Daily Inspiration- 365 Quotes From Saints

by Wyatt North

  “Since God had commanded it, it was necessary that I do it. Since God commanded it, even if I had a hundred fathers and mothers, even if I had been a King's daughter, I would have gone nevertheless.”

  – St. Joan of Arc

  The charge of heresy leveled against Joan stemmed from disbelief that Joan’s actions were commanded by the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret, which Joan claimed she had been hearing from a very young age. For several years she had only heard them, but when she was 13, Saints Michael, Catherine, and Margaret appeared to her in a vision. This time they gave her specific instructions to drive the English out of France and to bring the dauphin to Reims to be crowned. Joan was 16 by the time she was able to present herself to the dauphin (later crowned King Henry VII of France) to offer her aid. His advisors feared that the voices Joan heard were of demonic origin, which would make her guilty of witchcraft, and they could not allow the dauphin’s cause to be tainted by any hint of heresy. After checking into her background and interrogating Joan, a commission of inquiry found her beyond reproach, a good Christian of “humility, honesty, and simplicity.” Theologians, however, while admitting that her mission was probably divinely inspired, insisted that she be tested to eliminate any doubt. The test was to lift the siege of Orleans, which Joan had claimed she would do. And that’s exactly what she did. Defeating the French at Orleans convinced the theologians and the dauphin to let her continue her mission to rid France of the English.

  “About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing.”

  – St. Joan of Arc

  The Burgundians who were allied with the English captured Joan and held her for ransom before selling her to the English, who tried her as a witch and heretic in a trial that violated standard legal procedures of the time. The clerical notary charged with gathering evidence against Joan found none, but the trial proceeded anyway. Joan was denied legal counsel, and the tribunal consisted of pro-English clergy even though the Church’s normal process required impartial clerics to be included. The Vice-Inquisitor of Northern France agreed to cooperate only after the English threatened his life. Joan was not held in an ecclesiastical prison guarded by nuns, which was the norm for prisoners of the Inquisition, but rather in a secular prison guarded by English soldiers. After fighting off an attempted rape, Joan wore men’s clothing, which afforded more protection against sexual assault but also resulted in an added charge of heresy for cross-dressing.

  “One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.”

  – St. Joan of Arc

  One of the most illuminating exchanges during Joan’s trial came when Joan was asked if she knew she was in God’s grace. Joan, a simple, ill-educated peasant girl, would have had no way of knowing the question was a trap intended to elicit a response that would prove her guilt. Church doctrine was that there is no certainty, for anyone, of being in God’s grace. So, answering “yes” would have violated doctrine and been an act of heresy. Answering “no” would have been a confession of guilt. Joan’s interrogators were stunned when she evaded the trap by answering, “If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.” Nevertheless, Joan was convicted of heresy and sentenced to death.

  “We should have frequent recourse to prayer and persevere a long time in it. God wishes to be solicited. He is not weary of hearing us. The treasure of His graces is infinite. We can do nothing more pleasing to him than to beg incessantly that He bestow them upon us.”

  – St. John Baptist de la Salle

  St. John Baptist de la Salle is best known as an educational reformer. He founded a community of teachers that became the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and established teachers’ colleges in Rheims, Paris, and Saint-Denis in his native France. Born into a noble family in Rheims in 1651 and ordained in 1678, he dedicated his life to creating educational opportunities for the poor. He is regarded as the founder of the first Catholic schools and implemented important changes in the way both children and teachers were educated. For example, he felt strongly that teaching should be done in the common language spoken by students rather than in Latin, which was the language of the wealthy and of clergy. He also emphasized classroom teaching over the individual instruction that was common at the time. The schools he founded employed lay teachers as well as clerics, divided students into ability-based groups, and even offered Sunday classes for students who worked during the week. Many of his innovations are still reflected in modern education. Canonized in 1900, 181 years after his death, St. John Baptist de la Salle was named patron of teachers in 1950.

  “When I see the devil has stopped ensnaring souls, I too will cease looking for new ways to save them from his wily deceits.”

  – St. John Bosco

  Born Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco and known as Don Bosco, John Bosco was born in 1815, in a region of Italy recently ravaged by the Napoleonic Wars and suffering from drought and famine. Raised from the age of two by his widowed mother, he was very devout even as a young boy, influenced no doubt by her example of charity to the homeless despite her own poverty. He was also influenced throughout his life by a series of vivid dreams he had at the age of nine. In his dreams he saw many boys swearing as they played under the watchful eyes of a majestic man and woman who gave him advice he would never forget—that in meekness and charity he would “conquer these, your friends” and that if he remained strong, humble, and robust he would eventually understand everything. He then saw the boys turn into a pack of snarling beasts before the woman, who, with a wave of her hand, changed them into a peaceful flock of lambs.

  “What I recommend most earnestly is not to lose heart when you are tempted. Do you wish to succeed? The best way is to reveal the temptations to your spiritual director immediately. The devil loves darkness. He always operates in the dark because he knows that if he is discovered he is beaten.”

  – St. John Bosco

  As a boy, John was intrigued by magic and thought it was a good way to hold the attention of others. He learned some magic tricks and one Sunday evening, performed them for a group of his friends, and then recited for them the homily he had heard at Mass that day. His friends not only listened to the homily, but also prayed with John. John put on such shows regularly, and through them he recognized his calling to the priesthood. Throughout his life, John Bosco used what has become known as “gospel magic” to attract and engage the youth that were the focus of his mission. In 2002, nearly 70 years after his canonization, John was named as the patron of stage magicians.

  “Do you want to outwit the devil? Never let him catch you idle. Work, study, pray, and you will surely overcome your spiritual enemy.”

  – St. John Bosco

  John knew that he would need an education to become a priest, but his family’s poverty was an obstacle. When he did find a priest who was willing to teach him, John’s older brother was enraged and gave John a whipping because his help was needed on the family farm. So, John left home at the age of 12 and worked in a vineyard for two years until he found a priest, Joseph Cafasso (now a saint himself), who would help him prepare for seminary, which he entered at the age of 20. He was ordained six years later. During his first assignment, in the slums of Turin, Father Bosco worked with children living in poverty and became determined to keep them from ending up incarcerated like the many teenage boys he saw during his prison visits. He found them jobs and homes, assisted by his mother, who became known as Mamma Margherita. His own experiences with poverty and lack of opportunity undoubtedly helped fuel his passion for his work.

  “Ask your angel to console and assist you in your last moments.”

  – St. John Bosco

  Father Bosco worked tirelessly to improve the lives of young apprentices, who were often abused by their employers and forced to work long hours and do unpaid menial tasks not related to their apprenticesh
ip. He worked with employers to negotiate contracts that gave apprentices the right to feast days off and banned beatings and other unfair and abusive practices. He also encouraged boys promising to consider religious life and helped prepare those who felt a call to the priesthood. Because of these activities, Father Bosco became a somewhat controversial figure, opposed by some parish priests who resented his work with street youth and accused him of stealing boys from parish churches. Turin’s police chief thought that his practice of preaching and providing religious instruction in the streets was politically subversive. Father Bosco was undeterred by such opposition.

  “When tempted, invoke your Angel. He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped! Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him: He trembles and flees at the sight of your Guardian Angel.”

  – St. John Bosco

  Father Bosco’s life as an educator began with one boy who wandered in from the street to warm himself in the church while Father Bosco was preparing for Mass. He stopped the sacristan from throwing the boy out and struck up a conversation with the youth. He learned that he was an orphaned 16-year old bricklayer named Bartholomew. Father Bosco asked him to stay for Mass, and after Mass he invited Bartholomew to come back the following Sunday with his friends. That next Sunday four young boys came needing a hot meal and warm clothing, and the following week there were even more. Their numbers continued to increase, and the group became the first students in Father Bosco’s wandering Oratory, meeting in public wherever they found space.

  “Fly from bad companions as from the bite of a poisonous snake. If you keep good companions, I can assure you that you will one day rejoice with the blessed in Heaven; whereas if you keep with those who are bad, you will become bad yourself, and you will be in danger of losing your soul.”

  – St. John Bosco

  In 1859, Father Bosco organized a group of seminarians and one teenage boy and established the Society of St. Francis de Sales, known commonly as the Salesians. Its mission was the same one he’s been pursuing since he first started working with youth—helping them to stay out of trouble and grow spiritually. The many Salesian schools in operation today, whether in a remote African village or a bustling American city, operate with the philosophy that each school is not only a school, but also a house, a church, and a playground. Loving kindness, reason, and religion are the cornerstones of a Salesian education. There are Salesian schools in 124 nations, including non-Christian countries.

  “Never read books you aren't sure about. . . even supposing that these bad books are very well written from a literary point of view. Let me ask you this: Would you drink something you knew was poisoned just because it was offered to you in a golden cup?”

  – St. John Bosco

  Father Bosco is reported to have performed several miraculous healings during his lifetime. Hundreds of people witnessed one that occurred on the feast of the Holy Cross in 1867, when an elderly woman, unable to walk unassisted asked for a blessing. Father Bosco told her to kneel, which she had not been able to do in many years. He took her crutches from her and she knelt easily for his blessing, weeping with joy. In 1877 a woman brought her 10-year old daughter to see Father Bosco on the eve of the feast of Mary Help of Christians. She told him that her daughter had been paralyzed on her right side and unable to speak for more than a month. He blessed her and asked her to make the sign of the cross. When she did so with her left hand, he told her to do it with her right hand, and she was able to, right arm no longer paralyzed. He then asked her to repeat some words after him, and she was no longer mute. And Father Bosco’s former pupil and biographer told of Father Bosco raising a boy who had recently died. There are numerous accounts of other miracles performed by Father Bosco during his lifetime, as well as many attributed to the intercession of St. John Bosco.

  “Avoid slander because it is difficult to retract. Avoid offending anyone for to ask forgiveness is not delightful.”

  – St. John Cantius

  Pope John Paul II had an abiding devotion to this saint, John Cantius, born in 1390 in the tiny town of Kenty (sometimes spelled Kanti or Kanty), only a few miles from his own birthplace in southern Poland. Aside from a few years as a parish priest, Cantius spent his entire life in Krakow, where he had been educated and ordained. He taught in the Philosophy Department at the Jagiellonian University before becoming Director of the Theology Department. He was well known for his generosity and compassion and his efforts on behalf of the poor. Shortly after his death, he began to be credited for miracles achieved through his intercession, and before long, pilgrims were coming from all over Europe to his tomb in the university’s church. St. John Cantius was canonized in 1676 and declared patron of Poland and Lithuania in 1737. When Pope John Paul II made his 1997 pilgrimage to Poland, he made it a point to pray at the tomb of the saint he’d admired for so long.

  “The memory of insults is the residue of anger. It keeps sins alive, hates justice, ruins virtue, poisons the heart, rots the mind, defeats concentration, paralyzes prayer, puts love at a distance, and is a nail driven into the soul. If anyone has appeased his anger, he has already suppressed the memory of insults, while as long as the mother is alive the son persists. In order to appease the anger, love is necessary.”

  – St. John Climacus

  Very little is known about the history of St. John Climacus (also known as John the Ladder, John Scholasticus, and John Sinaites), including exactly when he lived, which scholars now place in the seventh century. He was probably either Syrian or Palestinian, and he lived for about 20 years as a hermit at the foot of Mount Sinai. During those years he studied the lives of the saints and the Scriptures, becoming one of the most learned scholars of his time. At the age of 75 he accepted the invitation of the monks at Sinai to become their abbot. His reputation for wisdom spread, and he even received an unsolicited donation from Pope Gregory the Great for the hospital of Sinai, where pilgrims found lodging.

  “Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate.”

  – St. John Climacus

  St. John Climacus is best known for the literary work, The Climax, from which his name was derived. The book is also known as The Ladder of Perfection, giving rise to the name John the Ladder. (John Sinaites comes from his association with Mount Sinai.) In writing it, John used the analogy of Jacob’s Ladder, with 30 steps, each representing a year in Christ’s life up to the point that He began His earthly ministry. The steps were organized in groups representing: the virtues necessary for an ascetic life (steps 1-7); instructions for overcoming vices and developing those virtues (steps 8-26); and the higher virtues that are attainable by leading an ascetic life (steps 27-30).

  “Detachment is a withdrawal from all evil desires.”

  – St. John Climacus

  The monk who would become a saint was convinced of the value of asceticism and monasticism in achieving spiritual growth and developing the highest of virtues: prayer, stillness, dispassion, and love. He was never more fulfilled than when he was living an eremitic life. John’s treatise on aiming for Christian perfection through the monastic life was originally written for a specific, private audience—the abbot of a neighboring monastery—but it was widely read in both the East and the West. St. John Climacus is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, but he was never canonized.

  “If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.”

  – St. John of the Cross

  Juan de Yepes y Alvarez was born into poverty in Avila, Spain in 1542. His mother struggled after the death of her husband when John was only three and the death of her son Luis only two years later, most likely from malnutrition. She eventually found work and was able to feed John and his remaining brother, Francisco. She sent John to a school that provided a religious education as well as a bed, food, and clothing for orphans and children from poor families. From childhood, John knew he would enter religious life, and he attended a Jesuit school to complete
his education. At the age of 21 he joined the Carmelite Order as John of St. Matthias. The Carmelites sent him to study theology and philosophy in Salamanca, where he committed the controversial act of translating the Song of Songs into Spanish, though Church rules prohibited the Bible from being translated from Latin.

  “How can you venture to live without fear, seeing that you must appear before God to give an account of your lightest words and thoughts?”