Prayer

Mental prayer is nothing else but being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him. 1
St. Teresa of Avila

It is true that God's power triumphs over everything, but humble and suffering prayer prevails over God Himself. 2
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Until we have acquired genuine prayer, we are like people teaching children to begin to walk. 3
St. Margaret Mary Alocoque

When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer. 4
St. Louis de Montfort

Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angels tremble. 5
St. Teresa of Avila

You go to pray; to become a bonfire, a living flame, giving light and heat. 6
St Josemaria Escriva

After you have made a decision that is pleasing to God, the Devil may try to make you have second thoughts. Intensify your prayer time, meditation, and good deeds. For if Satan's temptations merely cause you to increase your efforts to grow in holiness, he'll have an incentive to leave you alone. 7
St. Ignatius of Loyola

He who does not meditate acts as one who never looks into the mirror and so does not bother to put himself in order, since he can be dirty without knowing it. The person who meditates and turns his thoughts to God who is the mirror of the soul, seeks to know his defects and tries to correct them, moderates himself in his impulses and puts his conscience in order. 8
St.Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because the good success of prayer depends neither on words nor on study. It depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God, and the more simple and stripped of feeling it is, the surer it is. 9
St. Jane Frances de Chantal

You don't know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said, 'Lord, I don't know how to pray!" you can be sure you have already begun.' 10
St. Josemaria Escriva

We do not have to talk very much in order to pray well. We know that God is there in His holy tabernacle; let us open our hearts to Him; let us rejoice in His Presence: This is the best prayer. 11
St. John Vianney

It is blasphemy if you pray before God while you are full of anger. 12
St. Ephraem the Syrian

Prayer is powerful beyond limits when we turn to the Immaculata who is queen even of God's heart. 13
St. Maximillian Kolbe

To receive the grace of God you must go to the desert and stay awhile. 14
Blessed Charles de Foucauld

Let prayer delight thee more than disputations, and the charity which buildeth up more than the knowledge which puffeth up. 15
St. Robert Bellarmine

Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven. 16
St. Ephraem of Syria

We should have frequent recourse to prayer, and persevere a long time in it. God wishes to be solicited. He id not weary of hearing us. The treasure of His graces is infinite. We can do nothing more pleasing to him than to beg incessantly that He bestow them upon us. 17
St. John Baptist de la Salle

The most deadly poison of our times is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise Him to the greatest extent of our powers. 18
St. Maximilian Kolbe

As fire has to have continuous contact with an object to affect it, so an intermittent thought cannot bring about passion in a heart; a certain amount of time is necessary. 19
St. Basil the Great

According to the divine plan, action must be fed with prayer. The interior life is the wellspring of the apostolate. Do not believe in the slogan, "The priest is sanctified in sanctifying others" - it's an illusion. The real formula is, "Sanctify yourself so as to sanctify others. 20
Blessed Edward Poppe

Without Prayer nothing good is done. God's works are done with our hands joined, and on our knees. Even when we run, we must remain spiritually kneeling before Him. 21
Blessed Luigi Orione

You must speak to Jesus also with the heart, besides with the lips; indeed, in certain cases you must speak to Him only with the heart. 22
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Do not worry over things that generate preoccupation, and anxiety. One thing only is necessary: to lift up your spirit and love God. 23
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Say to God: Do you want greater love from me? I have no more. Give me more, therefore, and I will offer it to You. Don’t doubt. God will accept this offer. 24
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Often kiss Jesus with affection and you will recompense Him for the sacrilegious kiss of the unfaithful Apostle, Judas. 25
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

When you do not succeed in meditating well, do not for this reason cease to do your duty. If there are many distractions do not lose heart. Make a meditation of patience; you will profit all the same. 26
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

When you have distractions, don’t distract yourself still more by stopping to consider the why and the wheerefore. 27
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Continue to pray that God may console you when you feel that the weight of the Cross is becoming too burdensome. Acting thus you are not doing anything against the will of God, but are with the Son of God who, in the garden, asked His Father for some relief. 28
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

The devil dreads fasting, prayer, humility, and good works: he is not able even to stop my mouth who speak against him. The illusions of the devil soon vanish, especially if a man arms himself with the Sign of the Cross. The devils tremble at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord, by which He triumphed over and disarmed them. 29
St Antony the Abbot

Prayer ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear. 30
St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi

Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. ... If a man wants to be always in God's company, he must pray regularly and read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us. 31
St. Isidore of Seville

When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than proceedings from the mouth. 32
St. Bonaventure

Suffering borne in the will quietly and patiently is a continual, very powerful prayer before God. 33
St. Jane Frances de Chantal

The grace of contemplation is granted only in response to a longing insistent desire. 34
St Bernard of Clairvaux

The Prayer of the sick person is his patience and his acceptance of his sickness for the love of Jesus Christ. Make sickness itself a prayer, for there is none more powerful, save martyrdom! 35
St Francis de Sales

It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer and a virtuous life. 36
St John Chrysostom

It is our part to seek, His to grant what we ask; ours to make a beginning, His to bring it to completion; ours to offer what we can, His to finish what we cannot. 37
St. Jerome

You say in your book that while we live we are able to pray for each other, but afterwards when we have died, the prayer of no person for another can be heard.... But if the apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others, at a time when they ought still be solicitous about themselves, how much more will they do so after their crowns, victories, and triumphs? 38
St. Jerome (from Against Vigilantius, 406AD)

Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness. 39
St. John Chrysostom

Without Prayer nothing good is done. God's works are done with our hands joined, and on our knees. Even when we run, we must remain spiritually kneeling before Him. 40
Blessed Luigi Orione

At the times when you remember God, increase your prayers, so that when you forget Him, the Lord may remind you. 41
St. Mark the Ascetic

The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, and vigils, and prayer, and almsgiving, and every good deed done for Christ's sake, they are only means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God. 42
St. Seraphim of Sarov

It is better to say one Our Father fervently and devoutly than a thousand with no devotion and full of distraction. 43
St. Edmund

It is not the actual physical exertion that counts toward a man's progress, nor the nature of the task, but the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken. 44
St. Francis Xavier

If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you. Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg. To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it. 45
St. Thomas of Villanova

He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands. 46
St. Benedict of Nursia

Give me a person of prayer, and such a one will be capable of accomplishing anything. 47
St. Vincent de Paul

It is not surprising, then, that the devil should do everything possible to influence us to give up prayer or to pray badly, because he knows better than we do how terrible it is for hell and how impossible it is that God should refuse us what we ask Him for in prayer. 48
St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney

When you pass before a chapel and do not have time to stop for a while, tell your Guardian Angel to carry out your errand to Our Lord in the tabernacle. He will accomplish it and then still have time to catch up with you. 49
St. Bernadette Soubirous

The prayers of the Saints in heaven and of the just on earth are a perfume which never will be lost. 50
St. Padre Pio

The signs that accompany those who wish to submit to the Logos of God and who bring forth good fruit are: sighing, weeping, sorrow, stillness, shaking of the head, prayer, silence, persistence, bitter grief, tribulation of heart arising from religious devotion. In addition, their actions manifest vigilance, fasting, self-control, gentleness, forbearance, unceasing prayer, study of the divine Scriptures, faith, humility, brotherly affection, submission, rigorous toil, hardship, love, kindli­ness, courtesy and-the sum of all-light, which is the Lord. The signs that accompany those who are not producing the fruit of life are listlessness, day-dreaming, curiosity, lack of attention, grumbling, instability; and in their actions they manifest gluttony, anger, wrath, back-biting, conceit, untimely talk, unbelief, disorderliness, forgetfulness, unrest, sordid greed, avarice, envy, factiousness, contempt, garrulity, senseless laughter, willfulness and - the sum of all - darkness, which is Satan. 51
St. Symeon Metaphrastis

For can anyone be excused who, by ceasing to pray, has shown that he did not wish to overcome his enemy. 52
St. John Chrysostom

Man by prayer merits to receive that which God had from all eternity determined to give him. 53
St. Gregory

He who prays most receives most. 54
St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Pray and work. 55
St. Benedict

Prayer ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear. 56
St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi

There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers. 57
St. Teresa of Avila

We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature--trees and flowers and grass--grow in silence. See the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. 58
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

When I was crossing into Gaza, I was asked at the checkpost whether I was carrying any weapons. I replied: Oh yes, my prayer books. 59
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

THE SIMPLE PATH
The fruit of silence is PRAYER.
The fruit of prayer is FAITH.
The fruit of faith is LOVE.
The fruit of love is SERVICE.
The fruit of service is PEACE. 60
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Everything starts with prayer. Love to pray--feel the need to pray often during the day and take the trouble to pray. If you want to pray better, you must pray more. The more you pray, the easier it becomes. Perfect prayer does not consist of many words but in the fervor of the desire which raises the heart to Jesus. 61
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Silence is the root of our union with God and with one another. In silence we are filled with the energy of God Himself that makes us do all things in joy. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. 62
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Anyone who has the habit of speaking before God's majesty as if he were speaking to a slave, careless about how he is speaking, and saying whatever comes into his head and whatever he's learned from saying prayers at other times, in my opinion is not praying. Please, God, may no Christian pray in this way. 63
St. Teresa of Avila

Let him never cease from prayer who has once begun it, be his life ever so wicked; for prayer is the way to amend it, and without prayer such amendment will be much more difficult. 64
St. Teresa of Avila

Vocal prayer . . . must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom he is speaking to, what he is asking, who it is who is asking and of Whom, I don't call prayer--however much the lips may move. 65
St. Teresa of Avila

One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much, more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer. 66
St. Teresa of Avila

May this be our prayer: "I do not want to turn my eyes from you, O God. There I want to stay and not move. No matter what happens to me, within or without. 67
St. Catherine of Genoa

One way to call your mind easily back to God during your fixed prayer times and to hold it steadier, is to not let it take much flight during the rest of the day. 68
Brother Lawrence

He who fights even the smallest distractions faithfully, when he says even the smallest prayer, will also be faithful in great things. 69
St. Louis de Montfort

In times of aridity, when I am incapable of praying or practicing virtue, I seek little opportunities, mere trifles, to give pleasure to Jesus. For instance, a smile, a pleasant word when inclined to be silent and to show weariness. If I find no opportunities, I at least tell Him again and again that I love Him, that is not difficult and it keeps alive the fire in my heart. Even though this fire of love might seem extinct, I would still throw little straws upon the embers and I am certain that it would rekindle. 70
St. Therese of Lisieux

There is no other remedy for this evil of giving up prayer than to begin again. 71
St. Teresa of Jesus

In prayer, more is accomplished by listening than by talking. Let us leave to God the decisions as to what shall be said. 72
St. Francis de Sales

The sacrifice most pleasing to God is contrition of heart. 73
St. Eulogius of Cordova

Do nothing at all unless you begin with prayer. 74
St Ephraem the Syrian

If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first of all with your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire. 75
St. Vincent Ferrar

Take yourself off to the garden of olives or the foot of the cross, and stay there. Our Lord will speak to you; and you listen to Him. 76
St. Bernadette

There is nothing more powerful than a person praying well. 77
St. John Chrysostom

Always live a life full of faith and trust, letting the Lord steer your boat and even sleep in it if He wants. 78
Blessed Maravillas of Jesus

Silence is the beginning of purifying the soul. 79
St. Basil the Great

O Lord, I beseech you, that you would lead me into the intermost sanctuary of the sorrows of your soul...Tell me, Jesus, hope of my life, how great was this sorrow of your stricken heart? 80
Blessed Baptista Varani

It is our emptiness and lowliness God needs, not our plenitude. 81
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

How gently and lovingly You wake in my heart, where in secret You dwell alone; and in your sweet breathing filled with good and glory, how tenderly You swell my heart with love. 82
St. John of the Cross

Never address your words to God while you are thinking of something else. 83
St. Teresa of Avila

O God, make us children of quietness, and heirs of peace. 84
St. Clement of Alexandria

My soul can see no other remedy pleasing to God than peace. 85
St. Catherine of Siena

A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat. 86
St. Faustina Kowalska

O, Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there thy cheerful beams. 87
St. Augustine

Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self. 88
St. Francis of Assisi

For God says: Pray wholeheartedly. . . though you may feel nothing, though you may see nothing . . . for in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in weakness, then is your prayer most pleasing to Me. 89
St. Julian of Norwich

Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you. 90
St. Jerome

We shall never completely know ourselves if we don't strive to know God. 91
St. Teresa of Avila

Just as a mother holds her child's face in her hands to cover it with kisses, so does God hold (us). 92
St. John Vianney

Pray to God, "You are the Spirit, and I am only the trumpet, and without your breath I can give no sound." 93
St. Joseph of Copurtino

Be not afraid to tell Jesus that you love Him; even though it be without feeling, this is the way to oblige Him to help you, and carry you like a little child too feeble to walk. 94
St. Therese of Lisieux

God does not give Himself to a chattering soul which, like a drone in a beehive, buzzes around but gathers no honey. A talkative soul is empty inside. It lacks both the essential virtues and intimacy with God. A deeper interior life, one of gentle peace and of that silence where the Lord dwells, is quite out of the question. A soul that has never tasted the sweetness of inner silence is a restless spirit which disturbs the silence of others. I have seen many souls in the depths of hell of hell for not having kept their silence; they told me so themselves when I asked them what was the cause of their undoing. 95
St. Faustina Kowalska

I tremble to think that I have to give an account of my tongue. ... Sometimes we kill with the tongue: we commit real murders. 96
St. Faustina Kowalska