I am the vine and you are the branches . . . and everyone that beareth fruit, he will purge it that it may bring forth much fruit (John 15:1-2). This purging or pruning action of the Father is what disconcerts us. We see an orchard in full bloom, and what has a more delicate charm? And yet those flowers must disappear if the branches are to bring forth fruit. There are many flowers in our life that seem of great value to us. In God’s sight they are only flowers, and in his mercy, he removes them that we may yield him fruit . . . The whole trouble is that, literally, we do not know what is good for us; and what makes the trouble still worse is that we think we do. We have our own plans for our happiness and too often we merely regard God as somebody who will help us to accomplish them. The true state of affairs is just the opposite. God has his plans for our happiness, and he is waiting for us to help him to accomplish them. And let us be quite clear about it, we cannot improve on God’s plans. Once a man has realized that God wills his happiness and that all that happens to him is ruled and regulated by God with infinite wisdom and power toward that end, and that all God asks of him is to cooperate with that loving will of his, then that man has found the beginning of peace.

– Father Eugene Boylan, O.C.S.O.

The holy exercise of prayer must be considered one of the chief foundations of Christian life and holiness, since the whole life of Jesus Christ was nothing but a perpetual prayer; which you must continue and express in your life. Neither the earth on which you live, the air you breathe, the bread that sustains you, or the heart that beats in your breast is as necessary for bodily life as prayer is to a Christian. . . Look upon prayer as the first, the principal, the most necessary, the most urgent, and the most important business of your life. As far as possible, free yourself from all less important duties, so you can give as much time as possible to prayer, especially in the morning and evening.

-St. John Eudes

As a traveler, approaching a river after a long journey, senses how cool the water will be, so you and I are getting nearer to the great time of purification. We should greet every Lent as if it were the last in our lives, so that we stop and think – if only for a short while, tearing ourselves away from the perpetual bustle and rush that constitutes our lives. Look how we live nowadays: how bitter and exhausted we are, what an endless hurry we are in – we are making such an effort, trying to make progress. But all of it comes to an end earlier than we realize. . .Let us think for awhile about how we can open up our souls to the Lord, how we can start to live a real life. So what kind of life is a real life? It is a life of love – for God and for others – a life in which what is most important comes first and is not pushed aside by trivialities.

– Father Alexander Men

How does a lamp burn? Through the continuous input of small drops of oil. If the drops of oil run out, the light of the lamp will cease, and the bridegroom will say, ‘I do not know you’ (Mt. 25:1-13). What are these drops of oil in our lamps? They are the small things of daily life: faithfulness, punctuality, small words of kindness, a thought for others, our way of being silent. . . These are the true drops of love that keep your religious life burning like a lively flame. Do not look for Jesus away from yourselves. He is not out there: he is within you. Keep your lamp burning, and you will recognize him.

– St. Teresa of Calcutta

Your sole concern should be the establishment of God’s reign in your heart, in this life and in the next. In this life your study should be to bring about this reign of God, in your heart by his grace and through the plentitude of his love. You should live for God alone, and the life of your soul should be the life of God himself. You ought likewise to nourish yourself with God by thinking of his holy presence as often as you possibly can. That which constitutes the life of the saints is precisely their continual attention to God and this also should form the life of those who . . . seek only to accomplish his holy will, to love him and so make others love him.

– St. John Baptiste de la Salle

To those who are just and upright, trials become helps. Job, a man of discernment, was victorious in trials. Sickness came upon him, but he didn’t complain. Disease afflicted him, but he didn’t murmur. His body failed and his strength left him, but his will wasn’t weakened. By his sufferings he proved himself perfect in every way, because the trials didn’t crush him. . . See then, you who are wise, the power that lies in being free to choose how we’ll respond to our circumstances. . .Don’t seek a place of repose in this life, for this is a world of toil. And if you can discern wisely, don’t give up the next life for this one. Don’t trade what lasts forever for what doesn’t last, what comes to an end for what never ends. Don’t exchange the truth for a lie, the body for a mere shadow, alertness for sleep. Don’t trade what’s in season for what’s out of season, nor eternity for times that are passing away. Focus your mind so that it won’t wander along various paths that ultimately are of no profit to you.

-St. Ephrem

Your voice, Lord, guides me. Ever since I was a little child, I have heard you call me by name, beckoning me closer to you. . .Your company has brought me joy, Lord. I have felt your presence at every step; I have trusted your shepherding. And yet you have not saved me from pain. Though I have followed faithfully, yet I have still stumbled and known distress. I have not escaped the thorns, brambles and cruel traps. You never promised me immunity from pain, Lord, but only the constancy of your love. Your hand holds mine securely. I know the tenderness of your embrace.

Elizabeth-Anne Vanek

Prayer never touches us as long as it remains on the surface of our lives, as long as it is nothing but one more of the thousand things that must be done. It is only when prayer becomes ‘the one thing necessary’ that real prayer begins . . . We are called upon to live Christ’s life. We are called into the desert . . . We are called to face God alone in the night of our own solitude. We are called to die with Jesus, in order to live with him. We are asked to lose all, to be emptied out, in order to be filled with the very fullness of God . . . Christianity is much more than an expression of brotherly love couched in religious terms. It is essential that each person make some kind of personal response to God in Christ.

– James Finley

Keep the transcendent dimension of your life burning bright through prayer and sacrament, through love and peace, mercy and justice. It changes every fiber of your being when the transcendent is your priority. Live for God. Nothing else is worth it.

Father Matthew Kelty O.C.S.O.

We must relearn our devotion to the Cross. It seems too passive to us, too pessimistic, too sentimental – but if we have not been devoted to the Cross of Jesus in our lifetime, how will we endure our own Cross when the time comes for it to be laid upon us? A friend of mine, who depended for years on kidney dialysis and who realized that his life was slipping away from him moment by moment, once told me that as a child, and later as an adult, he had a special devotion to the Way of the Cross and had often prayed it. When he heard the frightening diagnosis of his illness, he was at first stunned; then suddenly the thought came to him: What you have prayed so often has now become a reality in your life; now you can really accompany Jesus; you have been joined to him by his Way of the Cross. In this way, my friend recovered his serenity, which thereafter illuminated his countenance to the end of his days.

– Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI