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January 21 – SAINT AGNES
What a great things charity is! The soul of the scriptures, the force of prophecy, the saving power of the sacraments, the fruit of faith, the wealth of the poor, the life of the dying. What could be more magnanimous than to die for the godless, what more kindly than to love one’s enemies.
Sermon 350, 3

January 20 – SAINTS FABIAN & SEBASTIAN
We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keep his word, we trust him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only yearn and long for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over; then praise alone will remain.
On Psalm 148

January 19 – SAINT MARIO
He prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our head, he is the object of our prayers as our God. Let us then recognize both our voice in his, and his voice in ours. When something is said, especially in prophecy, about the Lord Jesus Christ that seems to belong to a condition of lowliness unworthy of God, we must not hesitate to ascribe this condition to one who did not hesitate to unite himself with us.
On Psalm 85

January 18 – SAINT PRISCA
We have heard in the Gospel how the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Certainly Christ was tempted by the devil. … If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptation and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.
On Psalm 60

January 17 – SAINT ANTONY, ABBOT
“O Lord, our God, let the shelter of your wings give us hope. Protect us and uphold us. You will be the Support that upholds us from childhood till the hair on our heads is grey. When you are our strength we are strong, but when our strength is our own, we are weak. In you our good abides forever, and when we turn away from it we turn to evil. Let us come home at last to you, O Lord, for fear that we be lost.”
Confessions, IV, 16

January 16 – SAINT MARCELLUS
“My love of you, O Lord, is not some vague feeling; it is positive and certain. Your word struck into my heart and from that moment I loved you. Besides this, all about me, heaven and earth and all that they contain proclaim that I should love you, and their message never ceases to sound in the ears of all mankind, so that there is no excuse for any not to love you.”
Confessions, X 6

January 15 – SAINT MAURUS
“Let me know you, for you are the God who knows me; let me recognize you as you have recognized me. You are the power of my soul; come into it and make it fit for yourself, so that you may have it and hold it without stain or wrinkle. This is my hope; this is why I speak as I do; this is the hope that brings me joy, when my joy is in what is to save me.”
Confessions, X, 1

January 14 – SAINT FELIX OF NOLA
“Every other vice prompts people to do evil deeds; but pride lies in ambush even for good deeds, to destroy them. What advantage is it to scatter abroad and give to the poor and become poor oneself, if the mind in its misery becomes prouder in despising riches than it was in possessing them?”
The Rule, Chapter 1

January 13 – SAINT ILARIO
“This is my recommendation to you, my brothers and sisters; give earthly bread, and knock at the door of the heavenly bread; the Lord is bread. ‘I’, He said, ‘am the bread of life’. How will He give it to you, if you do not give it to the person in need? … So while He is the Lord, and the real Lord, and no need of our goods, all the same, in order that we might do something for Him, He was ready to be hungry in His poor.”
Sermon 359, 5-6

January 12 – SAINT MODESTO
“Do justice and you will have peace, thus justice and peace will embrace. If you do not love justice you will not have peace. These two virtues, peace and justice, love and embrace one another in such a way that whoever does justice will encounter the peace that embraces justice. They are two friends.”
On the Psalms 84, 12