Feb 4 Wed
8 Powerful Quotes from St. Josemaría Escrivá
#1 “To be holy isn’t easy, but it isn’t difficult either. To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ. The more closely a person resembles Christ, the more Christian he is, the more he belongs to Christ, the holier he is.” (The Forge, 10)
#2 “When you pray, but see nothing, and feel flustered and dry, then the way is this: don’t think of yourself. Instead, turn your eyes to the Passion of Jesus Christ, our redeemer. Be convinced that he is asking each one of us, as he asked those three most intimate Apostles of his in the Garden of Olives, to ‘watch and pray.’” (The Forge, 753)
Prayer is not primarily about feelings; it is a dialogue of love.
#3 “We cannot separate the seed of doctrine from the seed of piety. The only way to inoculate your work of sowing doctrine against the germs of ineffectiveness is by being sincerely devout.” (The Forge, 918)
Religion turns sterile and lifeless when piety does not accompany doctrine.
#4 “There are some people who, when they speak about God or the apostolate, seem to feel the need to apologize. Perhaps it is because they have not discovered the value of human virtues, but, on the other hand, have been greatly deformed spiritually, and are too cowardly.” (Furrow, 37)
#5 “I am going to summarize your clinical history: here I fall, and there I get up. The latter is what matters. So, continue with that interior struggle, even though you go at the pace of the tortoise. Forward! You know well, my son, where you can end up, if you don’t fight: one depth leads to another and another.” (Furrow, 173)
#6 “Look at the set of senseless reasons the enemy gives you for abandoning your prayer. ‘I have no time’—when you are constantly wasting it. ‘This is not for me.’ ‘My heart is dry…’ Prayer is not a question of what you say or feel, but of love. And you love when you try hard to say something to the Lord, even though you might not actually say anything.” (Furrow, 464)
#7 “Here is a thought to help you in difficult moments. ‘The more my faithfulness increases, the better will I be able to contribute to the growth of others in that virtue.’ How good it is to feel supported by each other.” (Furrow, 948)
When God gives us grace, it’s not just for us.
#8 “What zeal men put into their earthly affairs! Dreaming of honors, striving for riches, bent on sensuality! Men and women, rich and poor, old and middle-aged, and young and even children: all of them alike. When you and I put the same zeal into the affairs of our souls, then we’ll have a living and working faith. And there will be no obstacle that we cannot overcome in our apostolic works.” (The Way, 317)
A recommended daily spiritual practice is an examination of conscience.
We so easily invest ourselves in worldly things—yet where is God? How is He moving and working in our lives? When we devote some time to God, He fills us with his grace.