Almighty and merciful God, by whose gift your faithful offer you right and praiseworthy service, grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling to receive the things you have promised. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

O God, who led Saint Martin de Porres by the path of humility to heavenly glory, grant that we may so follow his radiant example in this life as to merit to be exalted with him in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity  of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

“This bread is bread before the words of the Sacrament. But when the words of Christ come to it, it is the body of Christ … Before the words of Christ it is a cup full of wine and water. When the words of Christ become operative, the blood which has redeemed the people is caused to be there.” ~St. Ambrose

“For me the tabernacle has always been a Bethany, a quiet and pleasant place where Christ resides. A place where we can tell him about our worries, our sufferings, our desires, our joys, with the same sort of simplicity and naturalness as Martha, Mary and Lazarus. That is why I rejoice when I stumble upon a church in town or in the country; it’s another tabernacle, another opportunity for the soul to escape and join in intention our Lord in the Sacrament.” ~St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By, #154

“As soon as I believed that there was a God, I understood that I could do nothing other than to live for him.” ~Bl. Charles de Foucauld, excerpt from a letter to Henry de Castries, 14 August 1901

“Along this journey, the cultivation of all that is good, progress in the spiritual life and growth in love are the best counterbalance to evil.  Those who choose to remain neutral, who are satisfied with little, who renounce the idea of giving themselves generously to the Lord, will never hold out.  Even less if they fall into defeatism, for ‘if we start without confidence, we have already lost half the battle and we bury our talents. Christian triumph is always a cross, yet a cross which is at the same time a victorious banner, borne with aggressive tenderness against the assaults of evil.'” ~Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, #163q

“There is only one way to hit the target – you must shoot the arrow straight – but there are many ways and manners of missing…To hit the target of blessedness, take the narrow, direct road traveled by Christ our Redeemer. If you wish to err and end up in hell, go wherever you wish and error will surely follow, but if you want to succeed, let your body go with Jesus and your soul with His divinity.” ~Francisco de Osuna, excerpt from The Third Spiritual Alphabet

“[O]ur path towards holiness is a constant battle. Those who do not realize this will be prey to failure or mediocrity. For this spiritual combat, we can count on the powerful weapons that the Lord has give us: faith filled prayer, meditation on the word of God, the celebration of Mass, Eucharistic adoration, sacramental reconciliation, works of charity, community life, missionary outreach. If we become careless, the false promises of evil will easily seduce us.” ~Pope Francis, Gaudete et exsultate, #162