There is no better time for reflection than the start of a new year, where we can take a step back and see how we’ve grown over the last 12 months and establish the goals we wish to achieve in the next. For the faithful, the beginning of a new year also prompts us to pause and consider our spiritual lives and ask God how He wants us to mature in our relationship with Him.
As we prepare our hearts for the year ahead, we invite you to read these ten uplifting quotes from the saints on the pursuit of holiness and be encouraged by their examples of faithfulness and wisdom.
Spend Time in Scripture
“Just as at sea, those who are carried away from the direction of the harbor bring themselves back on course by a clear sign, so Scripture may guide those adrift on the sea of life back into the harbor of the divine will.” — St. Gregory of Nyssa
“Divine Scripture is the feast of wisdom and the individual books are the various dishes.”
— St. Ambrose of Milan
Cultivate a Life of Prayer
“The more you pray, the more you want to pray… It’s like a fish that starts by swimming near the surface of the water, then plunges and goes on swimming deeper and deeper. The soul plunges, is swallowed up, and loses itself in the delights of conversation with God.”
— St. John Vianney
“To approach God, one should go straight to Him, like a ball from a cannon.”
— St. John Vianney
Rely on God for Your Strength
“Grace is the light by which men see the way to walk out of sin; and grace is the staff without whose help no man is able to rise out of sin.”
— St. Thomas More
“Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength.”
— St. Philip Neri
Maintain a Spirit of Humility
“However well you may run, however well you may wrestle, you still need Him who gives the crown.” — St. Gregory Nazianzen
“Blessed is the one who takes no more pride in the good that God says and does through him, than in which He says and does through someone else.”
— St. Francis of Assisi
Rejoice in the Beauty of Our Lord
“Blessed is the mind that, passing by all creatures, constantly rejoices in God’s beauty.”
— St. Maximus the Confessor
“If things created are so full of loveliness, how resplendent with beauty must be the One who made them! The wisdom of the Worker is apparent in His handiwork.”
— St. Anthony of Padua
Source:
A Dictionary of Quotes from the Saints, Dr. Paul Thigpen.