“The first thing that souls must do if they embark on the path of holiness is really to want to be saints whatever may come, whatever may happen to them, however hard they may have to labor, whoever may complain of them, whether they reach their goal or die on the road.”

                                             ~St. Teresa of Avila

For Reflection:

According to this quote, do I really want to be a saint? What worry, fear, or concern crosses my mind when I read St. Teresa’s “saintly standard?” Am I willing to say “Jesus I trust in You” in this area?

A Year with Mary: Daily Meditations on the Mother of God
NEW! by Paul Thigpen; 388 pgs
Click Here For More Information
              Introduction
Who was this woman on whom the Son of God himself had laid the incomparable burden, the inexpressible dignity, of becoming his human mother? Had we somehow made her his rival? If she was so important, why did the Scripture seem to say so little about her? (As it turned out, the Scripture had much more to say about her than I ever dreamed…I set out to explore that ocean of grace. My map was provided, not only by Scripture, but by the profound insights of numerous saints and other spiritual writers from across the centuries.  My compass was the exquisite poetry of their Marian devotion.