(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) He who perseveres to the end shall be saved. But how can I persevere? I must keep in my soul, an undying spirit of compunction and sorrow for past sins. I must avoid the immediate occasions of sin – such persons, places or things as happen to be for me a grievous temptation to mortal sin. I must participate in the frequent reception of Penance and Holy Communion (weekly to confession, daily to Communion). I must engage in earnest and constant prayer. I must have a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I must engage in pious reading – reading slowly and thoughtfully, letting their content sink into my mind, applying things to myself, pausing to say little prayers and making resolutions. Father Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S.
“The truth hurts sometimes. If we are going to be taught by God, the fisherman, we first need to be captured by Him. And His hook is going to have a bite. Of course, it's going to hurt.” - Father Donald Calloway, MIC