๐ 'Awake, my soul, awake! show thy spirit, arouse thy senses, shake off the sluggishness of that deadly heaviness that is upon thee, begin to take care for thy salvation. Let the idleness of vain imaginations be put to flight, let go of sloth, hold fast to diligence. Be instant in holy meditations, cleave to the good things which are of God: leaving that which is temporal, give heed to that which is eternal. Now in this godly employment of thy mind, to what canst thou turn thy thoughts more wholesomely and profitably than to the sweet contemplations of thy Creator’s immeasurable benefits toward thee.'
๐ฎ St. Anselm of Canterbury
๐ Wherefore it is said: Awake thou sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee.'
๐ฎ Ephesians 5:14
๐ 'She does not indulge in slothful slumbers after the morning bell, but obeying its sound as the call of God himself, she instantly rises.'
๐ฎ St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
๐ 'From the moment we awake in the morning, let us pray continually in the words of holy David: Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity.'
๐ฎ St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
๐ 'While dressing in the morning I will think of the Incarnation, in which our Lord put on our nature, and I will thank God for it.'
๐ฎ St. Anthony Mary Claret
๐ 'Every morning as soon as you get up think of all the most disagreeable things that could happen to you during the day. Your house might be burnt down, you might lose your job or all your savings, or be run over, or sudden death might come to you or to a person you love. Accept these misfortunes should it please God to allow them; compel your will to agree to the sacrifice and give yourself no rest until you really feel prepared to wish or not to wish all that God may wish or not wish.'
๐ฎ St. Claude de la Colombiere
๐ 'In order to succeed in prayer, it should be done when we first awaken, when our whole being is calm and recollected. We need to make our meditation before anything else.'
๐ฎ St. Peter Julian Eymard
๐ 'Every morning prepare your soul for a tranquil day.'
๐ฎ St. Francis de Sales
๐ '"My soul is always in my hand, yet do I not forget Thy Law," David says. Examine yourself often, at least night and morning, as to whether your soul is "in your hand;" or whether it has been wrested thence by any passionate or anxious emotion. See whether your soul is fully under control, or whether it has not in anywise escaped from beneath your hand, to plunge into some unruly love, hate, envy, lust, fear, vexation or joy. And if it has so strayed, before all else seek it out, and quietly bring it back to the Presence of God, once more placing all your hopes and affections under the direction of His Holy Will. Just as one who fears to lose some precious possession holds it tight in his hand, so, like King David, we ought to be able to say, "My soul is always in my hand, and therefore I have not forgotten Thy Law."'
๐ฎ St. Francis de Sales
๐ 'And once he lay panting on his bed worn out by a high fever, and behold his cell was suddenly brightened by a great light and quivered. And he lifted his hands to heaven and breathed out his spirit while giving thanks. With mingled cries of mourning the monks and his mother took the dead man's body out [of the cell], washed and clothed it and placed it on a bier and spent the night in weeping and singing psalms.
In the morning while preparations for the funeral went on the body began to move on the bier. And behold his cheeks regained color and, as if roused from a deep sleep, he stirred and opened his eyes and lifted his hands and said: "Merciful God, why hast Thou allowed me to return to this gloomy place of life on earth, since Thy mercy in heaven would be better for me than vile life in this world." His people were wonderstruck and asked what such a prodigy could mean, but he made no answer to their questions. He rose from the bier, feeling no harm from the painful experience he had suffered, and continued for three days without the support of food or drink.
๐ On the third day he called the monks and his mother and said: "Listen, dear ones, and understand that what you look upon in this world is nothing but it is like the prophet Solomon's song, 'All is vanity.' Happy is he who can live in the world so as to deserve to see the glory of God in heaven."'
๐ฎ St. Gregory of Tours
๐ 'In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.'
๐ฎ Psalm 89:6
๐ 'The watchman said: The morning cometh, also the night: if you seek, seek: return, come.'
๐ฎ Isaias 21:8
๐ 'In the morning, we must do like the little child in its cradle. The moment it opens its eyes, it looks round the house for its mother. When it sees her, it begins to smile; if it does not see her, it cries.'
๐ฎ St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars
๐ 'These things I shall think over in my heart, therefore will I hope. The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because his commiserations have not failed. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.'
๐ฎ Lamentations 3:21-23
๐ 'Of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist it is written: "This morning my soul is greater than the world since it possesses You, You whom heaven and earth do not contain."'
๐ฎ St. Margaret of Cortona
๐ 'The kingdom of God is within you. Reanimate your faith often when you study, work, or eat; when you retire to rest, or rise in the morning. Make some loving aspirations to God, such as: "O Infinite Goodness!" or other prayer, and let your soul be penetrated by these pious sentiments as by a precious balm. This great God is nearer to you, so to speak, than you are to yourself.'
๐ฎ St. Paul of the Cross
๐ 'Your most important business is the care of your soul. This is why, before leaving your room in the morning, you should spend at least a quarter of an hour in meditating on the life, the Passion, and the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.'
๐ฎ St. Paul of the Cross
๐ 'O Lord, keep Thy hand this day over Philip, if Thou do not, Philip will betray Thee.'
๐ฎ St. Philip Neri, his morning prayer
๐ 'A friend will visit his friend in the morning to wish him a good day; in the evening, a good night; taking also an opportunity to converse with him during the day. In like manner make visits to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, if your duties permit it. It is especially at the foot of the altar that one prays well. In all your visits to Our Saviour, frequently offer His precious blood to the Eternal Father. You will find these visits very conducive to your growth in the knowledge and love of Our Lord.'
๐ฎ St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
๐ 'O GOD my God to thee I watch, from the morning light. My soul hath thirsted to thee, my flesh to thee O how many ways.'
๐ฎ Psalm 62:2
๐ 'We give our youth to the devil, and the remains of our life to the Good God, who is so good that He deigns to be content with even that. . . but, happily, everyone does not do so. A great lady has been here, of one of the first families in France; she went away this morning. She is scarcely three-and-twenty, and she is rich-very rich indeed. . . She has offered herself in sacrifice to the good God for the expiation of sins, and for the conversion of sinners. She wears a girdle all armed with iron points; she mortifies herself in a thousand ways; and her parents know nothing of it. She is white as a sheet of paper.
๐ Hers is a beautiful soul, very pleasing to the good God, such as are still to be found now and then in the world, and they prevent the world from coming to an end.'
๐ฎ St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars
๐ 'Because I will pray to thee: Lord in the morning thou wilt hear my voice. In the morning I will stand by thee and will see -- for thou art not a God that wilt iniquity.'
๐ฎ Psalm 5:4-5
