"Unhappy the person who spends all his time with things outside, ignorant of his own inner self; he thinks himself to be something when he is nothing; he deceives himself."
— St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for Lent and the Easter Season

"Let us not climb with great physical effort or with gasping breath, lifting our feet uphill, but rather—equipping ourselves with a leisurely understanding to receive what has been said—let us first of all open the holy books, and then, gazing on the sacred text, we shall grope for the riches hidden within."
— Pantoleon, Sermon on the Most Glorious Transfiguration of Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ

"In the same way, as the light of the Gospel floods the house of the universal Church, let the mist of sluggishness fade like night, and let every vain activity, like a tent pitched in dreamland, be folded up; let the inspired songs of our teachers resound from the highest branches of the pulpit, bearing their own witness to the presence of the heavenly light."
— Pantoleon, Sermon on the Most Glorious Transfiguration of Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ

"You must rejoice in the love of Christ with your brothers in their successes and grieve with them in adversity, as it is written: Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."
— St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for Lent and the Easter Season

Full Video: Patrick: Brave Shepherd of the Emerald Isle

"He answered my prayer in such a way that in the last days, ignorant though I am, I might be bold enough to take up so holy and so wonderful a task, and imitate in some degree those whom the Lord had so long ago foretold as heralds of his Gospel, bearing witness to all nations."
— St. Patrick, Confessions of St. Patrick, Text from the Office of Readings

"We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are attaining their purification, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church."
— Pope St. Paul VI, Credo of the People of God

"True religion consists of these two elements: pious doctrines and virtuous actions. Neither does God accept doctrines apart from good works, nor are works, when divorced from godly doctrine, accepted by God. What does it profit a man to be an expert theologian if he is a shameless fornicator; or to be nobly temperate, but an impious blasphemer?"
— St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Lenten Lectures

"Is it not true that often a young man on beholding beauty has closed his eyes and fled the sight, and thus escaped defilement? How did this come to pass, you ask? The Holy Spirit taught the young man’s soul."
— St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Lenten Lectures

"Let us not fear the demons nor the devil, for our Defender is mightier; let us but open up the doors to Him; for He goes about seeking those worthy, seeking to whom He may impart His gifts."
— St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Lenten Lectures

"Joseph was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. Through him and, yes, under him, Christ was fittingly and honorably introduced into the world."
— St. Bernadine of Siena, Office of Readings

"Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster-child. Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of him who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. Amen."
— St. Bernadine of Siena, Office of Readings

Prayer to Saint Joseph, the Protector of the Church

"Just as a soldier never ceases to train for battle and prepares in sham warfare for the real wounds that are to come, every Christian must exercise self-restraint at all times, but especially when the enemy is near at hand with his well-trained hosts marshalled against us."
— St. Jerome, Homily 90 on Lent

"Let us march, march, march, and make our journey with Jesus. Let us die to the world daily. Let us say with the apostle, 'I die every day' (1 Cor. 15:31). I am not of the world. I am passing through, holding on to nothing."
— Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, Meditations for Lent

"And now, if Moses and Elijah commend this present fast—and although great, they are our fellow servants—how much does our Lord commend it, who himself fasted for the same number of days?"
— St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for Lent and the Easter Season

"Everything in the Law, even the smallest detail, is significant, and everything, even the smallest detail, will be accomplished in the Gospel."
— Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, Meditations for Lent

"Let us rend our hearts, beloved, but keep our garments whole. Our garments are our virtues; love is a good garment, obedience is a good garment. Happy is the one who cares for these garments that he may not walk naked... We can also take this rending of the heart in another way: if the heart is wicked it may be rent by confession; if hard, by compassion."
— St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for Lent and the Easter Season

"[O]ver that sacrifice of propitiation we beseech God... for all, in a word, who need help, we all pray and offer this sacrifice."
— St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Lectures

"She who does not know worldly desire is filled by grace, so that, by the Spirit’s coming upon her, she who declines to admit a husband may give birth to the Son of the Most High."
— St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for Lent and the Easter Season

"The Annunciation is the beginning of Jesus in His human nature. Through His mother He is a member of the human race... About to found a new generation of the children of God, The Redeemer does not arrive in the way of earthly generations: the power of the Holy Spirit enters the chaste womb of the Virgin, forming the humanity of Christ."
— Catholic Encyclopedia, The Annunciation