The wider our contemplation of creation, the grander is our conception of God. (Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, +386/387)
Quotes
Daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises of heaven. (Saint Patrick, +5-6th c.)
But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10-12)
The beginner must think of himself as of one setting out to make a garden in which the Lord is to take His delight, yet in soil most unfruitful and full of weeds. (Saint Teresa of Avila, +1582)
In all that concerns the king, I will be slavishly obedient; if any attack his temporal power, I will shed my last drop of blood for him. But in the things of spiritual jurisdiction which a king unjustly seizes I cannot and must not obey (Saint John Ogilvie, +1615)
The present reflections, now at an end, have sought to recognize, within the “gift of God”, what he, as Creator and Redeemer, entrusts to women, to every woman. In the Spirit of Christ, in fact, women can discover the entire meaning of their femininity and thus be disposed to making a “sincere gift of self”[…]
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen. (Saint Thomas Aquinas, +1274)
Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris – Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.
Grant me meekness, love of harmony and purity; Make me strong and constant on the path of righteousness. (Part of a prayer to the Blessed Virgin, found in the hands of the incorruptible body of Saint Casimir, +1484)