Dial-Thoughts
of the Saintsâ
“So, when are we going to start doing something
good?”
St. Philip Neri
The practices of one
saint differ from those of another, but it is the same spirit
that works in all of them.
(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)
01 September Giles of Assisi
Grace does not wish to be praised. And vice does not wish to be despised - that is, a man who has grace does not want to be praised and does not seek praise. And the man who has vices does not want to be despised or blamed - which comes from pride.
02 September Antonius
The prayers of the Blessed Virgin, being the prayers of God's mother, have in them something of a command.
03 September Gregory the
Great, pope
The human mind is
prone to pride even when not supported by power; how much
more, then, does it exalt when it has that support.
When you discover that
something has been of benefit to you, you want to tell others
about it. Apply
this human behavior to the spiritual realm: when you go to
God, do not go alone.
04 September Rose of Vitebo
Prayer reveals to souls the vanity of earthly goods and pleasures. It fills them with light, strength and consolation; and gives them a foretaste of the calm bliss of our heavenly home.
08 September Thomas of Villanova
As chickens when they see a hawk soaring above, run and find refuge under the wings of the hen, so are we preserved under the shadow of your wing, Mary. And you, who are our lady and mother, have to defend us; for, after God, we have no other refuge than you, who are our only hope and our protectress; towards you we all turn our eyes with confidence.
09 September Peter Claver
To do the will of God,
man must despise his own; the more he dies to himself, the
more he will live to God.
13 September John Chrysostom
I do not despair of happier times, considering that at the helm of the universe is He who overcomes the storm not by human skill, but by His word.
15 September Catherine of
Genoa
If it were given a man
to see virtue's reward in the next world, he would occupy his
intellect, memory and will in nothing but good works with no
regard of danger or fatigue.
16 September Cyprian of Carthage
No one is safe by his own strength, but he is safe by the grace and mercy of God.
17 September Robert Bellarmine
Preachers who are anxious to do their duty must not suffer themselves to be frightened away from wholesome teaching, merely because by delivering it they may make enemies among their flock.
18 September Joseph of
Cupertino
My mother, Mary, is
very strange; if I bring her flowers, she says she does not
want them; if I bring her cherries, she will not take them,
and if I then ask her what she desires, she replies: "I desire
thy heart, for I live on hearts."
21 September Matthew, apostle
Jesus said, "For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct."
22 September Thomas of
Villanova
As chickens when they see a hawk soaring above, run and find refuge under the wings of the hen, so are we preserved under the shadow of your wing, Mary. And you, who are our lady and mother, have to defend us; for, after God, we have no other refuge than you, who are our only hope and our protectress; towards you we all turn our eyes with confidence.
26 September Nilus of Rossano
The spiritual combat in which we kill our passions to put on the new man is the most difficult struggle of all. We must never weary of this combat, but fight the holy fight fervently and perseveringly.
27 September Vincent de Paul
Distrust of our own capacity is the foundation for the right sort of confidence in God.
30 September Jerome
What saint has ever
won his crown without first fighting for it.
Surely if we remembered that God sees us when we sin, we should never do what displeases him.