Writing to a former student from St. Magdalena teachers college in Speyer, St. Edith Stein assumes the role of spiritual director. In this letter from 1936, she counsels the young woman not to seek changes that are "apt to disturb one's inner peace" because whenever we attempt to get rid of one cross, we usually get a heavier cross, instead. Two years later, this student would become a Discalced Carmelite postulant in the Carmel of Kordel.
Quote of the day, 5 June: St. John of the Cross
"The soul must practice the following instructions if it wishes to attain in a short time holy recollection and spiritual silence, nakedness, and poverty of spirit, where one enjoys the peaceful comfort of the Holy Spirit," writes St John of the Cross in the introduction to The Precautions.
Quote of the day, 4 June: Jessica Powers
Poet Jessica Powers ponders the first stanza of Saint John of the Cross's poem, "The Dark Night". She asks, "How does one hush one's house?..."
Love gives value to everything – Silvio José Báez, o.c.d.
Bishop Silvio José Báez says that in our lives, "everything can begin anew with renewed strength and new dreams" when "love is what drives us from within." Even St. Teresa of Avila agrees: "love alone is what gives value to all things."
Quote of the day, 21 April: Silvio José Báez, o.c.d.
Bishop Báez, preaching on the encounter of the Risen Christ with his disciples offers a timely commentary: "The Risen Christ always frees us and opens up horizons of mercy. Whoever believes in him and welcomes him always receives forgiveness as a gift..."
Quote of the day, 3 April: Denis-Marie Ghesquières, OCD
Commenting on the Gospel story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, Fr. Denis-Marie Ghesquières, OCD writes, "Jesus challenges each one of the onlookers to search his heart and, faced with the woman's sin, to question himself! A new path can open up by setting out from the truth about oneself in the presence of Jesus..."
Quote of the day, 15 January: Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.
Faith doesn't lead us to sacrifice our reason; on the contrary, the experience of God elevates it—making it noble, unconstrained, and worthy.
Quote of the day, 19 December: St. John of the Cross
The soul through original sin is a captive in the mortal body, subject to passions and natural appetites; when liberated from this bondage and submission, it considers its escape, in which it is unnoticed, unimpeded, and unapprehended by its passions and appetites, a sheer grace.
Quote of the day, 11 October: Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.
Letting ourselves be conquered by the loving gaze of Jesus is the beginning of a new and eternal life.
Quote of the day: 30 October
To pray for the conversion of sinners and to move the mercy of God
Quote of the day: 26 October
Love is not simply a feeling, it’s an act of freedom
No Caesar is God — Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.
No Caesar of this world can demand that which belongs to God.
Quote of the day: 10 September
Compared to the hell of the ships, the island seemed a veritable paradise
To be a disciple of Jesus — Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.
To be a disciple of Jesus means to take up the cross and follow him
Quote of the day: 18 August
So that they can find in the captivity of their bodies, freedom for their soul
Quote of the day: 2 June
The Fall... was rooted in a disturbance of social justice
Marie du jour 2020: 12 May
She lives with joy because she trusts totally in the Lord
Justice is a non-negotiable — Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.
I believe that justice is a non-negotiable; the truth must be established
Quote of the day: 1 March
Only attachment to God makes us free
Quote of the day: 14 December
John's entire work is tensed towards eternity
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