The Roman Pontiffs, and the other Holy Fathers, our predecessors, when they were pressed in upon by temporal or spiritual wars, or troubled by other trials, in order that they might more easily escape from these, and having achieved tranquillity, might quietly and fervently be free to devote themselves to God, were wont to implore the divine assistance, through supplications or Litanies to call forth the support of the saints, and with David to lift up their eyes unto the Mountains, trusting with firm hope that thence would they receive aid.

1. Prompted by their example, and, as is piously believed, by the Holy Spirit, the inspired Blessed founder of the Order of Friars Preachers, (whose institutes and rule we ourselves expressly professed when we were in minor orders), in circumstances similar to those in which we now find ourselves, when parts of France and of Italy were unhappily troubled by the heresy of the Albegenses, which blinded so many of the worldly that they were raging most savagely against the priests of the Lord and the clergy, raised his eyes up unto heaven, unto that mountain of the Glorious Virgin Mary, loving Mother of God. For she by her seed has crushed the head of the twisted serpent, and has alone destroyed all heresies, and by the blessed fruit of her womb has saved a world condemned by the fall of our first parent. From her, without human hand, was that stone cut, which, struck by wood, poured forth the abundantly flowing waters of graces. And so Dominic looked to that simple way of praying and beseeching God, accessible to all and wholly pious, which is called the Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which the same most Blessed Virgin is venerated by the angelic greeting repeated one hundred and fifty times, that is, according to the number of the Davidic Psalter, and by the Lord’s Prayer with each decade. Interposed with these prayers are certain meditations showing forth the entire life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, thus completing the method of prayer devised by the by the Fathers of the Holy Roman Church. This same method St. Dominic propagated, and it was, spread by the ??? Friars of Blessed Dominic, namely, of the aforementioned Order, and accepted by not a few of the people. Christ’s faithful, inflamed by these prayers, began immediately to be changed into new men. The darkness of heresy began to be dispelled, and the light of the Catholic Faith to be revealed. Sodalities for this form of prayer began to be instituted in many places by the Friars of the same Order, legitimately deputed to this work by their Superiors, and confreres began to be enrolled together.

2. Following the example of our predecessors, seeing that the Church militant, which God has placed in our hands, in these our times is tossed this way and that by so many heresies, and is grievously troubled and afflicted by so many wars, and by the depraved morals of men, we also raise our eyes, weeping but full of hope, unto that same mountain, whence every aid comes forth, and we encourage and admonish each member of Christ’s faithful to do likewise in the Lord.

-- From Consueverunt Romani

You must know, then, that every tear comes from the heart, because there is no member in the body that has so much desire to satisfy the heart as the eye. If it has pain, the eye manifests it; and if it is a pain of the sensitive part, it can produce tears that generate death, because they come from a heart in which there is a disordered love that is outside of me. ...And so the eye, that wishes to satisfy the heart, weeps into my love and that of its neighbor, with love of the heart, pained only for the offense done to me and the injury done to the neighbor, not for its own pain or individual injury. ...Oh, my most adored daughter, how glorious is that soul that has managed to truly pass from the tempestuous sea to me, the peaceful sea, and has filled the vessel of the heart in the sea that I am, highest and eternal God. Thus the eye, that is like a conduit that comes from the heart, seeks to satisfy it and thus pours out tears.


– Dialog, On the Value of Tears

It does not matter whether or not I am killed; the religion has taken root on the island; it will not be destroyed by my death, since it comes not from men but from God.

-- attributed to Peter soon before his death

Becoming a saint is actually really easy - being canonized, well that is a different story.
Zita lived a pious and humble life. A house servant her whole life, despite run-ins with the family she served and fellow servants over her generosity they could find no fault in her service, eventually rewarding her with the truest of Scriptural rewards the keys to the house.
So it did not take much for her to be a saint, except perhaps the everyday grind of servitude, which she supplemented with daily Mass and private prayer.
Part of the canonization process is the digging up of the saint's body to verify several things about the person. In Zita's case not only was everything verified but she was also intact, meaning that she was an incorruptible, a term which hearkens back to the Scriptures: "because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption." (Acts 2:27, 13:35; Psalm 16:10) It is a statement not just to the physical body but to the soul as well - that is what makes her a saint - the incorruptibility of her soul.
This seeming obsession with bodies, bones, relics...frankly it can be a bit off-putting for some but we do not shy away from death or the things of death. We in fact celebrate them, for death is not Death, nor the body our Heavenly Body. We are an Easter People, a people of death and resurrection, and "Alleluia!" is our song.
Zita pray for us that we may serve you everyday and in everyday ways; pray that our souls may also be incorrupt and that the white garment of our baptism may be still white when we present it to the Lord.

I have heard it said that people who have attended parochial schools, especially in mission areas around the world, never hear about Jesus. This to me is an odd complaint. Our job is not to proselytize or indoctrinate, as some may believe and practice, but to bring Christ's love and justice into the world. One way this happens, the Church believes, is by using the vehicle of education. We are "evangelizers"; that is our process. As we attribute this idea to St. Francis: "Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary, use words." This can mean going into hostile environments to serve all of the people of God where it could be dangerous to be brazen proselytizers. And anyway, that would not accomplish the goal of love but only our own self interests. We are vilified and castigated for just being Catholic, regardless of what we say or do. The fact that even without preaching we can be seen as Catholic is a powerful witness to the world. It is the badge of honor of many missionaries to serve Jesus through their brothers and sisters by meeting their needs, Robert and William included.

In many places evangelization begins with education, to which missionary work dedicates much time and effort, like the merciful vine-dresser of the Gospel, patiently waiting for fruit after years of slow cultivation; in this way they bring forth a new people able to evangelize, who will take the Gospel to those places where it otherwise would not have been thought possible. The Church can also be defined as 'mother' for those who will one day have faith in Christ. I hope, therefore, that the holy people of God will continue to exercise this maternal service of mercy, which helps those who do not yet know the Lord to encounter and love Him. Faith is God’s gift and not the result of proselytizing; rather it grows thanks to the faith and charity of evangelizers who witness to Christ. As they travel through the streets of the world, the disciples of Jesus need to have a love without limits, the same measure of love that our Lord has for all people. We proclaim the most beautiful and greatest gifts that He has given us: His life and His love.

-- Pope Francis, Message for World Mission Sunday, May 16, 2016

When [Peter] realized [that he had been released from Herod's prison], he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where there were many people gathered in prayer. (Acts 12:12)
After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission, they returned to Jerusalem, taking with them John, who is called Mark. (Acts 12:25)
Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions; if he comes to you, receive him)... (Colossians 4:10)
When they arrived in Salamis, they [Paul and Barnabas] proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had John also as their assistant. (Acts 13:5)
After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord.” Barnabas wanted to take with them also John, who was called Mark, but Paul insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them at Pamphylia and who had not continued with them in their work. So sharp was their disagreement that they separated. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus. (Acts 15:36-39)
It is speculated that Mark openly marked his shame in his youthful inability to hang by mentioning this small fact:
Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked. (Mark 14:51-52)
It appears that he eventually managed to find his mettle and Paul's forgiveness in the earlier confident forgiveness of Barnabas:
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as well as Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers. (Philemon 1:23-24)
Luke is the only one with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in the ministry. (2 Timothy 4:11)
It also appears that he lived long enough to follow Peter and Paul to Rome then produce a Gospel that became not just the foundation for Matthew and Luke, but the foundation of the Church in Rome.

Prayer: Lord, through the merits of St. Mark, help us to write our own gospel and be unafraid to include the good with the bad all for your glory.

We often read the term "Counter-Reformation" as if the Church suddenly rose up in arms to fight the re-formers. In truth, repair and reformation is a constant process in the Church as is shown by its many saints over the millennia - from its beginnings through to that time and even to today. The People of God seeks to reform itself, to be back in line with the Body of Christ but there are those who seek to re-form her in their own image. As with the need for reform, this is nothing new in the Church, continues to this day, and probably will until the end of time (which is coming).
The price of standing by her and trying to reform the Church is often resistance from both outside and inside the Church. A friend and I agreed years ago that, as Christ shows us, if they are not trying to kill you, you are not doing it right.
We have many accounts of the early martyrs, many of which are certainly more speculation than fact. For me, it is in reading the more modern accounts like this one or that of St. Kolbe which bring the older less reliable ones to new truth.
Finally, I have read that a Protestant offered Fidelis sanctuary, a statement to both men.

From Gruesch he went to preach at Seewis, where, with great energy, he exhorted the Catholics to constancy in the faith. After a Calvinist had discharged his musket at him in the Church, the Catholics entreated him to leave the place. He answered that death was his gain and his joy, and that he was ready to lay down his life in God's cause. On his road back to Gruesch, he met twenty Calvinist soldiers with a minister at their head. They called him a false prophet, and urged him to embrace their sect. He answered: "I am sent to you to confute, not to embrace your heresy. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I fear not death." One of them beat him down to the ground by a stroke on the head with his backsword. Fidelis rose again on his knees, and stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross, said with a feeble voice "Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by passion they know not what they do. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Mary, Mother of God, succor me!." Another sword stroke clove his skull, and he fell to the ground and lay in a pool of his own blood. The soldiers, not content with this, added many stab wounds to his body with their long knives, and hacked-off his left leg, as they said, to punish him for his many journeys into those parts to preach to them.

Saint George was a man who abandoned one army for another: he gave up the rank of tribune to enlist as a soldier for Christ. Eager to encounter the enemy, he first stripped away his worldly wealth by giving all he had to the poor. Then, free and unencumbered, bearing the shield of faith, he plunged into the thick of the battle, an ardent soldier for Christ.
Clearly what he did serves to teach us a valuable lesson: if we are afraid to strip ourselves of our worldly possessions, then we are unfit to make a strong defense of the faith.
As for Saint George, he was consumed with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Armed with the invincible standard of the cross, he did battle with an evil king and acquitted himself so well that, in vanquishing the king, he overcame the prince of all wicked spirits, and encouraged other soldiers of Christ to perform brave deeds in his cause...let us not only admire the courage of this fighter in heaven’s army but follow his example. Let us be inspired to strive for the reward of heavenly glory, keeping in mind his example, so that we will not be swayed from our path, though the world seduce us with its smiles or try to terrify us with naked threats of its trials and tribulations.

-- From a sermon on St. George by St. Peter Damian

With this light that is given to the eye of the intellect, Thomas Aquinas saw Me, wherefore he acquired the light of much science; also Augustine, Jerome, and the doctors, and my saints. They were illuminated by My Truth to know and understand My Truth in darkness.
By My Truth I mean the Holy Scripture, which seemed dark because it was not understood; not through any defect of the Scriptures, but of them who heard them, and did not understand them. Wherefore I sent this light to illuminate the blind and coarse understanding, uplifting the eye of the intellect to know the Truth....
So you see that the eye of the intellect has received supernatural light, infused by grace, by which the doctors and saints knew light in darkness, and of darkness made light. The intellect was, before the Scriptures were formed, wherefore, from the intellect came science, because in seeing they discerned. It was thus that the holy prophets and fathers understood, who prophesied of the coming and death of My Son, and the Apostles, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, which gave them that supernatural light.
...when the eye of the intellect is ravished by the fire of My charity, in which charity it receives the supernatural light. With this light the souls in the unitive state love Me, because love follows the intellect, and the more it knows the more can it love. Thus the one feeds the other, and, with this light, they both arrive at the Eternal Vision of Me, where they see and taste Me, in Truth, the soul being separated from the body, as I told you when I spoke to you of the blissfulness that the soul received in Me.

-- Dialog, 11

CERTAIN brethren have often and earnestly entreated me to put in writing some thoughts that I had offered them in familiar conversation, regarding meditation on the Being of God, and on some other topics connected with this subject, under the form of a meditation on these themes. It is in accordance with their wish, rather than with my ability, that they have prescribed such a form for the writing of this meditation; in order that nothing in Scripture should be urged on the authority of Scripture itself, but that whatever the conclusion of independent investigation should declare to be true, should, in an unadorned style, with common proofs and with a simple argument, be briefly enforced by the cogency of reason, and plainly expounded in the light of truth. It was their wish also, that I should not disdain to meet such simple and almost foolish objections as occur to me.
This task I have long refused to undertake. And, reflecting on the matter, I have tried on many grounds to excuse myself; for the more they wanted this work to be adaptable to practical use, the more was what they enjoined on me difficult of execution. Overcome at last, however, both by the modest importunity of their entreaties and by the not contemptible sincerity of their zeal; and reluctant as I was because of the difficulty of my task and the weakness of my talent, I entered upon the work they asked for. But it is with pleasure inspired by their affection that, so far as I was able, I have prosecuted this work within the limits they set.
I was led to this undertaking in the hope that whatever I might accomplish would soon be overwhelmed with contempt, as by men disgusted with some worthless thing. For I know that in this book I have not so much satisfied those who entreated me, as put an end to the entreaties that followed me so urgently. Yet, somehow it fell out, contrary to my hope, that not only the brethren mentioned above, but several others, by making copies for their own use, condemned this writing to long remembrance. And, after frequent consideration, I have not been able to find that I have made in it any statement which is inconsistent with the writings of the Catholic Fathers, or especially with those of St. Augustine. Wherefore, if it shall appear to any man that I have offered in this work any thought that is either too novel or discordant with the truth, I ask him not to denounce me at once as one who boldly seizes upon new ideas, or as a maintainer of falsehood; but let him first read diligently Augustine’s books on the Trinity, and then judge my treatise in the light of those.

-- Preface to Monologium

The slip of a vine planted in the ground bears fruit at the proper time. The grain of wheat falls into the ground and decays only to be raised up again and multiplied by the Spirit of God who sustains all things. The Wisdom of God places these things at the service of man and when they receive God’s word they become the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ. In the same way our bodies, which have been nourished by the Eucharist, will be buried in the earth and will decay, but they will rise again at the appointed time, for the Word of God will raise them up to the glory of God the Father. Then the Father will clothe our mortal nature in immortality and freely endow our corruptible nature with incorruptibility, for God’s power is shown most perfectly in weakness.

-- Against Heresies by Irenaeus

After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

-- John 6:22-29

In the year of his birth at Cavaillon, the Christian world is in a crisis, one of the most serious crises in its history. A crisis that is not only a religious and doctrinal one, but also a crisis of civilization, with the afflux of new movements of thought, not all negative, but which confuse the mass of the faithful. Cesar de Bus came into the world in this troubled period when men are gradually opening up to culture, to the arts and to the reign of pleasure. He let himself be swept along, during adolescence and early manhood, to the life of ease for which his social status and his fortune marked him out, the superficial, careless life of a gifted being, brilliant in society, a poet when he liked, more sensitive to the appeal of pleasure in every form than to the demands of the Gospel. …After his conversion, the spiritual progress of the Blessed was not without its upsets, moments of discouragement, darkness and uncertainty. We have been struck, however, by what was to be, almost from the beginning, a characteristic of his whole life. Perhaps that is the secret of his constancy, or in any case, what always enabled him to overcome his difficulties and start off again with increased energy; we are referring to his “spirit of repentance.” Repentance is not an empty word for him. He carries it to its extreme consequences, for he has come back from so far! He has to master the passion of which he was the slave in the past, a violent and perpetual battle against carnal temptations. He learns in this way to seek and love sacrifice, for sacrifice configures one with Christ Suffering and Victorious. To offer himself as a libation, to leave everything in God’s hand at the cost of the greatest renunciations, this seems to have been the leitmotif, the perpetual aim of his efforts. And when, at the end of his life, suffering and afflicted with blindness for 14 years, he is at last able to prepare for the supreme gift, he will realize how useful asceticism has been to master the old Adam. He will be ready to meet the Lord. His joy will be perfect. The aim of Father de Bus is to communicate Christian doctrine to the people. The idea is far from being new. From the beginning the first Christians were anxious to transmit, and transmit exactly, the essential part of what they had received. Collections gathering the most outstanding events and sayings in the midst of a pagan world and in view of the dangers of doctrinal deviation, to inculcate in catechumens and recall to disciples a “kerygma,” that is, a central core, a “summary of the faith” containing the essential elements, which can serve as a basis for developments adapted to circumstances and to the psychology of listeners. It is necessary to give a solid foundation to their faith, to support their affective and charitable attachment to the living God with a knowledge of the truths of faith that will correspond to this love. This is a period in which the world is in crisis, as formerly, and in which most values, even the most sacred ones, are rashly questioned in the name of freedom, so that many people have no longer any point of reference, in a period in which danger comes certainly not from an excess of dogmatism but rather from the dissolution of doctrine and the nebulousness of thought. It seems to Us that an additional effort should be courageously undertaken to give the Christian people, who are waiting for it more than is thought, a solid, exact catechetical base, easy to remember. We well understand that it is difficult today to adhere to the Faith, particularly for the young, a prey to so many uncertainties. They have the right at least to know precisely the message of Revelation, which is not the fruit of research, and to be the witnesses of a Church that lives by it.

-- Beatification Address, Pope Paul VI

As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the Apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

-- Acts 6:1-7

If anyone who indubitably has professed and also understands those (teachings) which the wicked heretics suggest, through vain impudence says that these are teachings of piety, which the investigators and ministers of the Word have handed down from the beginning, that is to say, the five holy and universal Synods, certainly calumniating the holy Fathers themselves and the five holy Synods mentioned, in the deception of the simple, or in the acceptance of their own impious treachery, let such a person be condemned.
If anyone according to the wicked heretics in any manner whatsoever, by any word whatsoever, or at any time or place whatsoever illicitly removing the bounds which the holy Fathers of the Catholic Church have rather firmly established [Proverbs 22:28], that is, the five holy and universal Synods, in order rashly to seek for novelties and expositions of another faith; or books, or letters, or writings, or subscriptions, or false testimonies, or synods, or records of deeds, or vain ordinations unknown to ecclesiastical rule; or unsuitable and irrational tenures of place; and briefly, if it is customary for the most impious heretics to do anything else, (if anyone) through diabolical operation crookedly and cunningly acts contrary to the pious preachings of the orthodox (teachers) of the Catholic Church, that is to say, its paternal and synodal proclamations, to the destruction of the most sincere confession unto the Lord our God, and persists without repentance unto the end impiously doing these things, let such a person be condemned forever,and let all the people say: so be it, so be it [Psalm 105:48].

-- Lateran Council, Canon 19-20

How earnestly I desire, if I were able, to celebrate you O Patience, queen of all things! but by my life and manners more than by my words. For you rest more in your own action and council than in discourses, and in perfecting rather than in multiplying virtues. You are the support of virginity, the secure harbor of widowhood, the guide and director of the married state, the unanimity of friendship, the comfort and joy of slavery, to which you are often liberty. By you, poverty enjoys all, because, content with itself, it bears all. By you, the prophets were advanced in virtue, and the apostles united to Christ. You are the daily crown and mother of the martyrs. You are the bulwark of Faith, the fruit of Hope, and the friend of Charity. You conduct all the people and all divine virtues, and disheveled hairs bound up into one knot, for ornament and honor. Happy, eternally happy, is he who shall always possess you in his soul.

-- On Patience

Speaking truth to power is a quality that many of us do not possess. Often because we do not feel we have the position to allow us that kind of chutzpah.
"I'm only one person," we say. "It doesn't make a difference anyway," we conclude.
But Christ's death and resurrection tell us differently. We are not just one person; we are the Body. Christ speaking through us is what we desire and can easily accomplish, much more so than trying to do it ourselves, because if so the saying is true: we are only one person, we are alone in ourselves.
But if we allow Jesus to call out evil and injustice through us then the saying is also true: we are only one person, but that person is Christ Jesus!
We, like Stanislaus, should not fear reprisal or death for following Christ and calling others into his marvelous light.

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him;

-- John 8 51-59

When is a saint not a "saint"?
This issue of "canonization" can be confusing even to those of us who practice it. Saints are saints are saints whether officially set in the list ("canon" -- hence "canonization" or being added to the "list") of saints or as simply defined by a holy life. So many of the early martyrs are unknown yet are saints; so many everyday people who have never had anyone to plead their cause to be added to the "official" list are saints; so many garnished praise and honor during their lifetimes for their holiness such that they were immediately declared to be saints by those around them because it was obvious to the most casual observer.
Officially declaring someone a saint means that we have scrutinized their lives and their deaths and determined that they continue to work for the salvation of the world. Officially we seek that answer in miracles attributed to their intercession. It is for their works in life that we additionally declare them Fathers or Doctors.
To be declared a saint is for us to acknowledge that the life someone has led has put them fully into the presence of God at their personal judgment. They fit the description from the Revelation of John of those surrounding the throne.
Fulbert falls into that category because he has never been officially added to the canon, but his designation of saint by the local population is sanctioned by the Church and allows them to celebrate his day today. This is true of so many local saints of which we have never heard, including people like my grandmother: perhaps not perfect but brought to perfection. I seem to remember a saying that I cannot attribute to anyone in particular that "we are all saints or on our way to becoming saints" or something like that. The apostle John reminds us of this: "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:2)
Looking at the brief descriptions of his life, he was well known as a teacher and arbitrator, influential in several ecclesiastical and secular controversies. He was particularly attentive to his flock as bishop, traveling and visiting often. Nowhere do these stories speak of anything but humility and sanctity. I for one will accept his title and ask for his intercessions at the throne without hesitation especially for our bishops and clergy.

You choirs of new Jerusalem,
Your sweetest notes employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn
In strains of holy joy.
For Judah’s Lion bursts His chains,
And crushed the serpent’s head;
And brought with him, from Death’s domains
The long imprisoned dead.
From hell’s devouring jaws the prey
Alone our Leader bore;
His ransomed hosts pursue their way
Where Jesus goes before.
Triumphant in His glory now
His scepter rules all;
Earth, Heav’n and Hell before him bow
And at his footsteps fall.
While joyful thus his praise we sing,
His mercy we implore,
Into His palace bright to bring
And keep us evermore.

All glory to the Father be,
All glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Spirit, to Thee,
While endless ages run.

-- Chorus novae Ierusalem

Receive, my children, the Rule of Faith, which is called the Symbol of Faith (or Creed). And when you have received it, write it in your heart, say it daily to yourselves: before you sleep, before you go out, arm yourself with your Creed. The Creed is not written to be read; rehearse it lest idle forgetfulness obliterate what has been carefully delivered to you; let your memory be your record of what you are about to hear, that are you to believe, what you shall have believed, and that you are about to give back with your voice. For the Apostle says, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." For this is the Creed which you are to rehearse and to repeat in answer. These words which you have heard are scattered throughout Divine Scripture but are gathered and reduced into one, that the memory of the simple in Faith might not be distressed and so that every person may be able to say, able to hold, what he believes. For until now you have merely heard that God is Almighty. You begin to have him for your Father, when you have been born by the Church as your Mother.
 
–  From A Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed, St. Augustine

Do not be troubled at your losses; keep very calm and quiet, no one could have foreseen what has happened. Never can you thank God enough for having been preserved from much worse misfortunes. Many times a day my heart flies to you, and this forced delay is no little sacrifice to me. Let us stand firm in all our vicissitudes and trials, seeking only the greater glory of God. Oh! would to heaven, would to heaven that we had as much love for God as we have for ourselves! Simplicity is the true way to find God. Let us get ready for death by a life which is all for God and our duty. Grace has its moments, and passes quickly—let us be very faithful to it. Oh my daughter, how much we need to watch over ourselves if we are to acquire the habit of living in God's holy presence, that habit so necessary to our spiritual advancement!


-- From a letter to the convent of Fleurus, after it being pillaged

Since you are ambassadors and ministers of Jesus Christ in the work that you do, you must act as representing Jesus Christ himself. He wants your disciples to see him in you and receive your teaching as if he were teaching them. They must be convinced that the truth of Jesus Christ comes from your mouth, that it is only in his name that you teach, that he has given you authority over them. They are a letter which Christ dictates to you, which you write each day in their hearts, not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God. For the Spirit acts in you and by you through the power of Jesus Christ. ...Your zeal for the children under your guidance would be very imperfect, if you expressed it only in teaching them; it will only become perfect if you practice yourself what you are teaching them. Example makes a much greater impression on the mind and heart than words. This is especially true of children, since they do not yet have sufficient capacity for reflection, and ordinarily model themselves on the example of their teachers. They are led more readily to do what they see done for them than to carry out what they hear told to them, particularly when the words they hear are not in harmony with the actions they see.


-- From Meditations for the Time of Retreat

As a result Of this investigation it became evident that in the sayings Of Theodore of Mopsuestia (which are spoken against on all hands) there are contained very many things contrary to the right faith and to the teachings of the holy Fathers; and for this very reason these same holy Fathers have left for the instruction of the Church treatises which they had written against him. For among other blasphemies of his we find that he openly said that God the Word was one [Person] and Christ another [Person], vexed with the passions of the soul and with the desires of the flesh, and that he little by little advanced from a lower to a higher stage of excellence by the improvement of his works, and became irreproachable in his manner of life. And further he taught that it was a mere man who was baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and that he received through his baptism the grace of the Holy Spirit, and merited his adoption; and therefore that Christ could be venerated in the same way that the image of the Emperor is venerated as being the persona of God the Word. And he also taught that [only] after his resurrection he became immutable in his thoughts and altogether impeccable.
Moreover he said that the union of the Word of God was made with Christ as the Apostle says the union is made between a man and his wife: The two shall be one flesh; and that after his resurrection, when the Lord breathed upon his disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit", he did not give to them the Holy Spirit. In like strain of profanity he dared to say that the confession which Thomas made, when he touched the hands and side of the Lord after his resurrection, saying, "My Lord and my God", did not apply to Christ (for Theodore did not acknowledge Christ to be God); but that Thomas gave glory to God being filled with wonder at the miracle of the resurrection, and so said these words. But what is still worse is this, that in interpreting the Acts of the Apostles, Theodore makes Christ like to Plato, Manichaeus, Epicurus, and Marcian, saying: Just as each Of these were the authors Of their own peculiar teachings, and called their disciples after their own names, Platonists, and Manichaeans, and Epicureans, and Marcionites, just so Christ invented dogmas and called his followers Christians after himself.

-- Letter of Pope Vigilius to Eutychius

Avoid everything that would lead people to regard you as singular, severe or as one who exceeds the bounds of piety. Should they complain of you or blame your behavior, it will then be needful to redouble your prayers for such persons, that God in His goodness may chase from their hearts all that is an occasion of trouble or annoyance to them. Nevertheless, speak whenever a pressing necessity invites you, such as charity to your neighbor or the obedience which you have promised to your superior. In such cases, think beforehand what you ought to say, and express yourself in few words, and in a gentle and respectful tone, which will indicate the humility of your heart. You should also observe the same rule when anyone questions you. If you remain silent for a time, it should be done with a view to edify your neighbor and to foresee what may be conveniently said when the moment for speaking shall arrive. Beseech God to supply your silence and to interiorly make known to others that the obligation you are under of subduing the tongue prohibits you from speaking to them.

-- From Treatise on the Spiritual Life