Category: QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on ZEAL

Thought for the Day – 27 February – Fervour and Tepidity

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Thought for the Day – 27 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Fervour and Tepidity

“Our Lord does not command us to be merely virtuous.
He commands us to be perfect.
“You, therefore, are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
He tells us to love Him with our whole heart and our whole soul.
“Thou shalt love the Lord th God, with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul” (Mt 22:37).
He orders us to renounce everything rather than offend Him, (Lk 14:33) even to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand or foot, if it should present an obstacle to our eternal salvation (Mt 18:81).

How can we remain unmoved and inactive in the face of these exhortations?
The grace of perfection to which Our Lord calls us, cannot be reached without His grace which we can only obtain by fervent and unceasing prayer.
Fervour is the animating principle of the spiritual life.
It wins God’s gifts for us and makes us almost immune from sin.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/25/thought-for-the-day-25-february-fervour-and-tepidity/

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Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 24 February – Carelessness

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Thought for the Day – 24 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Carelessness

“Some people think that they are good Christians because they avoid committing grave sin and more or less, fulfil their duties.
They do not entirely omit their prayers but, they are content to recite them listlessly.

They go to Mass on days of obligation but, they are afraid of arriving too early and so, they are usually a little late.
Once Mass is over, they leave the Church, as if they had been set on fire.
During Mass, they are cold and distracted.
They are like candlesticks without candles – their minds are absent, their hearts are mute.

In regard to their work or other obligations, any excuse suffices to escape or to leave a job half-done.
It is useless to expect from them, anything like fervour in prayer, attention to duty, or a spirit of sacrifice in the performance of good works.

Such people are only half-Christians.
They do not wish to serve Satan but, they lack the generosity ad the strength of will to become true sons of God. Do you belong to this category?
If your carelessness derives from a lack of appreciation of divine things and of your duty in life, you can hardly avoid grave fault.
If it comes from laziness, tepidity or lack of mortification, there is no doubt but that you are close to mortal sin!
Anyone who is negligent, not only disgusts men but he is an object of loathing to God also and is running the risk of being abandoned by Him.
We should examine ourselves seriously and, if we discover this indifference in ourselves, we should shake off our lethargy and make good resolutions to love God more and to serve Him with greater fidelity and diligence.
We should be ready, no matter how great the sacrifice, to avoid every imperfection and sin.
Any offence against God can lead us nearer to eternal damnation!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SANCTITY

Thought for the Day – 14 February – The Three Grades of Perfection – One and Two

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Thought for the Day – 14 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Three Grades of Perfection – One and Two

“According to St Ignatius, there are three grades of perfection.
The first consists in being ready to avoid mortal sin at all costs, even to the ultimate sacrifice.
Circumstances may require us to be martyrs for the faith by being prepared to shed our blood, rather than deny Jesus.
Circumstances may also require us to be martyrs for our Christian way of life, by being prepared to lose everything, health, fortune and friendship, rather than commit a mortal sin.
We are all obliged to reach this first grade of perfection.
If anyone refuses to recognise this, he is already in a state of mortal sin, insofar, as he is prepared to sin grievously, rather than make any real sacrifice.
Such a man loves himself and his own comfort, more than he loves God.

The second grade of perfection, consists in a state of indifference to created things, to everything except God, whether it is to health or sickness, wealth or poverty, praise or blame, success or failure.
All these things can be used equally well in the loving service of God and in the salvation of our souls.
The first grade of perfection is based on the love of God.
The second is founded on the love of God alone, so that we are indifferent to everything else, as long as we love, serve and give glory to God.
We seek other things, only insofar, as they can help us to know and love God better.
We avoid them, insofar, as they can keep us apart from Him.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Part One Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/24/thought-for-the-day-24-april-the-three-grades-of-perfection-introduction/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FREE WILL, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 18 September – St Joseph of Cupertino and Free Will – “Our Unique Possession”

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 September – The Memorial of St Joseph of Cupertino OFM Conv. (1603-1663)

Free Will – “Our Unique Possession”

“Clearly, what God wants, above all,
is our will,
which we received as a free gift from God in creation
and possess as though our own.
When a man trains himself to acts of virtue,
it is with the help of grace from God,
from whom all good things come …
The will is what man has,
as his unique possession.”

St Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663)

“A man may lose the good things
of this life against his will
but, if he loses the eternal blessings,
he does so with his own consent.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“God desires, not death but faith.
God thirsts, not for blood but for self-surrender.
God is appeased, not by slaughter
but by the offering of your free will.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Bishop, Father & Doctor of Homilies

“Remove grace
and you have nothing,
whereby to be saved.
Remove free will
and you have nothing,
that could be saved.”

St Anselm (1033-1109)
Doctor of the Church

“Lord what will Thou have me do?
Behold the true sign of a totally perfect soul –
when one has reached the point
of giving up his will so completely
that he no longer seeks,
expects or desires
to do ought
but that which God wills.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

“Happiness is secured through virtue,
it is a good attained by man’s own will.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Angelic Doctor

“But do not forget,
that all the saints cannot endear you to Christ
as much as you can yourself.
It is entirely up to you!”

St Cajetan (1480-1547)

“More determination is required
to subdue the interior man
than to mortify the body
and to break one’s will,
than to break one’s bones.”

St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)

“A man makes the most progress
and merits the most grace,
precisely in those matters,
wherein he gains
the greatest victories over self
and most mortifies his will.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity

“I will attempt, day-by-day,
to break my will into pieces.
I want to do God’s Holy Will,
not my own!”

By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

Posted in JESUIT SJ, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on TIME, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 9 Sepember – St Peter Claver and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 Sepember – The Memorial of St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) “Slave of the slaves” and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor” and Founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society

“We must speak to them
with our hands, by giving,
before we try to speak to them
with our lips.”

“To love God as He ought to be loved,
we must be detached from all temporal love.
We must love nothing but Him,
or if we love anything else,
we must love it, only for His sake.”

“To do the will of God,
man must despise his own;
the more he dies to himself,
the more he will live to God.”

St Peter Claver (1581-1654)
“Slave of the slaves”

“Let us complain less of our times
and more of ourselves.
Let us not be discouraged,
let us be better!”

“Let us learn of Him,
that holy preference,
which shows most love,
to those who suffer most.”

“Let us go in simplicity,
where merciful Providence leads us,
content to see the stone on which we should step,
without wanting to discover,
all at once and completely,
the windings of the road.”

Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853)
“Servant to the Poor”

More from Blessed Frédéric:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/09/quote-s-of-the-day-9-september-from-blessed-frederic-ozanam-founder-of-the-st-vincent-de-paul-society/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SANCTITY

Thought for the Day – 4 September – Holy Indifference

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Thought for the Day – 4 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Holy Indifference

“That is not indifference towards what is good or towards God.
That kind of indifference, is the apathy and negligence which distracts us from striving to reach our final end, by advancing in sanctity.

The holy indifference which we should all have, or endeavour to have, is described by St Ignatius in his book on the Spiritual Exercises.
It is a virtue, which renders us indifferent towards all creatues because, we see them only as means which will help or hinder us on the path to sanctity.
Therefore, we must be indifferent towards sickness and health.

“Grant to me, O Lord,” we should pray, “that which pleases You most.
Perhaps You know, that health could be a grave danger to me, that it could lead me into offending You, or that, at least, it could make me too attached to the things of this world.
If this is so, send me whatever illness You will.
I will accept them from Your hands, as a gift of Your mercy and goodness and I will try to sanctify myself by means of them.
Nature rebels at this thought, yet, I must not listen to the promptings of nature but, to the inspirations of grace.

On the other hand, You may see, that my good health would add to Your glory and help me to grow in sanctity and to be useful in the Apostolate.
Grant health to me, if it is Your will to do so.
I will accept it from Your hands and I will use it, solely for Your glory.”

A man who is capable of such high spirituality, will not be shaken by the fury of human passion but, will remain always calm and attentive to the demands of grace.
He will surrender himself completely to the will of God, in all the circumstances of his life.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FREE WILL, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on VIRTUE

Thought for the Day – 27 August – Those Who Will to be Damned

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Thought for the Day – 27 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Those Who Will to be Damned

“There are many who are so steeped in vice that they never think of eternity and seek their happiness in sinful and worldly pleasures.
They have grown deaf to God’s voice, although He instils in them remorse and restlessness and invites them by good inspirations, to return to His merciful embrace.
They are deaf, too, to the voice of conscience, which, in spite of their degradation, cannot fail to make them feel the attractiveness of virtue and their great need of their Creator.
They are fundamentally unhappy, doubly so because, in this life “there is no peace to the wicked” (Is 48:22) and, in the next life, they will be damned forever.
Only a miracle of divine grace can save them from the abyss into which they have voluntarily precipitated themselves.

There are others who want to have their heaven both in this world and in the next.
They oscillate uncertainly, between good and evil, today being full of good resolutions and tomorrow giving way to sin because virtue seems to demand too many sacrifices.
They would like to be good but they will not take the necessary trouble.

Indecisive and lukewarm, they think that they can serve God and the devil at the same time!
Naturally, this is impossible, as Christ has told us, “No man can serve two masters … You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt 6:24).
If people of this kind will not make up their minds, they are running the risk of eternal damnation.

To what category do you belong?
Think about this and make a firm decision.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD

Thought for the Day – 16 July – Entrusting Ourselves to God

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Thought for the Day – 16 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Entrusting Ourselves to God

“If a boat is running with the stream, it has little need of the pull of the oars, nor of the guidance of the helm.
It’s passage is smooth and peaceful.

The same applies to those who place absolute confidence in God in their journey through life.
God knows that I love Him, they reason;  He knows the dangers to which I am exposed and knows how weak I am.
He will not allow me to be tempted beyond my strength.
“God is faithful and will not permit you to be tempted beyond your strength but, with the temptation, will also give you a way out, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).

Why should I worry, when I know that whatever God has in store for me, is for my own good?
Do I suffer from poor health?
Let the will of God be done, for this is for my spiritual welfare.
Am I strong and able to work for His glory?
Let me thank God for making me the instrument of His goodness.

Am I calumniated or misunderstood?
This humiliation is good for me.
Am I esteemed and honoured?
Let me accept this also from God’s hands and make the best possible use of the gifts which He has give me, for my responsibility is all the greater because of them.
It would be a sad loss if these gifts were to make me vain and proud, for they do not belong to me but to God.
There is no need to be disturbed.
Everything must be accomplished for God, with God and in God and, with complete abandonment to His will.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in CHRIST the KING, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, St JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN!, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION

Sunday Reflection – 24 November – ‘He is in the hands of sinners once more’

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Sunday Reflection – 24 November – The Solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year C

He is in the hands of sinners once more

St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

He took bread and blessed and made it His Body.   He took wine and gave thanks and made it His Blood and He gave His priests the power to do what He had done. Henceforth, He is in the hands of sinners once more.   Frail, ignorant, sinful man, by the sacerdotal power given to him, compels the presence of the Highest;  he lays Him up in a small Tabernacle;  he dispenses Him to a sinful people.   Those who are only just now, cleansed from mortal sin, open their lips for Him;  those who are soon to return to mortal sin, receive Him into their breasts;  those who are polluted with vanity and selfishness and ambition and pride, presume to make Him their Guest;  the frivolous, the tepid, the worldly-minded, fear not to welcome Him.
Alas!  Alas!  even those who wish to be more in earnest, entertain Him with cold and wandering thoughts and quench that Love which would inflame them with It’s own fire, did they but open to It!   Such are the best of us and then for the worst?   What shall we of sacrilege?   of His reception to hearts polluted with mortal, unforsaken sin? of those further nameless profanations, which from time to time occur, when unbelief dares to present itself at the holy Altar and blasphemously gains possession of Him? ….he is in the hands of sinners once more st john henry newman sun ref christ the king.jpg
I place myself in the presence of Him, in whose Incarnate Presence I am, before I place myself there!
I adore Thee, O my Saviour, present here as God and man, in soul and body, in true flesh and blood.
I acknowledge and confess, that I kneel before that Sacred Humanity, which was conceived in Mary’s womb and lay in Mary’s bosom;  which grew up to man’s estate and by the Sea of Galilee, called the Twelve, wrought miracles and spoke words of wisdom and peace;  which in due season hung on the Cross, lay in the tomb, rose from the dead and now reigns in heaven.
I praise and bless and give myself wholly to Him, who is the true Bread of my soul and my everlasting joy.   Amen.i place myself in the presence of him - st john henry newman 24 nov 2019.jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FRANCISCAN OFM, MARIAN QUOTES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Quote/s of the Day – 14 August – St Maximillian Kolbe

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 August – The Memorial of St Maximillian Kolbe OFM Conv (1894 -1941) “Martyr of Charity”

“A man cannot rise any higher than this.
The Immaculate is the highest degree
of perfection and sanctity of a creature.
No man will ever attain this celestial summit of grace,
for the Mother of God is unique.
However, he who gives himself without limits,
to the Immaculate, will in a short time,
attain a very high degree of perfection
and procure for God, a very great glory.”

for-behold-luke-1-48-a-man-cannot-rise-any-higher-than-this-st-max-kolbe-14-august-2018.jpg

“We do not limit ourselves in love.
We want to love the Lord Jesus,
with her heart,
or rather, that she would love the Lord,
with our heart.”

we-do-not-limit-ouselves-in-love-st-max-kolbe-14-aug-2018

“Let us not forget,
that Jesus not only suffered
but also rose in glory;
so, too, we go to the glory
of the Resurrection,
by way of suffering
and the Cross.”

let us not forget = st max kolbe 14 aug 2018

“The most deadly poison of our times is indifference.
And this happens, although the praise of God
should know no limits.
Let us strive, therefore, to praise Him
to the greatest extent of our powers!”

the most deadly poison of our times is indifference - st max kolbe 14 aug 2019.jpg

“Be a Catholic!
When you kneel before an altar,
do it in such a way that others
may be able to recognise
that you know before Whom you kneel.”

St Maximillian Kolbe (1894 -1941)

be-a-catholic-st-maximillian-kolbe-14-aug-2017