"Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice. Let your gentleness and consideration be known to all, for the Lord is always near. Do not be anxious about anything. But with prayer, and by supplication, and with thanksgiving, let your needs be made known unto God. And the peace of the Lord, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:4-7
"The blessed John the Evangelist lived in Ephesus until extreme old age. His disciples could barely carry him to church and he could not muster the voice to speak many words. During individual gatherings he usually said nothing but, 'Little children, love one another.' The disciples and brothers in attendance, annoyed because they always heard the same words, finally said, 'Teacher, why do you always say this?' He replied with a line worthy of John: 'Because it is the Lord's commandment, and if it alone is kept, it is sufficient.'"
Jerome, Commentary on Galatians, 4th century
"In the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Thereafter, any attack, even on the least of men, is an attack on Christ, who took on the form of man, and in His own Person restored the image of God in all. Through our relationship with the Incarnation we recover our true humanity, and at the same time are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and recover our familiality with all mankind."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing, or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation. And I have learned to be thankful, whether empty or full."
Phillipians 4:11-12
Remember us, O Lord, in thy loving kindness and tender mercies, as ever they have been from old."
Psalm 25:6
"Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be. Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them. Without love, deeds, even the greatest, count as nothing. Our Lord's love shines forth as much in the simplest of souls as it does in the most highly gifted, as long as there is no refusal of His grace."
Thérèse Martin de Lisieux
These are the three great gifts: repentance, forgiveness, thankfulness.
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Dürer, Saint Jerome In His Study |
