Saints Section

Beatification / Canonization

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Communion of the Saints

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Examples of the Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"The sermons of the saints are their examples." (St. John Vianney)

"Christians need human examples in order to better follow God." (Pope Paul VI)

"The examples of the saints are given us as a light to lead us in the right path, let us follow it, and we shall be saved." (Dom Gueranger)

"By looking upon [the saints] we come to learn the way which leads to Jesus, just as Jesus is our Way which leads to the Father." (Dom Gueranger)

"Those who seek to perfect themselves in every aspect of virtue should look to the lives of the saints, which are like living and breathing works of art, and thus by imitation try to reproduce their virtues in their own life." (St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church)

"It is right, too, to seek example and inspiration from the great saints of the Church. Pure as they were, they inflicted such mortifications upon themselves as to leave us almost aghast with admiration. And as we contemplate their saintly heroism, shall not we be moved by God's grace to impose on ourselves some voluntary sufferings and deprivations, we whose consciences are perhaps weighed down by so heavy a burden of guilt? And who does not know that this sort of penance is the more acceptable to God in that it springs not from the natural infirmities of soul or body, but from a free and generous resolve of the will, and as such is a most welcome sacrifice in God's sight?" (Pope John XXIII, 1962 A.D.)

"Although we are not commanded to follow the saints to the extremities where their heroic virtue leads them, nevertheless from their inaccessible heights, they still guide us along the easier paths of the plain. As the eagle upon the orb of day, they fixed their unflinching gaze upon the Sun of Justice; and, irresistibly attracted by His divine splendor, they poised their flight far above the cloudy region where we are glad to screen our feeble eyes. But however varied by the degrees of brightness for them and for us, the light itself is unchangeable, provided that, like them, we draw it from the authentic source. When the weakness of our sight would lead us to mistake false glimmerings for the truth, let us think of these friends of God; if we have not courage enough to imitate them, where the commandments leave us free to do so or not, let us at least conform our judgments and appreciations to theirs: their view is more trustworthy, because father reaching; their sanctity is nothing but the rectitude wherewith they follow up unflinchingly, even to its central focus, the heavenly ray, whereof we can scarcely bear a tempered reflection. Above all, let us not be led so far astray by the will-o'-the-wisps of this world of darkness as to wish to direct, by their false light, the actions of the saints: can the owl judge better of the light than the eagle?" (Liturgical Year)

"In the course of the liturgical year, besides the mysteries of Jesus Christ, the feasts of the saints are celebrated. Even though these feasts are of a lower and subordinate order, the Church always strives to put before the faithful examples of sanctity in order to move them to cultivate in themselves the virtues of the divine Redeemer. We should imitate the virtues of the saints just as they imitated Christ, for in their virtues there shines forth under different aspects the splendor of Jesus Christ. Among some of these saints the zeal of the apostolate stood out, in others courage prevailed even to the shedding of blood, constant vigilance marked others out as they kept watch for the divine Redeemer, while in others the virginal purity of soul was resplendent and their modesty revealed the beauty of Christian humility; there burned in all of them the fire of charity towards God and their neighbor. The sacred liturgy puts all these gems of sanctity before us so that we may consider them for our salvation, and 'rejoicing at their merits, we may be inflamed by their example.' It is necessary, then, to practice 'in simplicity innocence, in charity concord, in humility modesty, diligence in government, readiness in helping those who labor, mercy in serving the poor, in defending truth constancy, in the strict maintenance of discipline justice, so that nothing may be wanting in us of the virtues which have been proposed for our imitation. These are the footprints left by the saints in their journey homeward, that guided by them we might follow them into glory.' In order that we may be helped by our senses, also, the Church wishes that images of the saints be displayed in our churches, always, however, with the same intention 'that we imitate the virtues of those whose images we venerate.' But there is another reason why the Christian people should honor the saints in heaven, namely, to implore their help and 'that we be aided by the pleadings of those whose praise is our delight.' Hence, it is easy to understand why the sacred liturgy provides us with many different prayers to invoke the intercession of the saints." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)

Also See: Imitating the Saints | Illustrative Sayings of the Saints | Humility & the Saints | Practices / Behaviors of the Saints | The "Science of the Saints" | Those Who Consider the Examples of the Saints as Follies | Trials / Persecutions / Sufferings of Saints | Mottos / Last Words | Honoring & Intercession of the Saints | Saint Facts

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Glory of the Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"The honor and glory of the saints surpass all eloquence, for God himself would praise all the saints with the whole world, all men and angels as an audience, and he will crown them like victors, and they will be seated on the throne of Christ as participants in his kingdom, something that surpasses every dignity." (St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church)

Also See: Honoring & Intercession of the Saints | Honor of Saints is Honor to God

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Half a Saint?

"You cannot be half a saint. You must be a whole saint or no saint at all." (St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church)

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Honor of Saints is Honor to God

"Those in the Catholic Church, whom some rebuke for praying to saints and going on pilgrimages, do not seek any saint as their savior. Instead, they seek saints as those whom their Savior loves, and whose intercession and prayer for the seeker He will be content to hear. For his own sake, He would have those He loves honored. And when they are thus honored for His sake, then the honor that is given them for His sake overflows especially to Himself." (St. Thomas More)

"Whoever honors the martyrs, then, honors Christ as well, and whoever rejects His holy ones rejects God, too." (St. Maximus of Turin)

"When, therefore, we admire the greatness of the saints, and recount their wonderful works, we are glorifying Jesus, the King of all Saints." (Dom Gueranger)

"We honor the servants that honor may redound to the Lord." (Pope John XV, 993 A.D.)

Also See: Honoring & Intercession of the Saints | In Defense of Praying to the Saints | Communion of the Saints | Saint Facts | Prayers to Saints / Prayers in Honor of the Saints

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Humility & the Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 18:4)

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 23:12)

"Humility has been regarded by the saints as the basis and guardian of all virtues." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"...humility repulses Satan and preserves us in the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. For this reason all the saints, and especially the King of Saints and His Mother, ever honored and cherished this virtue above all others." (St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church)

Also See: Practices / Behaviors of the Saints

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Illustrative Sayings of the Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"I die because I am not dead" (St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church)

"I would give my life a thousand times that God might not be offended." (St. Gerard Majella)

"Jesus, Mary, The Cross: I want no other friends but these." (St. Bernadette Soubirous)

"My God, I love thee" (St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, Doctor of the Church)

"They who praise me, truly reproach and confound me." (St. Bernard, Abbot)

"Thank God I am deemed worthy to be hated by the world" (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church)

"Great God! How I love you, O how I love you!" (St. Gemma Galgani)

"I weep for my sins; if we had only once offended God, we could never sufficiently bewail this misfortune." (St. Isadore of Scete)

"Too late have I loved Thee, O beauty so ancient, yet so new! Too late have I loved Thee!" (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)

"O sweet wood, sweet are thy nails, and sweet thy burden; thou wast worthy to bear the King and Lord of heaven!" (St. Didacus)

"I do not regard any of the affairs of God as things with which I have no concern." (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church)

"What ill or evil, Lord, can harm this joyous heart that you alone can charm? I love you more with every breath, so how can I fear life or death?" (St. Louis de Montfort)

"Had I a thousand bodies, O my God, a thousand loves and a thousand lives, I would immolate them all to your service." (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque)

"Whatever will come my way, whether good or bad, I may accept it calmly, and always give thanks to God, who has ever shown me how I should believe in him unfailing without end." (St. Patrick of Ireland)

"Majestic and Heavenly Maid, Lady, Queen, protect and keep me under your wing lest Satan the sower of destruction glory over me, lest my wicked foe be victorious against me." (St. Ephrem, Doctor of the Church)

"God can dispose of me according to his pleasure; he can take from me fortune, health, honor, life; my duty is to receive everything from his hand with submission and without complaint." (St. Ignatius Loyola)

"All the ends of the earth, all the kingdoms of the world would be of no profit to me; so far as I am concerned, to die in Jesus Christ is better than to be monarch of earth's widest bounds. He who died for us is all that I seek; He who rose again for us is my whole desire." (St. Ignatius of Antioch)

"The interests of God shall be Our interest, and for these We are resolved to spend all Our strength and Our very life. Hence, should anyone ask Us for a symbol as the expression of Our will, We will give this and no other: 'To renew all things in Christ.'" (Pope St. Pius X, "E Supremi", 1903 A.D.)

[St. Vincent Ferrer, showing his humility] "My whole life is nothing but stench: I am all infection both in soul and body; everything in me exhales a smell of corruption, caused by the abominations of my sins and injustices and what is worse, I feel the stench increasing daily in me and renewed always more insupportably."

"I often speak with my Teacher, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, because I can learn from Him. Jesus is the Teacher of the science of holiness. I go to Him because I would like to learn from Him how to become a saint. Of what use to me is all knowledge and education, if I do not become holy?" (St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church)

"If in my mind I have ever magnified the Father more than the Son may I be deprived of his loving mercy, and if I have ever lessened the authority of the Holy Spirit may blindness come upon me. If my life has not been in conformity with my speech may I be cast into exterior darkness, and if I speak hypocritically, may I burn with the ungodly." (St. Ephraem the Syrian, Doctor of the Church)

Also See: Practices / Behaviors of the Saints | Mottos / Last Words

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Imitating the Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"Therefore, I urge you, be imitators of me." (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 4:16)

"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:1)

"Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us." (St. Paul, Phil. 3:17)

"We should imitate the virtues of the saints just as they imitated Christ, for in their virtues there shines forth under different aspects the splendor of Jesus Christ." (Pope Pius XII)

"Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints." (Pope St. Clement I)

Also See: Examples of the Saints | Striving to Become a Saint

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In Defense of Praying to the Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"You say you see no reason why we should pray to the saints since God can hear us and help us just as well, and will do so gladly, as any saint in heaven. Well, then, what need, I ask, do you have to ask any physician to help your fever, or to ask and pay any surgeon to heal your sore leg? For God can both hear you and help you as well as the best of doctors, He loves you more than they do, and He can help you sooner." (St. Thomas More)

"But if the Apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others, at a time when they ought still be solicitous about themselves, how much more will they do so after their crowns, victories, and triumphs?" (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, c. 406 A.D.)

"If Saint Paul exhorts us to pray for one another, and we gladly think it right to ask every poor man to pray for us, should we think it evil to ask the holy saints in heaven to do the same?" (St. Thomas More)

"Considering that when the saints lived in this world they were at liberty to roam the earth, do you really think that in heaven God would have them tied to a post?" (St. Thomas More) 

"[I]f St. Paul beseeches the brethren (Rom.15:30; 2 Cor. 1:11; Col.4:3; Eph. 6:18-19) to help him by their prayers for him to God, we must with even greater reason maintain that we can be helped by the prayers of the saints, and ask their intercession with humility. If we may beseech those who still live on earth, why not those who live in heaven?" (Catholic Encyclopedia)

"The first commandment does not forbid us to pray to the Saints, because if we are allowed to ask the prayers of our fellow creatures upon earth, we should be allowed also to ask the prayers of our fellow creatures in heaven. Moreover, the Saints must have an interest in our welfare, because whatever tends to make us good, tends also to the glory of God." (Baltimore Catechism)

Also See: Communion of the Saints | Honoring & Intercession of the Saints | Honor of Saints is Honor to God | Prayers to Saints / Prayers in Honor of the Saints

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Martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch

"I protest to everyone that I die for God willingly, if only you do not hinder me. I implore you, do not proffer me an unseasonable kindness. Let the wild beasts have me, for through them my way to God lies open. I am God's wheat, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread of Christ. Rather, entice the wild animals that they may become my tomb, and leave nothing at all of my body. Thus when I sleep in death I shall burden no one. Then shall I be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ when the world cannot see even my body. Beseech the Lord on my behalf, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God... May the beasts prepared for me by my joy! And I pray that they will make short work of me. I will coax them with flattery to devour me without delay, and not treat me as some others whom they have been afraid to touch. But if they should be reluctant and unwilling, I will compel them by force." (St. Ignatius of Antioch, martyr, 107 A.D.)

"Now do I begin to be a disciple of Christ, and care for nothing in this world, that so I may find Jesus. Let fire, or the cross, or wild beasts, or the breaking of my bones, or the cutting of me to pieces, or the shattering of my whole body, yea, all the tortures of the devil - let them all come upon me, only let me enjoy my God." (St. Ignatius of Antioch)

Also See: Martyrs / Martyrdom | Mottos / Last Words

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Martyrs / Martyrdom

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Mottos / Last Words

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Practices / Behaviors of the Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"It is an old custom of the saints of God to have some little prayers ready and to be frequently darting them up to heaven during the day, lifting their minds to God out of the mire of this world. He who adopts this plan will obtain great fruits with little pains." (St. Philip Neri)

"St. Theresa offered herself to God fifty times in the day, that he might dispose of her as he pleased; and declared her readiness to embrace either prosperity or adversity. The perfection of our oblation consists in offering ourselves to God without reserve." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"I observe this in a great many people; an single word of blame disturbs and disquiets them...[whereas the] saints were pained if their virtues were known, and pleased that their imperfections should be seen." (St. John Vianney)

"St. Aloysius Gonzaga, when he was a student, if found fault with on any occasion, never tried to excuse himself. If he was wrong, he was wrong; if he was right, he would say to himself: I have often been wrong before." (St. John Vianney)

"The saints were filled with the love of God... When you love a person, you show him more or less affection, according as the ardor of your love for him is more or less great." (St. John Vianney)

"The spirit of thanksgiving has been in all ages the characteristic of the saints." (Muller)

"There is no saint who was not a lover of retirement and penance." (Butler)

"All the saints have a great devotion to Our Lady" (St. John Vianney)

"The saints were so completely dead to themselves that they cared very little whether others agreed with them or not." (St. John Vianney)

"The saints never complain." (St. John Vianney)

"All saints have been adorned with good works." (Pope St. Clement I, c. 95 A.D.)

"The saints had no hatred, no bitterness; they forgive everything and think they deserve much more for their offenses against God." (St. John Vianney)

"All the saints are in heaven because they have prayed much. They would be less holy if they had prayed less, and they would not have been there at all, if they had not prayed" (St. Alphonsus, Doctor of the Church)

"All those who have become saints have frequented the Sacraments and have raised their souls to God by prayer." (St. John Vianney)

Also See: Examples of the Saints | Illustrative Sayings of the Saints | Humility & the Saints | The Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary | The Saints Are the Greatest Benefactors of Society | The Saints Did Not All Begin Well | The "Science of the Saints" | Trials / Persecutions / Sufferings of Saints | Prayers of the Saints | Mottos / Last Words | Imitating the Saints | Striving to Become a Saint | Increase Holiness (Reflections)

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Relics

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The Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary

Also See: Blessed Virgin Mary (Topic Page)

"All the saints have a great devotion to Our Lady" (St. John Vianney)

"If you consider all the saints, you will see that all of them had a devotion to the Blessed Virgin; her intercession is most powerful, she is the mother of God and the Mother of men." (Bl. Brother Andre Bessette)

Also See: Blessed Virgin Mary | Mary, Our Mother (Reflections) | Mary, Our Mother Section

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The Saints Are Looking Glasses of God

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"Every saint is a little looking-glass of God: a facet of the jewel which constitutes the Catholic Church" {Drew}

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The Saints Are the Greatest Benefactors of Society

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"The true Christian does not renounce the activities of this life, he does not stunt his natural faculties; but he develops and perfects them, by coordinating them with the supernatural. He thus ennobles what is merely natural in life and secures for it new strength in the material and temporal order, no less then in the spiritual and eternal. This fact is proved by the whole history of Christianity and its institutions, which is nothing else but the history of true civilization and progress up to the present day. It stands out conspicuously in the lives of the numerous Saints, whom the Church, and she alone, produces, in whom is perfectly realized the purpose of Christian education, and who have in every way ennobled and benefited human society. Indeed, the Saints have ever been, are, and ever will be the greatest benefactors of society, and perfect models for every class and profession, for every state and condition of life, from the simple and uncultured peasant to the master of sciences and letters, from the humble artisan to the commander of armies, from the father of a family to the ruler of peoples and nations, from simple maidens and matrons of the domestic hearth to queens and empresses. What shall we say of the immense work which has been accomplished even for the temporal well-being of men by missionaries of the Gospel, who have brought and still bring to barbarous tribes the benefits of civilization together with the light of the Faith? What of the founders of so many social and charitable institutions, of the vast numbers of saintly educators, men and women, who have perpetuated and multiplied their life work, by leaving after them prolific institutions of Christian education, in aid of families and for the inestimable advantage of nations?" (Pope Pius XI, "Divini Illius Magistri", 1929 A.D.)

"How much good have the saints not done, how many admirable deeds have they not performed by their kindness even in circumstances and in environments penetrated by lies and degraded by vice?" (Pope Pius XII, "Menti Nostrae", 1950 A.D.)

Also See: Love of the Catholic Church (Reflections)

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The Saints Did Not All Begin Well

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"The saints did not all begin well, but they all ended well." (St. John Vianney)

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The Saints Try to Prevent Us From Sinning

Also See: Sin (Topic Page)

"All the angels and saints are engaged in trying to prevent us from committing sins." (St. John Vianney)

Also See: Communion of the Saints | Honoring & Intercession of the Saints

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Saints (Various)

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Blessed Virgin Mary

St. Agnes

St. Ambrose

St. Andrew

St. Andrew Avellino

St. Apollonia

St. Augustine

St. Benedict

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bruno

St. Caecilia

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis of Assisi (links)

St. Jerome (links)

St. John

St. Joseph

St. Jude

St. Laurence

St. Laurence Justinian

St. Louis IX

St. Martin of Tours

St. Mary Magdalene

St. Monica

St. Nicholas

St. Patrick

St. Paul

St. Peter

Sts. Peter & Paul

St. Stephen

St. Teresa on St. Peter of Alcantara

St. Thomas

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Save Me Lest I Fall / Saints

"O Jesus, watch over me always, especially today, or I shall betray you like Judas." (St. Philip Neri)

"I have in me the seeds of every vice: there is not one that I am not capable of committing. Only the grace of God prevents me from falling into the abyss." (St. Claude de la Colombiere)

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The "Science of the Saints"

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"What a sacred ignorance it is that loses sight of the wisdom and prudence of this age in order to learn the science and wisdom of the saints in the school of the Holy Spirit!" (St. Paul of the Cross)

"Here learn the science of the saints: All is to be found in the passion of Jesus." (St. Paul of the Cross)

"The whole science of the saints consists in knowing and following the will of God." (St. Isidore of Seville, Doctor of the Church)

Also See: Practices / Behaviors of the Saints | Illustrative Sayings of the Saints | Examples of the Saints | Trials / Persecutions / Sufferings of Saints | Mottos / Last Words | Imitating the Saints

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St. Louis' Parting Words to His Son 

"Dear son, the first thing I admonish thee is thou set thy heart to love God, for without that nothing else is of any worth. Beware of doing what displeases God, that is to say mortal sin; yea rather oughtest thou to suffer all manner of torments. If God send thee adversity, receive it in patience, and give thanks for it to our Lord, and think that thou hast done Him ill service. If He give thee prosperity, thank Him humbly for the same and not be the worse, either by pride or in any other manner, for that very thing that ought to make thee better; for we must not use God's gifts against Himself. Have a kind and pitiful heart towards the poor and the unfortunate, and comfort and assist them as much as thou canst. Keep up the good customs of thy kingdom, and put down all bad ones. Love all that is good and hate all that is evil of any sort. Suffer no ill word about God or our Lady or the saints to be spoken in thy presence, that thou dost not straightway punish. In the administering of justice be loyal to thy subjects, without turning aside to the right hand or to the left; but help the right, and take the part of the poor until the whole truth be cleared up. Honor and love all ecclesiastical persons, and take care that they be not deprived of the gifts and alms that thy predecessors may have given them. Dear son, I admonish thee that thou be ever devoted to the Church of Rome, and to the sovereign Bishop our father, that is the Pope, and that thou bear him reverence and honor as thou oughtest to do to thy spiritual father. Exert thyself that every vile sin be abolished from thy land; especially to the best of thy power put down all wicked oaths and heresy. Fair son, I give thee all the blessings that a good father can give to a son; may the blessed Trinity and all the saints guard thee and protect thee from all evils; may God give thee grace to do His will always, and may He be honored by thee, and may thou and I after this mortal life be together in His company and praise Him without end." (St. Louis, King of France)

Also See: St. Louis IX

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Striving to Become a Saint

Also See: Spiritual Growth (Topic Page)

"So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 5:48)

"Make up your mind to become a saint." (St. Mary Mazzarello)

"He will be a saint if he be truly mortified." (St. Francis Borgia)

"[N]othing else but our own resistance prevents the Holy Ghost from making saints of us." (Liturgical Year)

"We can, if we will, become a saint, for God will never refuse to help us to do so." (St. John Vianney)

"To be a saint, you must be beside yourself. You must lose your head." (St. John Vianney) [Note: Of course this is not to be taken literally.] 

"If you embrace all things in life as coming from the hands of God, and even embrace death to fulfill His holy will, assuredly you will die a saint." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"The example of all the saints confirms the fundamental maxim of our divine Redeemer, that the foundation of all solid virtue and of true sanctity, is to be laid by subduing the passions and dying to ourselves. Pride, sensuality, covetousness, and every vice must be rooted out of the heart, the senses must he mortified, the inconstancy of the mind must be settled, and its inclination to roving and dissipation fixed by recollection and all depraved affections curbed. Both in cloisters and in the world, many Christians (Catholics) take pains to become virtuous by multiplying religious practices, yet lose in a great measure the fruit of their labors, because they never study with their whole hearts to die to themselves. So long as self-love reigns in their souls, almost without control, this will often blind and deceive them, and will easily infect even their good works, and their devotion will be liable to a thousand illusions, and always very imperfect. Hence religious persons, after many years spent in the rigorous observance of their rule, still fail upon the least trial or contradiction which thwarts their favorite inclination, and are stopped in their spiritual progress as it were by every grain of sand in their way; their whole life they crawl like base insects in the mire of their imperfections, whereas if they studied once in good earnest to curb sensuality and to renounce their own lights, their own will, and the inordinate love of themselves, difficulties would disappear before them, and they would in a short time arrive at the perfection of true virtue, and enjoy the liberty of the children of God, and his interior peace, the true road to which is only humility, meekness, and perfect self-denial. Did we know the treasure and happiness which this would procure us, we should, in imitation of the ancient holy monks, desire to meet with superiors who would exercise us by the severest trials, and think ourselves most obliged to those who apply the strongest remedies to purge and cure our sick souls." (Butler)

Also See: Imitating the Saints | Examples of the Saints | Illustrative Sayings of the Saints | The "Science of the Saints" | Practices / Behaviors of the Saints | Honoring & Intercession of the Saints | Increase Holiness (Reflections) | Increase Holiness Section | Feed Your Faith Section

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Those Who Consider the Examples of the Saints as Follies

"Oh, how much are worldlings deceived that rejoice in the time of weeping, and make their place of imprisonment a place of pleasure; that consider the examples of the saints as follies, and their end as dishonorable; that think to go to heaven by the wide way that only leadeth to perdition!" (St. Robert Southwell)

Also See: Examples of the Saints | Imitating the Saints | 

Practices / Behaviors of the Saints | The "Science of the Saints" | Trials / Persecutions / Sufferings of Saints | Striving to Become a Saint | Honoring & Intercession of the Saints | Prayers to Saints / Prayers in Honor of the Saints

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Trials / Persecutions / Sufferings of Saints

Also See: Saints (Topic Page)

"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of  righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 5:10-12)

"Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 24:9)

"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jn. 15:18-21)

"The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us." (St. Paul, Rom. 8:16-18)

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past." (St. Paul, Col. 1:24-26)

"In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (St. Paul, 2 Tm. 3:12)

"Persecutions serve to bring forth saints." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)

"The greatest saints were those who suffered the most." (St. John Vianney)

"A saint has said: 'I would rather suffer with Jesus Christ than reign with him in Heaven.'" (St. John Vianney)

"What saint has ever won his crown without first contending for it?" (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, 4th century A.D.)

"The saints did not become saints without many a sacrifice and many a struggle." (St. John Vianney)

"We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials." (St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church)

"I am fed upon the bread of tribulation and the water of affliction, but nevertheless, I have not given up, and I will not give up, doing my duty." (Pope St. Silverius)

"The saints rejoiced at injuries and persecutions, because in forgiving them they had something to present to God when they prayed to Him." (St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church)

"I have resolved to labor without truce for the faith of Christ and to suffer all torments, yea death itself, which in such a cause would be sweet to me." (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church)

"Even the saints have been tormented by temptations. The Devil labors harder to make the saints fall than to make the wicked sin: he regards the saints as more valuable prey." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"The jewels which give the greatest splendor to the crown of the saints in heaven are the tribulations which they bore with patience, as coming from the hands of the Lord." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"He who wishes to share in the glory of the saints must suffer in this life as the saints have suffered. None of the saints has been esteemed or treated will by the world - all of them have been despised and persecuted." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"Fire and cross, battling with wild beasts, their clawing and tearing, the breaking of bones and mangling of members, the grinding of my whole body, the wicked torments of the devil - let them assail me, so long as I get to Jesus Christ." (St. Ignatius of Antioch)

"The Lord has willed that we should even rejoice over persecutions because, when persecutions occur, then the faith is crowned, God's soldiers are put to the test and heaven is opened to martyrs. We have not enlisted in an army merely to think of peace and to decline battle, seeing that the Lord, the master of humility, endurance and suffering, has taken the first place in the conflict, that He might first do what He taught us to do and that He might himself first endure for us what He exhorts us to endure." (St. Cyprian, 3rd century A.D.)

"If they have anything to suffer or to sacrifice through remaining faithful to these duties, let them take courage in the thought that the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and is gained only by doing violence to ourselves [not physical violence, but rather other actions which discipline the body - e.g. appropriate mortifications / penances]; and that he who loves himself and what is his own more than Jesus Christ, is not worthy of Him. The example of the many invincible champions who, throughout all time, have generously sacrificed everything for the faith, and the special helps of grace which make the yoke of Jesus Christ sweet and His burden light, ought to animate powerfully their courage and to sustain them in the glorious contest." (Pope Leo XIII, "Dall'alto Dell'apostolico Seggio", 1890 A.D.) 

Also See: Martyrs / Martyrdom | Mottos / Last Words | Suffering / Death (Catholic Life Section)

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Misc. / Saints

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