"The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for until the cord be broken, the bird cannot fly." -St. John of the Cross

Preparation of the Ashes for Ash Wednesday (Chicago, 1953)

"All the delights and satisfactions of the will in the things of the world compared to all the delight that is God are intense suffering, torment, and bitterness. Those who link their hearts to these delights, then, deserve in God's eyes intense suffering, torment, and bitterness." -St. John of the Cross

"As the tilling of soil is necessary for its fruitfulness, mortification of the appetites is necessary for one's spiritual fruitfulness. I venture to say that, without this mortification, all that is done for the sake of advancement in perfection and in knowledge of God and of oneself is no more profitable than seed sown on uncultivated ground. Accordingly, darkness and coarseness will always be with a soul until its appetites are extinguished." -St. John of the Cross

"Although it is true that the disordered soul possesses in its natural being the perfection that God bestowed when creating it, nevertheless in its rational being it is ugly, abominable, dirty, dark, and full of all the evils here described, and many more besides. One inordinate appetite alone suffices to make a soul so captive, dirty, and unsightly, that until the appetite is purified the soul is incapable of conformity with God in union." -St. John of the Cross

"For though there are no seasons which are not full of Divine blessings, and though access is ever open to us to God's mercy through His grace, yet now all men's minds should be moved with greater zeal to spiritual progress, and animated by larger confidence, when the return of the day, on which we were redeemed, invites us to all the duties of godliness: that we may keep the super-excellent mystery of the Lord's passion with bodies and hearts purified. These great mysteries do indeed require from us such unflagging devotion and unwearied reverence that we should remain in God's sight always the same, as we ought to be found on the Easter feast itself. But because few have this constancy, and, because so long as the stricter observance is relaxed in consideration of the frailty of the flesh, and so long as one's interests extend over all the various actions of this life, even pious hearts must get some soils from the dust of the world, the Divine Providence has with great beneficence taken care that the discipline of the forty days should heal us and restore the purity of our minds, during which the faults of other times might be redeemed by pious acts and removed by chaste fasting." -Pope St. Leo I

"In the dark night of the soul, bright flows the river of God." -St. John of the Cross

Fasting during Lent can change your life

"We can apply, then, what Christ says about the narrow gate to the sensitive part of the human person, and what he says about the constricting way to the spiritual or rational part. Since he proclaims that few find it, we ought to note the cause: Few there are with the knowledge and desire to enter into this supreme nakedness and emptiness of spirit. As this path on the high mount of perfection is narrow and steep, it demands travelers who are neither weighed down by the lower part of their nature, nor burdened in the higher part. This is a venture in which God alone is sought and gained; thus only God ought to be sought and gained." St. John of the Cross

Save the Date 📅
On March 29, Good Friday, the hosts of The Daily Rosary will live stream the Stations of the Cross. The schedule will be as follows:

10:00PM EST: Rosary
10:20PM EST: Litany of the Precious Blood
10:22PM EST: Stations of the Cross

Today marks the beginning of Cardinal Burke's nine-month Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The following should be prayed daily until the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th.

"‍O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.

Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.

Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen."

Pope Pius XII was coronated 85 years ago today.

"Oh God who didst vouchsafe to send blessed Patrick, confessor and bishop, to preach Thy glory to the Gentiles, grant that, through his merits and intercession, we may be enabled to accomplish, by Thy mercy, what Thou commandest us to do."

"The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am. They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple."

Save the Date! 📅
The Daily Rosary will be presenting the Stations of the Cross on the evening of Good Friday. Please join us in prayer, starting at 10 PM EST!