7 Favorite Quotes About the Saints

I love the saints.  I know - shocker - right?  You have probably guessed as much already. The Solemnity of All Saints Day is one of my favorite celebrations of the Church's calendar - like a big party for all of my heavenly friends. I am so inspired by reading the lives of the saints, and find in each of them some unique expression of a lived-out holiness that leads me to desire ever more fervently to be like them.   In celebration of All Saints Day, here are seven of my favorite quote about the saints - not about any one saint in particular, but about the saints in general.  Please feel free to download, pin, and share the quotes.  (please retain the Saints365 mark on the graphics).  -1- This quote, from Father Lawrence Lovasik's book The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls Who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time, paints a striking picture of the perseverance demonstrated by the saints. The bottom line is this: holiness ain't easy, but it is possible with the help of the Lord's grace, to have the strength of will that Father Lovasik talks about in this quote.    -2- I can vividly remember the summer vacation to the beach when I read Father Thomas Dubay's life-changing book Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer for the first time. One of the things that struck me most about the message of the book was the sentiment expressed in this quote. The saints change things. The saints are the ones who draw people into the Church.  One single saint can be more influential than hosts of programs, events and  outreaches combined. If we want to be successful evangelists, we must first and foremost strive to be saints.  (This image is sized to be a FB cover - please feel free to use and share!) -3-  In the opening pages of his book, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, Pope Benedict XVI, no stranger to the work of Biblical scholars, makes this bold statement about the saints being the "true interpreters of Holy Scripture."  The living word of God is not meant to be merely read or even vigorously studied, but lived, and it is the saints that our the model for kind of interpretation.     -4- Leave it St. Jose Marie Escriva with his trademark directness to tell it like it is.  This quote, from his classic, The Way: The Essential Classic to of Opus Dei's Founderremoves all out excuses about striving for holiness.  The saints are not statues, unreal, and out of reach.  They are altogether human, and in this humanness of there have achieved the highest goal - the greatest "win" possible.  And they are rooting for us to do the same!    -5-Another classic from St. Escriva.  Holiness makes us uncomfortable because it challenges us to get out of our own comfort zones and strive for more - more virtue, more love, more surrender....  -6- This quote from St. Basil the Great is used by Father Raniero Cantalamessa in the opening pages of his magnificent book Come, Creator Spirit: Meditations on the Veni Creator.  The book takes each line of the ancient hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" and both breaks it down and expands upon it.  Not an easy read, but a beautiful one.   No one becomes a saint without the power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives and likewise, when we witness the lives of the saints, we witness the Holy Spirit working in the world!    -7- One of my absolute favorites - and one that gives me great hope for my own spiritual journey.  How great is God's mercy and love to give the greatest of sinners the hope of the heights of heaven.  We don't have to look to far in the Communion of Saints to find some rather dismal "pasts" (think, St. Augustine).  Yet, God in his goodness, can heal the broken hearts among us and give us the brightest of futures.     I'm linking up with Kelly over at This Ain't the Lyceum for Seven Quick Takes Friday.  Head on over there for more great articles!    This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links - which means that if you purchase anything through the links - my domestic church and I get a small commission.  We appreciate the support!!!