Sunday, March 30, 2014

Peace Quotes by Saints

A great means to preserve continual peace and tranquility of soul is to receive everything from the hands of God, both great and small, and in whatever way it comes.
--St. Dorotheus

'See, my children, a person who is in a state of sin is always sad. Whatever he does, he is weary and disgusted with every thing; while he who is at peace with God is always happy, always joyous. . . Oh, beautiful life! Oh, beautiful death!'
--St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney

He who is humble easily obeys everyone, fears to offend anyone, is at peace with everyone, is kind with all.
--St Thomas of Villanova

"Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy." (300)
--Diary of St Faustina, Divine Mercy in my Soul

Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?
--Saint Gerard Majella

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
--Blessed Mother Teresa

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
--St. Francis de Sales

"Keep your soul at peace, in order to be able to be attentive and very faithful to the inner movement of the Holy Spirit." (To Mme. Stephanie Gourde, November 25, 1850)
--Saint Peter Julian Eymard

“Peace begins with a smile.”
--Blessed Mother Teresa

“If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”
--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. The rest will be given.”
--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."
--Saint Francis of Assisi

"Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you."
--Saint Jerome

The servants of God...whether provoked by word or work, by keeping themselves tranquil and peaceful, evince a perfect nobleness of soul.”
--Saint Thomas Aquinas

”By humility a man finds grace before God and peace with men.”
--Blessed Giles of Assisi

”We must sometimes bear with little defects in others, as we have, against our will, to bear with natural defects in ourselves. If we wish to keep peace with our neighbor, we should never remind anyone of his natural defects.”
--Saint Philip Neri

”The more a person loves God, the more reason he has to hope in Him. This hope produces in the Saints an unutterable peace, which they preserve even in adversity, because as they love God, and know how beautiful He is to those who love Him, they place all their confidence and find all their repose in Him alone.”
--Saint Alphonsus Liguori

"Opting for peace does not mean a passive acquiescence to evil or compromise of principle. It demands an active struggle against hatred, oppression and disunity, but not by using methods of violence. Building peace requires creative and courageous action."
--Pope John Paul II

She  who is silent everywhere finds peace.
--St. Teresa Margaret

She who desires peace must see, suffer and be silent.
--St. Teresa Margaret

“Always receive with equal contentment from God’s hand either consolations or sufferings, peace or distress, health or illness. Ask nothing, refuse nothing, but always be ready to do and to suffer anything that comes from His Providence.”
--St. Teresa Margaret

Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people's, if we are always criticizing trivial actions - which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives.
--Saint Teresa

Peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so far as justice removes the obstacles to peace; but it is the work of charity (love) directly, since charity according to its very notion, causes peace.
--Thomas Aquinas All works of love are works of peace.
--Blessed Mother Teresa

Let us not be justices of the peace, but angels of peace.
--St. Therese of Lisieux

Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors.
--St. Therese of Lisieux

Peace is not just the absence of war. Like a cathedral, peace must be constructed patiently and with unshakable faith.
--Pope John Paul II

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Have Salt in Yourselves!

Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50).

Funny how you can come across a scripture verse that grabs your attention and you think "Was that always there?" Have salt in yourselves? What on earth does that mean?

Since last Sunday's gospel reading was about being salt and light in this world, I've been reflecting on its meaning for me. Our Pastor, Monsignor Daniel Mueggenborg, challenged us with a few good images of salt:

We are to be people who "flavor" all aspects of our lives and relationships with the values of the Gospel.

We are to be people who pray and guard against temptation so as to preserve ourselves and others from the corruption of sin and human vices.

We are to be people who constantly purify our lives by removing what is contrary to the Gospel or distorted in our priorities.

We are to be people who unite our difficulties and persecutions of faith with the sacrifice of Jesus so as to be offered with Him to the Father.

Lastly, we are to be a people who become catalysts of conversion in the world so as to allow the fire of faith to catch more quickly in people's lives, to burn more intensely in our hearts and theirs, and last longer.

Which of these images of "salt" has special meaning for you? And why?

Be filled with salt and be at peace, my friends!

Celtic Blessing

Dear friends,
Enjoy this lovely Celtic blessing and song "Deep Peace" today~~
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ the Light of the world to you.
Deep peace of Christ to you.

God bless,
Sheila

Music: Bill Douglas's CD "Jewel Lake"