Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. John XXIII, on Jesus As ‘An Example and a Rule of Life’)

“This is the greatest dignity and obligation ever laid on man, and particularly on every Christian: the obligation to do honour to the Son of God, the ‘Word made flesh,’ who gives life to all mankind and all human society. Jesus left us the example of his thirty years of silence, so that we might learn to see the truth in him, and his three years of unwearied and persuasive ministry, so that we might find in him an example and a rule of life.”— St. John XXIII (1881-1963), Days of Devotion: Daily Meditations From the Good Shepherd, translated by Dorothy White and edited by John Patrick Donnelly (1967)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. John XXIII, on the Holy Eucharist and the ‘Whole Mass of Believers in Christ’)

“The Holy Eucharist is at the heart of Catholic theology and liturgy: its light streams out in every direction, its grace touches all hearts. Whereas the other Sacraments have an immediate effect on the individual, the Holy Eucharist, while it too works in the intimacy of every man's soul, at the same time permeates the whole social body of the Church and the world. One may say even more: its divine institution is pre-ordained to express and to inspire the whole mass of believers in Christ.”— St. John XXIII (1881-1963), Days of Devotion: Daily Meditations From the Good Shepherd, translated by Dorothy White, edited by John P. Donnelly (1967, reprinted 1996)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. John XXIII, on Jesus and ‘The Law of Love’)

“God has engraved his law on men’s hearts; he has revealed it through Moses. It is a strict law, and sometimes it may seem a hard one. But when Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, came down to join us he explained it and made it gentler, giving it a new, fascinating and appealing character. It is the law of love, of forgiveness, of wise judgment; it is the law of forbearance, according to the various circumstances, always provided that there be no question of violating the Lord’s commandment. Therefore the true Christian, serving one master only, is on the right road and has nothing to fear.”—St. John XXIII (1881-1963), Days of Devotion: Daily Meditations From the Good Shepherd, translated by Dorothy White, edited by John P. Donnelly (1967, reprinted 1996)