Quote/s for the Day – 1 February – The Memorial of Bl Benedict Daswa (1946-1990) Martyr – The First South African-born to be Beatified.
Would it not have been so simple for Blessed Benedict to pay his share of the required amount to hire the Sangona (Witch Doctor) to “sniff out” the witch who caused the storms? It was not a huge amount of money required by each resident. The temptation to do so must have been quite appealing but he refused and tried to explain that the storms were a natural phenomenon. He did, however, pay the ultimate price for his fidelity, with his blood.
“Speaking of Temptation”
“Virtue is nothing, without the trial of temptation,
for there is no conflict, without an enemy,
no victory, without strife.”
St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father & Doctor of the Church
“There are in truth, three states of the converted,
the beginning, the middle and the perfection.
In the beginning, they experience the charms of sweetness;
in the middle, the contests of temptation;
and in the end, the fullness of perfection.”
St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer.
When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us,
He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice.
Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation
to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God,
that you will be successful, if only you stand fast.”
St Philip Neri (1515-1595)
“The beginning of all temptation lies in a wavering mind
and little trust in God, for as a rudderless ship is driven
hither and yon by waves, so a careless and irresolute man,
is tempted in many ways.
Fire tempers iron and temptation steels the just.
Often we do not know what we can stand
but temptation shows us what we are.
Above all, we must be especially alert against
the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily
conquered if he is refused admittance to the mind
and is met beyond the threshold when he knocks.”
St Francis De Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“It often happens that we pray God to deliver us
from some dangerous temptation and yet,
God does not hear us but permits the temptation
to continue troubling us. In such a case, let us understand,
that God permits even this for our greater good.
When a soul in temptation recommends itself to God
and by His aid resists, O how it then advances in perfection.”
“He who trusts himself is lost.
He who trusts in God can do all things.
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
“When tempted, invoke your Angel.
He is more eager to help you, than you are to be helped!
Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him –
he trembles and flees, at the sight of your Guardian Angel.”
AnaStpaul 