“If God causes you to suffer much it is a sign that He has great designs for you and that He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great sacrifice of boundless charity.” IfsGivingInspirationUsedSufferingFaithOpportunityWishCausesChristFireSacrificeDesignHolyCrossesCharitySaintWoodsChristian InspirationalBoundlessKindlesGreat DesignGreat Sacrifice Author:Ignatius of Loyola
“In short, the Gaon was a one-sided, severe ascetic, and would never have deserved the title of a good father, a good husband, an amiable man ... [T]here is no occasion at all for pitying Mrs. Gaon. ... Saints are happy in their suffering, and noble souls find their happiness in sacrificing themselves for these sufferers.” MenSoulSufferingFatherSacrificeHusbandSaintNobleOccasionsTitlesAnnoyingSevereSufferersAmiableOne SidedGood FatherGood Husband Author:Solomon Schechter
“Sri Yukteswar used to poke gentle fun at the commonly inadequate conceptions of renunciation."A beggar cannot renounce wealth," Master would say. "If a man laments: 'My business has failed; my wife has left me; I will renounce all and enter a monastery,' to what worldly sacrifice is he referring? He did not renounce wealth and love; they renounced him!"Saints like Gandhi, on the other hand, have made not only tangible material sacrifices, but also the more difficult renunciation of selfish motive and private goal, merging their inmost being in the stream of humanity as a whole.” IfsMenMadeWholeHandsUsedHumanityLeftFunDifficultGoalWealthWifeSacrificeMaterialsMastersAnd LoveSaintMy WifeSelfishGentleMotiveStreamsConceptionWorldlyTangibleBeggarInadequateRenounceReferringRenunciationLamentPokeMonasteriesMergingSelfish Motives Book:Autobiography of a Yogi Source: Autobiography of a Yogi
“Even Avataras, saints, and sages have to undergo the ordeal of suffering, for they take upon themselves the burden of sins of omission and commission of ordinary human beings and thereby sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity.” HumansSufferingHumanityHuman BeingsSinSacrificeOrdinarySaintBurdenSageOrdealsOmission Author:Sarada Devi
“A thorough: miser must possess considerable strength of character to bear the self-denial imposed by his penuriousness. Equal sacrifices, endured voluntarily in a better cause, would make a saint or a martyr.” SelfCharacterCausesSacrificeBearsEqualSaintDenialMartyrThoroughStrength Of CharacterMisersSelf-denial Book:Aphorisms and Reflections: A Miscellany of Thought and Opinion Source: Aphorisms and Reflections: A Miscellany of Thought and Opinion
“The brother of my grandfather was the patriarch of the Orthodox Church and revered as a saint. So everything in my childhood is about total sacrifice, whether to religion or to communism. This is what is engraved on me. This is why I have this insane willpower. My body is now beginning to be falling apart, but I will do it to the end. I don't care. With me it is about whatever it takes.” EndsBodyCareFallChurchSacrificeChildhoodBrotherSaintDon't CareInsaneCommunismI Don't CareOrthodoxGrandfatherWillpowerFalling ApartMy GrandfatherWhatever It TakesEngravedPatriarchOrthodox Church Author:Marina Abramovic
“The people will have no need to change their place of concourse; where of old they were wont to sacrifice cattle to demons, thither let them continue to resort on the day of the Saint to whom the Church is dedicated, and slay their beasts, no longer as a sacrifice to demons, but for a social meal in honour of Him whom they now worship.” PeopleNeedsSocialChurchSacrificeWorshipSaintScaryMealsBeastDemonHonourDedicatedResortsCattleNeed A Change Author:Pope Gregory I
“Much later, when I understood what perfection was, I realized that to become a saint one must suffer a great deal, always seek what is best, and forget oneself. I understood that there were many kinds of of sanctity and that each soul was free to respond to the approaches of Our Lord and to do little or much for Him - in other words,to make a choice among the sacrifices He demands.” KindLittlesSoulSufferingChoicesForgetDealsLordSacrificeDemandApproachUnderstoodPerfectionSaintOneselfI RealizedOur LordSanctity Author:Therese of Lisieux
“Each of you has a personal vocation which He has given you for your own joy and sanctity. When a person is conquered by the fire of His gaze, no sacrifice seems too great to follow Him and give Him the best of ourselves. This is what the saints have always done, spreading the light of the Lord ... and transforming the world into a welcoming home for everyone.” WorldGivingPersonsDoneHomeLightSeemsJoyGivenLordFireSacrificeSaintWelcomeVocationTransformingSanctityTransforming The World Author:Pope Benedict XVI
“The most beautiful act of faith is the one made in darkness, in sacrificing, and with extreme effort.” MadeBeautifulEffortDarknessSacrificeSaintExtremesServing Others Author:Pio of Pietrelcina