JULY 28 – SAINTS NAZARIUS AND CELSUS
“You should know that you perform a double work of mercy if you give
something to the poor in such a way that you give it yourself. What’s
called for, you see, is not only the kindness of lavishing assistance, but
also the humility of lending a helping hand.”
Sermon 259, 5
JULY 27 – SAINT NATALIE
“Christ became the way by which you should come to him. I’m not telling you, ‘Look for the way’; the way itself has come to you; get up and walk. Walk on your behavior, not your feet.”
Sermon 141, 4
JULY 26 – SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANN
“Charity is the one thing that is not cast down by another’s good fortune, because it is not jealous. It is the one thing that its own good fortune does not puff up, because it is not conceited.”
Sermon 350, 2
JULY 25 – SAINT JAMES
“In this life there are two loves in conflict in every temptation: the love of this world and the love of God. Whichever one wins out draws the lover like gravity in its direction. It is not through feet or wings but by desire that we come to God.”
Sermon 344, 1
JULY 24 – SAINT SHARBEL
“When there is no peace at home among those who live there, the house is disorderly and there is a natural desire to run outside. Well, if people are miserable going home, afraid to face their family’s wrangling, how much more miserable are those who are reluctant to face their own conscience, afraid of being overwhelmed by the strife arising from their sins.”
On Psalm 33/2
JULY 23 – SAINT BRIDGET
“What at the present moment are the evils of humanity? Error and weakness. Either you don’t know what you should do or, if you do know, you discover that you are too weak to do it. Such confusion and weakness is the root of every evil thing that humans do.”
Sermon 182, 6
JULY 22 – SAINT MARY MAGDALENE
“I longed for the chance to devote myself wholly to you, O God, but I was held back, bound not with the iron chains of some foreign abductor but by the bonds of my own iron will.”
Confessions 8.5
JULY 21 – SAINT LAWRENCE OF BRINDISI
“We were sick and could not move. And so, the physician came to the patient; the way was prepared for the wanderers. Let us be saved by him; let us walk through him.”
Sermon on 1 John 10, 1
JULY 20 – SAINT COLUMBA
“Essentially, what is the way through which we run? Christ said: ‘I am the Way.’ What is the homeland to which we are running? Christ said: ‘I am the Truth.’ You run through him, you run to him, and you rest in him.”
Sermon on 1 John 10, 1
JULY 19 – SAINT MACRINA
“Lord, we are your little flock; we belong to you. Spread your wings that we may take refuge under them. Be our glory, let us be loved for your sake, and let your word be feared in our midst.”
Confessions 10, 36