Sunday, September 14, 2014

A Little Something Extra...The Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross

The Saints Speak about the Cross

“Let us be afraid of being deprived of sufferings more than a miser is of his treasure. Sufferings are the jewels of Jesus Crucified...The more painful the cross, the greater our advantage. The more contradictory creatures are with us, the dearer we will be to our Creator. A single moment of tribulation assures an immense weight of glory. Never to suffer would be the greatest danger for us.” - St. Paul of the Cross 

“If God gives you an abundant harvest of trials, it is a sign of great holiness which He desires you to attain. Do you want to become a great saint? Ask God to send you many sufferings. The flame of Divine Love never rises higher than when fed with the wood of the Cross, which the infinite charity of the Savior used to finish His sacrifice. All the pleasures of the world are nothing compared with the sweetness found in the gall and vinegar offered to Jesus Christ. That is, hard and painful things endured for Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ.” - St. Ignatius of Loyola 

“The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.” - St. John of the Cross 

“It is You Jesus, stretched out on the cross, who gives me strength and are always close to the suffering soul. Creatures will abandon a person in his suffering, but You, O Lord, are faithful...” - St. Faustina 

“If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Great patience occurs in two ways: either when one patiently suffers much, or when one suffers things which one is able to avoid and yet does not avoid. Christ endured much on the cross, and did so patiently, because when He suffered He did not threaten; He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and He did not open his mouth.” - St. Thomas Aquinas 

“I see crosses at every turn. My flesh shudders over it, but my heart adores them. Yes, I hail you, crosses little and great, I hail you, and kiss your feet, unworthy of the honor of your shadow.” - St. Francis de Sales

“The Gates of Paradise are not closed to those who carry the standard of the Cross.” - St. Alphonsus Ligouri 

“All the greatest pains become sweet for whoever looks at Jesus Christ on the Cross.” - St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi 

“It is loving the Cross that one finds one heart, for Divine Love cannot live without suffering.” - St. Bernadette 

“On the Way of the Cross, you see, my children, only the first step is painful. Our greatest cross is the fear of crosses...We have not the courage to carry our cross, and we are very much mistaken; for, whatever we do, the cross holds us tight -- we cannot escape from it. What, then, have we to lose? Why not love our crosses, and make use of them to take us to heaven?” - St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney 

“All those who belong to Jesus Christ are fastened with Him to the cross.” - St. Augustine 

“Even if Jesus lays on us some part of the Cross, He is there to help us bear it with self, sacrifice and love.” - St. John XXIII 

“Whoever does not seek the cross of Christ doesn't seek the glory of Christ.” - St. John of the Cross 

“I wonder what the world would be like if there were not innocent people making reparation for us all? Today the Passion of Christ is being relived in the lives of those who suffer. To accept that suffering is a gift of God. Suffering is not a punishment. Jesus does not punish. Suffering is a sign--a sign that we have come so close to Jesus on the cross that He can kiss us, show us that He is in love with us by giving us an opportunity to share in His Passion. Suffering is not a punishment, nor a fruit of sin; it is a gift of God. He allows us to share in his suffering and to make up for the sins of the world.” - Blessed Mother Teresa 

"Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." - St. Rose of Lima

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