“The principal end both of my father and of myself in the conquest of India has been the propagation of the holy Catholic faith.”

The safest and most suitable form of penance seems to be that which causes pain in the flesh but does not penetrate to the bones, that is, which causes suffering but not sickness.

If our church is not marked by caring for the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy.

What seems to me white, I will believe black if the hierarchical Church so defines.

As for joy, as little as one can have of it in this life, experience shows that it is not the idle who possess it, but those who are zealous in the service of God.

Stand firm and immovable as an anvil when it is beaten upon.

Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone, but with heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing, and God everything.

If you attach your heart to certain places and occupations, obedience oftentimes places you in some other place that you may not like; to be always cheerful, be always humble and obedient.

Remember that bodily exercise, when it is well ordered, as I have said, is also prayer by means of which you can please God our Lord.

It is proper to ask for sorrow with Christ in sorrow, anguish with Christ in anguish, tears and deep grief because of the great affliction Christ endures for me.

May the perfect grace and eternal love of Christ our Lord be our never-failing protection and help.

The acknowledgment of and gratitude for favors and gifts received is loved and esteemed in Heaven and on earth.

If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He certainly intends to make you a saint.

It is not the finest wood that feeds the fire of Divine love, but the wood of the Cross.

Remember that the good angels do what they can to preserve men from sin and obtain God’s honor. But they do not lose courage when men fail.

Finding God in All Things.

Few souls understand what God would effect in them if they should give themselves entirely into his hands and allow his grace to act.

And to that end to invite intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion.

It is easier to begin well than to finish well.

If I had my way, I’d end all wars and poverty.

And at the end of twenty years you may hear from us again.

So it is the great end of Christian living to transmute the light of truth into the fruits of holy living.

The end of wisdom is consultation and deliberation.

The time to stop a revolution is at the beginning, not the end.

The law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end.