Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year

THERE are two guarantees of a wise rule of conduct: the thought before action, and self-command afterward.—ST. IGNATIUS.
When we receive with an entire and perfect resignation the afflictions which God sends us they become for us favors and benefits; because conformity to the will of God is a gain far superior to all temporal advantages.—ST. VINCENT DE PAUL.
All perfection consists in the love of God; and the perfection of divine love consists in the union of our will with that of God.—ST. ALPHONSUS.
Leave to every one the care of what belongs to him, and disturb not thyself with what is said or done in the world.—ST. THOMAS AQUINAS.
Place before your eyes as models for imitation, not the weak and cowardly, but the fervent and courageous.—ST. IGNATIUS.
Prayer is a pasturage, a field, wherein all the virtues find their nourishment, growth, and strength.—ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA.
A single act of resignation to the divine will in what it ordains contrary to our desires, is of more value than a hundred thousand successes conformable to our will and taste.—ST. VINCENT DE PAUL.
The shortest, yea, the only way to reach sanctity, is to conceive a horror for all that the world loves and values.—ST. IGNATIUS.
As long as we are in this mortal life, nothing is more necessary for us than humility.—ST. TERESA.
Learning without humility has always been pernicious to the Church; and as pride precipitated the rebellious angels from heaven, it frequently causes the loss of learned men.—ST. VINCENT DE PAUL.
Why remain sad and idle? Why exhaust thyself in the anguish of melancholy? Have courage, do violence to thyself; meditate on the passion of Jesus Christ, and thou shalt overcome thy sorrow.—BL. HENRY SUSO.
Here is the difference between the joys of the world and the cross of Jesus Christ: after having tasted the first, one is disgusted with them; and on the contrary, the more one partakes of the cross, the greater the thirst for it.—ST. IGNATIUS.