To Keep Always Before Our Eyes
Remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin (Ecclus. 7:40).
The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God (1 Cor. 3:19).
For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul? (Mark 8:36).
For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).
For that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17).
The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away (Matt. 11:12).
For he that will save his life, shall lose it (Matt. 16:25).
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (Matt. 16:24).
And they that are Christ’s, have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences (Gal. 5:24).
He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me (Matt. 10:37).
For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10).
Forgive, and you shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37).
But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved (Matt. 24:13).
No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).
From these maxims of the Gospel are drawn the following Christian maxims:
Everything on this earth comes to an end. Enjoyment ends, suffering ends; but eternity never ends.
Let everything be lost except God.
Sin is the only true evil.
All that God wills is good.
He who has the whole world without God has nothing; he who has God alone without anything of the world has everything.
Self-love is the greatest enemy we have.
At death, by the light of the deathbed candle, all the greatness of this earth disappears.
All the goods of the world do not satisfy the heart of man; God alone satisfies it.
God alone is faithful; the world is a traitor that promises and does not keep its word.
God alone truly loves us; all men love us for their own interest.
To be saved, one must live according to the maxims of the Gospel, not of the world.
He cannot be saved who does not conform to the life of Jesus Christ.
He is not saved who begins to do good, but he who continues to do it until death.
He who prays obtains everything.
Mental prayer and mortal sin cannot exist together.
Among all devout exercises, the one most displeasing to the demon is mental prayer.—St. Philip Neri.
He who abandons prayer needs no demons to carry him to hell, but puts himself there with his own hands.—St. Teresa.
He who perseveres in prayer, however lost he may be, will be led by God to the port of salvation.—The same saint.
A moment of time is worth as much as God is worth.—St. Bernardine of Siena.
We are worth as much as we are worth before God.—St. Francis of Assisi.
No truly obedient person has ever been lost.—St. Francis de Sales.
He who obeys his confessor is assured of not rendering an account to God for the actions he performs.—St. Philip Neri.
He who does not attend to saving his soul is a lunatic.—The same saint.
In the warfare of the flesh, the cowards win—those who flee the occasion.—The same saint.
In patience lies the perfection of the Christian.—St. James.
This earth is a place of merits, and therefore a place of suffering.
He who resolves to suffer for God suffers no more.—St. Teresa.
He who embraces his cross does not feel it; he feels it who drags it by force.—The same saint.
The cross is the ship that carries us to port.
Trials accepted for God are the most beautiful jewels in the crowns of the blessed.
He who trusts in God can do all things.
For him who loves God, even sufferings become delights.
Everyone ought to live in this world as in a desert, and as if there were no one else but himself and God.
He who desires possessions will never become a saint.—St. Philip Neri.
He who loves earthly goods becomes their slave; he who despises them becomes master of all, for he has everything who desires nothing.
He who wants nothing except what God wills is always content, because he always has everything he wants.