Wise Sayings

Question 1

St. Augustine on the Pauline dialectic between law and grace.

Answer 1

“The law was given that grace might be sought; and grace was given that the law might be fulfilled.” On the Spirit and the Letter, 19, 34.

Question 2

Bl. John Henry Newman on the connections between conscience, rights and duties.

Answer 2

“Conscience has rights because it has duties.” From A Letter to the Duke of Norfolk: Certain Difficulties Felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching

Question 3

St. Thomas Aquinas’s definition of heresy.

Answer 3

“Heresy is a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas.” ST II-II, q. 11, a. 1.

Question 4

Sherlock Holmes on his method of induction.

Answer 4

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” In The Sign of Four (1890).

Question 5

St. Augustine on love’s appearance.

Answer 5

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”

Question 6

Ephesians 6:10-18

Answer 6

The Whole Armor of God: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded you loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

Question 7

Romans 13:11-14

Answer 7

“Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Question 8

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Answer 8

The Gift of Love: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Question 9

Psalm 23

Answer 9

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lies down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

Question 10

Ephesians 3:17

Answer 10

“May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of your life.”

Question 11

Philippians 4:6-7

Answer 11

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Cf.: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.”-St. Padre Pio

Question 12

Micah 6:8

Answer 12

“He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Question 13

Philippians 2:3-4 On serving others

Answer 13

“Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Question 14

Psalms 127:1-2 On walking humbly with the Lord.

Answer 14

“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

Question 15

1 Tim. 2:4-6

Answer 15

“[God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”

Question 16

Jeremiah 31:16

Answer 16

“Cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward.”

Question 17

Psalm 139:23-24; Isaiah 41:13

Answer 17

“O search me, God, and know my heart./ O test me and know my thoughts./ See that I follow not the wrong path/ and lead me in the path of life eternal.” “I am the Lord your God,/who grasp you right hand;/ It is I who say to you, ‘Fear not,/ I will help you.’”

Question 18

1 John 2: 3-6

Answer 18

“The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live as he lived.” NAB

Question 19

Isaiah (26:12) on the relationship between our works and God’s

Answer 19

“O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.”

Question 20

St. Paul on conforming our minds to Christ. Romans 12:1-2

Answer 20

“Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Question 21

Psalm 1

Answer 21

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water,

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked wil not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Question 22

St. Catherine of Siena on the way to heaven.

Answer 22

“All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, ‘I am the way.’”

Question 23

St. Charbel Makhlouf on the family.

Answer 23

“Preserve the warmth of the family, because the warmth of the whole world cannot make up for it.”

Question 24

St. Francis de Sales on the necessity of maintaining inner peace.

Answer 24

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”

Question 25

Aristotole on what happens when good men refuse to take an interest in politics.

Answer 25

“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

Question 26

St. Therese of Lisieux on true charity.

Answer 26

“I know now that true charity consists in bearing all of our neighbors’ defects—not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues.”

— St. Therese of Lisieux

Question 27

St. Angela Merici on our efforts to convert others.

Answer 27

“And above all, be on your guard not to want to get anything done by force, because God has given free will to everyone and wants to force no one, but only proposes, invites and counsels.”

Question 28

Winston Churchill on the difference between pessimists and optimists.

Answer 28

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.

Question 29

St. Augustine on true Christian belief.

Answer 29

“If you believe what you like in the Gospels and reject what you don’t like, it’s not the Gospel you believe but yourself.”

Question 30

Upton Sinclair on why it is difficult to get a man to see certain things.

Answer 30

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

Question 31

St. Bernard on love.

Answer 31

“Although true love does not demand a reward, it deserves one.” On Loving God, chap. 7.

Question 32

St. Vincent Ferrer on how to seek the good of our neighbor’s soul.

Answer 32

“If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire.”

Question 33

Churchill on courage.

Answer 33

“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”

Question 34

Aristotle on courage.

Answer 34

“I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over oneself.”