to look better ourselves. But we should be as gentle and forgiving with ourselves as we should be with others".
[St Francis de Sales]