Saint John Quotes & Sayings

Mary was made Mother of God to obtain salvation for many who, on account of their wicked lives, could not be saved according to the rigor of Divine justice, but might be saved with the help of her sweet mercy and powerful intercession. — Saint John Chrysostom

The Holy Scriptures do not know any distinctions. They enjoin that all lead the life of monks. — Saint John Chrysostom

Love is never defeated, and I could add, the history of Ireland proves it. — Pope John Paul II

Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and, for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in life. — Saint John Chrysostom

We need a conversion of morals," the elderly man said. "Not just superficially, but profoundly. And in both races. We need a great saint - some enlightened common sense. Otherwise, we'll never have the right answers when the pressure groups - those racists, super-patriots, whatever you want to call them - tag every move toward racial justice as communist-inspired, Zionist-inspired, Illuminati-inspired, Satan-inspired ... part of some secret conspiracy to overthrow the Christian civilization. — John Howard Griffin

When Christians unto carnal men give ear, Out of their way they go, and pay for 't dear; For Master Worldly Wiseman can but shew A saint the way to bondage and to woe. — John Bunyan

We are commanded to have only one enemy, the devil. With him never be reconciled! But with a brother, never be at enmity in thy heart. — Saint John Chrysostom

Beliavsky told me that, when he scolded Misha for giving to the Sports Committee almost all of his prize of several thousand dollars for winning the World Blitz Championship in Saint John, Misha simply replied: 'Well, they asked me for it and I gave it to them. — Genna Sosonko

Let us return from that Table like lions breathing out fire, terrifying to the devil! — Saint John Chrysostom

the seventeenth-century saint, Margaret Marie Alacoque, a French nun of Parayle-Monial, who founded the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Margaret would deliberately eat cheese knowing that it made her vomit, and by her own admission she ate the vomit of sister nuns. — John Cornwell

Therefore bread was created for the glory of Christ. Hunger and thirst were created for the glory of Christ. And fasting was created for the glory of Christ.
Which means that bread magnifies Christ in two ways: by being eaten with gratitude for his goodness, and by being forfeited out of hunger for God himself. When we eat, we taste the emblem of our heavenly food - the Bread of Life. And when we fast we say, "I love the Reality above the emblem." In the heart of the saint both eating and fasting are worship. Both magnify Christ. — John Piper

The only menace is inertia. — Saint-John Perse

Your total ignorance of that which you profess to teach merits the death penalty. I doubt whether you would know that St. Cassian of Imola was stabbed to death by his students with their styli. His death, a martyr's honorable one, made him a patron saint of teachers. Pray to him, you deluded fool, you "anyone for tennis?" golf-playing, cocktail-quaffing pseudo-pedant, for you do indeed need a heavenly patron. Although your days are numbered, you will not die as a martyr - for you further no holy cause - but as the total ass which you really are. ZORRO A sword was drawn on the last line of the page. — John Kennedy Toole

Over the last 2,000 years, 10,000 saints have been named, among them, 78 popes. At the time of his death, Pope John Paul II had the distinction of naming 482 saints, more than all of his predecessors combined. — Chris Matthews

Candlesticks and incense not being portable into the maintop, the sailor perceives these decorations to be, on the whole, inessential to a maintop mass. Sails must be set and cables bent, be it never so strict a saint's day; and it is found that no harm comes of it. Absolution on a lee-shore must be had of the breakers, it appears, if at all; and they give plenary and brief without listening to confession. — John Ruskin

Is it not excessively ridiculous to seek the good opinion of those whom you would never wish to be like? — Saint John Chrysostom

They say, "God told me", or "God replied to me". And yet most of the time they are talking to themselves. — John Of The Cross

Astronomers have been bewildered by the theory of an expanding universe, but there is no less expansion in the moral infinite of the universe of man. As far as the frontiers of science are pushed back, over the extended arc of these frontiers one will hear the poet's hounds on the chase. — Saint-John Perse

A world to be born under your footsteps ... — Saint-John Perse

Saint Ignatius was a convert and disciple of S. John the Evangelist. He was appointed by S. Peter to succeed Evodius in the see of Antioch, and he continued in his bishopric full forty years. — Sabine Baring-Gould

Please listen to me - you are not paying attention. I am talking to you about the Holy Scriptures, and you are looking at the lamps and the people lighting them. It is very frivolous to be more interested in what the lamplighters are doing ... After all, I am lighting a lamp too - the lamp of God's Word. — Saint John Chrysostom

Him who is dead and gone honor with remembrance, not with tears. — Saint John Chrysostom

Words cannot express the joy which a friend imparts. — Saint John Chrysostom

I have quite a strong sense of wanting to sort of, wanting to help others. I'm not claiming I'm a saint, but I have a genuine, genuine belief in trying to help others. — John Key

Shortly after Senator Eugene J. McCarthy died in 2005 the age of 89, I became an honorary member of the committee starting a fellowship in McCarthy's name at his alma mater, Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. — Kitty Kelley

C. albus ... I think the very loveliest of all the lily family,- a spotless soul, plant saint, that every one must love and so be made better. It puts the wildest mountaineer on his good behavior. With this plant the whole world would seem rich though non other existed. — John Muir

Proctor: I am only wondering how I may prove what she told me, Elizabeth. If the girl's a saint now, I think it is not easy to prove she's fraud, and the town gone so silly. She told it to me in a room alone- I have no proof for it.
Elizabeth: You were alone with her?
Proctor: (stubbornly) For a moment alone, aye.
Elizabeth: Why, then, it is not as you told me.
Proctor: (his anger rising) For a moment, I say. The others come in soon after.
Elizabeth: (as if she has lost all faith in him) Do as you wish then. (she turns)
Proctor: Woman. (she turns to him) I'll not have your suspicion any more.
Elizabeth: (a little loftily) I have no-
Proctor: I'll not have it!
Elizabeth: Then let you not earn it.
Proctor: Now look you-
Elizabeth: I see what I see, John. — Arthur Miller

Saints can spring from any soil. — John Steinbeck

You see how many are the benefits of baptism, and some think its heavenly grace consists only in the remission of sins, but we have enumerated ten honors [it bestows]! For this reason we baptize even infants, though they are not defiled by [personal] sins, so that there may be given to them holiness, righteousness, adoption, inheritance, brotherhood with Christ, and that they may be his [Christ's] members — Saint John Chrysostom

Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved. — Saint John Chrysostom

"He passed over his fall, and appointed him first of the Apostles; wherefore He said: ' 'Simon, Simon,' etc. (in Ps. cxxix. 2). God allowed him to fall, because He meant to make him ruler over the whole world, that, remembering his own fall, he might forgive those who should slip in the future. And that what I have said is no guess, listen to Christ Himself saying: 'Simon, Simon, etc.'" — Saint John Chrysostom

Old cranks have practiced all their lives, just as old saints have likewise practiced all their lives. They just practiced different life principles. — John Powell

History is an amazing presence
it is the place where vanished time gathers. While we are in the flow of time, it is difficult to glean its significance, and it is only in looking back that we can recognize the hidden dimensions at work within a particular era or epoch. — John O'Donohue

Poetry allies itself with beauty - a supreme union - but never uses it as its ultimate goal or sole nourishment. — Saint-John Perse

Whoever does not seek the cross of Christ doesn't seek the glory of Christ. — John Of The Cross

If repentance is neglected for an instant, one can lose the power of the Resurrection as he lives with the weakness of tepidity and the potential of his fall. — Saint John Chrysostom

Let us always guard our tongue; not that it should always be silent, but that it should speak at the proper time. — Saint John Chrysostom

And it is enough for the poet to be the guilty conscience of his time. — Saint-John Perse

Joining the ranks of some notables who had penned powerful stuff behind bars. Saint Paul, the apostle. John Bunyan. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Martin Luther King Jr. But, — Craig Parshall

He that enjoys naught without thanksgiving is as though he robbed God. — Saint John Chrysostom

There is harm not only in trying to gain wealth but also in excessive concern with even the most necessary things. It is not enough to despise wealth, but you must also feed the poor and, more importantly, you must follow Christ. — Saint John Chrysostom

What gnats are compared with humans, so is the whole creation compared with God. — Saint John Chrysostom

Saint Thomas Aquinas explains how, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, a person's whole spiritual being becomes responsive to God's light, not only the light of knowledge but also the inspiration of love. I have prayed for the gifts of the Holy Spirit since my youth and I continue to do so. — Pope John Paul II

The Eucharist is a fire that inflames us, that, like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the altar being made terrible to the devil. — Saint John Chrysostom

It's no good fooling about with love you know. You can't fall into it like a soft job without dirtying up your hands. It takes muscle and guts. If you can't bear the thought of messing up your nice, tidy soul, you better give up the whole idea of life and become a saint, because you'll never make it as a human being. It's either this world ... or the next. — John Osborne

Almsgiving above all else requires money, but even this shines with a brighter luster when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow who paid in the two mites was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all. — Saint John Chrysostom

It is not the man who is responsible for the offerings as they become Christ's Body and Blood; it is Christ Himself who was crucified for us. The standing figure belongs to the priest who speaks these words. The power and the grace belong to God. 'This is My Body,' he says. And these words transform the offerings. — Saint John Chrysostom

In the course of his ongoing crusade for Medicaid expansion, Ohio governor John Kasich has suggested that Ronald Reagan, Saint Peter, and God Himself all would support his plan to accept Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. — Edwin Meese

Look in, and see Christ's chosen saint In triumph wear his Christ-like chain; No fear lest he should swerve or faint; His life is Christ, his death is gain. — John Keble

Before they committed the crime of crimes, before they killed their Master, before the cross, before the slaying of Christ, [Jewish sacrifices were] an abomination. — Saint John Chrysostom

Charity is indeed, a great thing, and a gift of God, and when it is rightly ordered likens us unto God himself, as far as that is possible; for it is charity which makes the man. — Saint John Chrysostom

When an archer desires to shoot his arrows successfully, he first takes great pains over his posture and aligns himself accurately with his mark. It should be the same for you who are about to shoot the head of the wicked devil. Let us be concerned first for the good order of sensations and then for the good posture of inner thoughts.' — Saint John Chrysostom

I do not think there are many among Bishops that will be saved, but many more that perish. — Saint John Chrysostom

What prayer could be more true before God the Father than that which the Son, who is Truth, uttered with His own lips? — Saint John Chrysostom

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave. — Saint John Chrysostom

Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ. — Pope John Paul II

A man's readiness and commitment are not enough if he does not enjoy help from above as well; equally help from above is no benefit to us unless there is also commitment and readiness on our part. — Saint John Chrysostom

The desire to rule is the mother of heresies. — Saint John Chrysostom

The battle against the devil, which is the principal task of Saint Michael the Archangel, is still being fought today, because the devil is still alive and active in the world. — Pope John Paul II

The unbreakable bond between love of God and love of neighbor is emphasized. One is so closely connected to the other that to say that we love God becomes a lie if we are closed to our neighbor or hate him altogether. Saint John's words should rather be interpreted to mean that love of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God. — Pope Benedict XVI

Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead — Saint John Chrysostom

Of course God's way of speaking to us is different from our way, but he does speak to us, and his words are intelligible; they are interior factors closely linked to the unremitting work of our conscience. — Saint John Paul II

There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting. — John Millington Synge

It is folly to abstain all day long from food, but fail to abstain from sin and selfishness. — Saint John Chrysostom

Prayer is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings. — Saint John Chrysostom

It brings comfort to have companions in whatever happens. — Saint John Chrysostom

Whether, therefore, we receive what we ask for, or do not receive it, let us still continue steadfast in prayer. For to fail in obtaining the desires of our heart, when God so wills it, is not worse than to receive it; for we know not as He does, what is profitable to us. — Saint John Chrysostom

Do not try to please everybody. Try to please God, the angels, and the saints - they are your public. — John Vianney

What is it to be a fool for Christ? It is to control one's thoughts when they stray out of line. It is to make the mind empty and free ... — Saint John Chrysostom

A man does not possess all the gifts, lest he think that grace is nature. — Saint John Chrysostom

Memory of our good works makes us negligent and leads to arrogance. Do not think of your good deeds, so that God may remember them. — Saint John Chrysostom

If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice. — Saint John Chrysostom

When we once begin to form good resolutions, God gives us every opportunity of carrying them out. — Saint John Chrysostom

Nothing will divide the church so much as the love of power. — Saint John Chrysostom

Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of our words, but on the fervor of our souls. — Saint John Chrysostom

Such is friendship, that through it we love places and seasons; for as bright bodies emit rays to a distance, and flowers drop their sweet leaves on the ground around them, so friends impart favor even to the places where they dwell. With friends even poverty is pleasant. Words cannot express the joy which a friend imparts; they only can know who have experienced. A friend is dearer than the light of heaven, for it would be better for us that the sun were exhausted than that we should be without friends. — Saint John Chrysostom

We ought not, as soon as we leave church, to plunge into business unsuited to church, but as soon as we get home, we should take the Scriptures into our hands, and call our wife and children to join us in putting together what we have heard in church. — Saint John Chrysostom

You can set up an altar to God in your minds by means of prayer. And so it is fitting to pray at your trade, on a journey, standing at a counter or sitting at your handicraft. — Saint John Chrysostom

Methought I saw my late espoused saint. — John Milton

Dost thou wish to receive mercy? Show mercy to thy neighbor. — Saint John Chrysostom

To destroy the fetus 'is something worse than murder.' The one who does this 'does not take away life that has already been born, but prevents it from being born.' — Saint John Chrysostom

I know I'm not a saint, but I'm not the guy I'm made out to be by others. — John Calipari

Sex and Strawberries is my new favorite scent. — T. Saint John

Wine was given us by God, not that we might be drunken, but that we might be sober. It is the best medicine when it has the best moderation to direct it. Wine was given to restore the body's weakness, not to overturn the soul's strength. — Saint John Chrysostom

Do not the angels differs from us in this respect, that they do not want so many things as we do? Therefore the less we need, the more we are on our way to them; the more we need, the more we sink down to this perishable life. — Saint John Chrysostom

Surely we ought to show them (animals) great kindness and gentleness for many reasons, but, above all, because they are of the same origin as ourselves. — Saint John Chrysostom

In truth, every creation of the mind is first of all 'poetic' in the proper sense of the word; and inasmuch as there exists an equivalence between the modes of sensibility and intellect, it is the same function that is exercised initially in the enterprises of the poet and the scientist. — Saint-John Perse

What shepherd feeds his sheep with his own blood? But Christ feeds us with His own Blood and in all things unites us to Himself. — Saint John Chrysostom

From the creation learn to admire thy Lord! And if any of the things thou see exceed thy comprehension, and thou are not able to find the reason thereof, yet for this glorify the Creator, that the wisdom of these works surpass thine understanding. — Saint John Chrysostom

Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then, she is much too busy with her children. — John Vianney

Did you know, young lady," said Watkin to her, "that the Book of Revelation was written on Patmos? It was indeed. By Saint John the Divine, as you know. To me it shows very clear signs of having been written while waiting for a ferry. Oh, yes, I think so. It starts off, doesn't it, with that kind of dreaminess you get when you're killing time, getting bored, you know, just making things up, and then gradually grows to a sort of climax of hallucinatory despair. — Douglas Adams

If you say, "Would there were no wine" because of the drunkards, then you must say, going on by degrees, "Would there were no steel," because of the murderers, "Would there were no night," because of the thieves, "Would there were no light," because of the informers, and "Would there were no women," because of adultery. — Saint John Chrysostom

This is the highest point of philosophy, to be simple & wise; this is the angelic life. — Saint John Chrysostom

In the Christian combat, not the striker, as in the Olympic contests, but he who is struck, wins the crown. This is the law in the celestial theatre, where the Angels are the spectators. — Saint John Chrysostom

God passes through the thicket of the world, and wherever His glance falls He turns all things to beauty. — John Of The Cross

Paul commands: 'Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the Traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our letter.' From this it is clear that they did not hand down everything by letter, but there is much also that was not written. Like that which was written, the unwritten too is worthy of belief. So let us regard the Tradition of the Church also as worthy of belief. Is it a Tradition? Seek no further. — Saint John Chrysostom

Of all the afflictions that burden the human race, there is not one, whether spiritual or bodily, that cannot be healed by the Holy Scriptures. — Saint John Chrysostom

You carry your snare everywhere and spread your nets in all places. You allege that you never invited others to sin. You did not indeed, by your words, but you have done so by your dress and your deportment. — Saint John Chrysostom

There's love and there's romantic love. The Greeks had different words for different kinds of love. And we just got "love." I don't know what you would call the other kinds - maybe brotherly love, Christian love, the love of Saint Francis, love of everyone and everything. Then there's romantic love, which, by and large, is a pain in the ass, a kind of trauma. — John Maus

Things themselves do not remain, but their effects do. Therefore we should not be mean and calculating with what we have but give with a generous hand. Look at how much people give to players and dancers-why not give just as much to Christ? — Saint John Chrysostom