Philip Neri Quotes - Page 2

To be without pity for other mens falls, is an evident sign that we shall fall ourselves shortly.

He who desires anything but God deceives himself, and he who loves anything but God errs miserably.

"If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him, and not only forgave His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive them also. Let him remember that when he says the Pater Noster, every day, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself."

If we wish to keep peace with our neighbours, we should never remind any one of his natural defects.

Let us pray God, if He gives us any virtue or any gift, to keep it hidden even from ourselves, that we may preserve our humility, and not take occasion of pride because of it.

Give me ten truly detached men. and I will convert the world with them.

The man who loves God with a true heart, and prizes him above all things, sometimes sheds floods of tears at prayer, and has in abundance of favours and spiritual feelings coming upon him with such vehemence, that he is forced to cry out, "Lord! let me be quiet!

Let us be humble and keep ourselves down: - Obedience! Humility! Detachment!

There is nothing more dangerous in the spiritual life, than to wish to rule ourselves after our own way of thinking.

In this life there is no purgatory; it is either hell or paradise; for to him who serves God truly, every trouble and infirmity turns into consolations, and through all kinds of trouble he has a paradise within himself even in this world: and he who does not serve God truly, and gives himself up to sensuality, has one hell in this world, and another in the next.

He who always acts under obedience may be assured that he will not have to give an account of his actions to God.

It is an old custom of the servants of God to have some little prayer ready and to be frequently darting them up to heaven during the day, lifting their minds to God out of the mire of this world.

The perfection of a Christian consists in mortifying his will for the love of Christ. Where there is no great mortification, there is no great sanctity.

Obedience is the true holocaust which we sacrifice to God on the altar of our hearts.

Where there is no great mortification there is no great sanctity.

Let us think, if we only got to heaven, what a sweet and easy thing it will be there to be always saying with the angels and the saints, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.

During mental prayer, it is well, at times, to imagine that many insults and injuries are being heaped upon us, that misfortunes have befallen us, and then strive to train our heart to bear and forgive these things patiently, in imitation of our Saviour. This is the way to acquire a strong spirit.

It is easy to infuse a most fervent devotion into others, even in a short time; but the great matter is - to persevere.

In sickness we ought to ask God to give us patience, because it often happens, that when a man gets well, he not only does not do the good he proposed to do when he was sick, but he multiplies his sins and his ingratitude.

We must not trust in ourselves, but take the advice of our spiritual father, and recommend ourselves to everybodys prayers.

Not to know how to deny our soul its own wishes, is to foment a very hot-bed of vices.

The stench of impurity before God and the angels is so great, that no stench in the world can equal it.

To acquire and preserve the virtue of chastity, we have need of a good and experienced confessor.

As soon as we are stripped of the sordid garb of avarice, we shall be clothed with the royal and imperial vest of the opposite virtue, liberality.

Without mortification nothing can be done.