Beth Turner

“And this God-with-us, this God who is love, once said to us, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40). That’s the secret of sainthood: believing that saying of Jesus and seeing him hidden in everyone. St. Paul, in our reading from his letter to the Romans today, says that is what we are called to be. We are all called to be saints, every one of us. That is why we are here in this world. Each of us has a task to do that no one else can do, a life to live that no one else can live, a unique way of living out the love we have received from God by giving ourselves to others as God gave himself to us. The One we receive in the Eucharist, we are meant to pass on to others, in thousands of different ways. Some of them are words, some are deeds. St. Francis of Assisi supposedly said, “Preach the Gospel; use words when necessary.” This will cost you something. For the surest proof of love is always sacrifice. And if you give your heart, it will certainly be broken, many times. In fact, being a Christian will cost you everything. At the very least, it will cost you the right to be your own God, your own law, to invent your own morality, to say to God, “Not your will, but mine, be done.” That’s Satan’s backward inversion of the Lord’s Prayer. “Not your will, but mine, be done”—that’s what we say to God every time we sin. You won’t want to say that anymore once you know Jesus. Oh, you will say it, many times, every time you sin, but you will sincerely repent of it, you won’t want to say it, if you know Jesus. The secret to being a saint is simply knowing Jesus Christ. Not just knowing about him but knowing him.”
― Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings (Cycle A)

“A final word of advice suitable to all is: that the best way to become recollected, spiritual, and solidly virtuous is to visit Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament frequently, and to make those visits with great reverence, simplicity and confidence, speaking little, listening to Him attentively and loving Him tenderly like people who know and believe that they are really visiting Jesus Christ.”
― Jean Croiset, Devotion To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus: How to Practice the Sacred Heart Devotion

“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.”
― Pope John Paul II