Inspirational quotes for the religious life

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CHRIST INVITES US TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE
If thou hast a mind to be perfect, go home and sell
all that belongs to thee, and so the treasure thou hast shall be in heaven; then come back and fellow Me.
Our Lord, in St Matthew xix, 21.

Martha, Martha, how many cares and troubles thou hast! But only one thing is necessary; Mary has chosen for herself the best part of all, that which shall never be taken away from her
Our Lord, in St Luke x, 41, 42.

MERIT AND REWARDS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE
I promise you, everyone who has forsaken home or parents or brethren … for the sake of the kingdom of God, will receive in this present world many times their worth, and in the world to come, everlasting life. Our Lord, in St Luke xviii, 29, 30.

God has designedly concealed the happiness of the religious state because if it were known, all would relinquish the world and fly to religion. St Laurence Justinian.
Code: 
It is better, though easier, to embrace the religious life than to give oneself up in the world to the most rigorous penance during a long period of years.
It may be reasonably said, that a person, by entering into religion, obtains the remission of all sins. For to make satisfaction for all sins, it is sufficient to dedicate oneself entirely to the service of God, by entering religion, which dedication exceeds all manner of satisfaction. Hence we read in the Lives of the Fathers that they who enter Religion obtain the Same grace as those who receive Baptism.    St Thomas.

I hold it as certain that the greater number of the seraphic thrones left vacant by the fall of the unhappy associates of Lucifer, will be filled by religious.
A religious will save by his prayers, labours and mortifications, more souls in one year than in the whole of his life out of religion : and, as to his own personal merits, he will gain more in one year by practising obedience than in ten years by living in the world according to his own will. 					                              St Alphonsus Liguori.
THE WORLD-WIDE APOSTOLATE OF THE CONTEMPLATIVE
It should be easy to understand how those who are earnest and untiring in fulfilling the duty of prayer and penance contribute much more to the increase of the Church and the welfare of mankind than those who labour in tilling the Master’s field. Unless the contemplative drew down a shower of divine grace to water the field which is being tilled the active workers would clearly reap a less abundant harvest from their toil. Pope Pius XI, 1924.
Code: 
We should never forget that one of the most important aspects of our work for society consists in uniting to the sanctification and conversion of our own souls that of everyone else in the world. Devotion to our Lady is for us a ninth beatitude. The work of regenerating this tired and unbelieving world has been entrusted to her care. May she enflame her children of Citeaux with her own burning zeal ! May she obtain for them as a reward for their prayers and sacrifices the favour of being able to lead back to God all men who are their brothers and of enfolding them with themselves in that atmosphere of a genuine Catholic life, which is the centre of the true, integral and supernatural Communism !  Abbot General O.C.R., Letter to his monks, Christmas 1946.
SAINT BERNARD DESCRIBES LIFE IN A CISTERCIAN ABBEY
THIS HOLY STATE in which a man lives more purely falls more rarely, rises more quickly, walks more cautiously, receives more graces, rests more securely, dies more confidently, is purified more quickly and is rewarded more abundantly. St Bernard. Hom in Matt : xiii, 45.
Code: 
**PARADISUS CLAUSTRALIS.** Indeed the cloister is a paradise : an acre sheltered by the wall of discipline. No barren soil this; its yield the most precious merchandise. 'Gracious the sight and full of comfort,
when brethren dwell united.’ (Psalm 132, 1) : a glorious thing truly. Here you may see one monk weeping over his past sins, another exulting as he praises God. This man is the servant of all, that one busy atoning for his sins. The heart of this one is a bright furnace of divine charity, the heart of his neighbour is a deep founded tower of humility. When everything well with this monk, he is not carried away by vanity, that monk soars aloft above adversity. See how busy one is with his charitable labours, how calm another is in his contemplative repose. Looking round at all these sights you may well cry out : ‘This is God’s encampment’. (Genesis xxxii, 2.) ‘What a fearsome place is this ! This can be nothing other than the House of God; this is the Gate of Heaven.’ (Genesis, xxviii, I7) St Bernard. Serm : de Div: xiii, n.4.

With Ecclesiastical approval.
 
These were taken from a leaflet I received from a Cistercian monastery which I found inspiring and thought I would share with you all.

I will be visiting them shortly to discern a possible vocation there. I am not going because I see it as the highest call, but because the idea gives me peace and it seems God may be calling me there. The only problem for me is the fact that they only get 7 hours sleep. I am not sure that I could cope on this amount.

Nick
 
Thank you for sharing. I really liked them. I’ll say a prayer for you!

Some quotes for the female discerning religious life:

“Let everyone who joins us in the future act as though this primitive Rule of the Order of the Virgin, Our Lady, were beginning with her.” - St. Teresa of Jesus (Speaking of Carmel)

“The virgin’s heart must be far more generous in its love than even the heart of the married; it must be inebriated by that supernatural love which destroys all selfishness…The closer a soul is united to God, Who is Love, the more it loves. Surely the bride of Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, wedded as she is to Love Incarnate, must exceed all in love. We know now why consecrated virginity represents the most exalted state on earth: because it involves a marriage in the strictest sense with Christ; and because it is not only the state of greatest purity, but the state of greatest love. The vocation of Christ’s bride is simple–to love.” Dietrich von Hildebrand

“A Bride of Christ “follows the Lamb wherever He goes” (cf. Revelation 14:4) – into hearts that do not know Him, into hearts that forget Him, and into hearts that reject Him. She holds in her heart, with the compassion of Her Divine Spouse, all the suffer, poor, sick, and afflicted.”

“The Spouse of Jesus should have a high esteem and veneration for her holy state, since after baptism a vocation to religion is the greatest grace which God can bestow.” - St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

“Learn, O spouse of God, a holy pride. Know that you are raised above worldlings, and say: I have found him whom my soul sought; I will hold him, and will not let him go.” - St. Jerome

“Sublime, indeed, is the dignity of virgins: each of them can glory and say, ‘I am espoused to Him whom the angels serve.’” - St. Alphonsus de Ligouri

“It’s not so that if you remain a virgin you are going to have no children. The women who have most children are virgins. Mother Teresa of Calcutta had millions of children. You know in the best of cases women can have 18 or 20. Today they no longer do that, but it used to be the case. But if you are a virgin and you give yourself completely and totally, you become a mother to millions of people, begging for your help and begging for love because basically, what is maternity? Maternity is so holy, because it is to accept to suffer that someone may be born and therefore there is a beautiful parallel between maternity and the sacrifice of the Cross.” - Alice Von Hildebrand
 
thanks for your reply, daughterofmary

I find it amazing how prayer can save souls, especially from someone consecrated to God. God doesn’t need us, but He allows us to cooperate in the salvation of others. Imagine the souls meeting a religious in heaven who he or she has saved by their prayers. That would be special and no doubt part of the glory of heaven

Nick
 
Religious: Join without knowing each other… live without loving each other… die without grieving each other…🤷 true… sad, but true
 
That’s your opinion and it’s ok… but facts speak by themselves!
 
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