Remember you are human

"I never found anyone so religious and devout as not to have sometimes a subtraction of grace, or feel a diminution of fervor. No saint was ever so highly rapt and illuminated as not to be tempted sooner or later. For he is not worthy of the high contemplation of God who has not, for God’s sake, been exercised with some tribulation."

— Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, p. 65

True Work

"I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Ask yourself, ‘How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?’ Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery."

— Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Thirsting For God, p. 99

One Step at a Time

"Even though we know that God’s will and commandments apply to everyone, we do not always have the strength to fulfill them. Now, every time we respond faithfully to a motion of the Spirit, out of desire to be docile to what God expects of us, even if it’s something almost insignificant of itself, that faithfulness draws grace and strength down on us. That strength can then be applied to other areas and may make us capable of one day practicing the commandments that up until then we had not been capable of fulfilling entirely."

— Fr. Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit, p. 20