During Lent, it can be easy to forget why we make daily sacrifices.
It often feels like we are not doing enough or like we have so much on our list that we can’t possibly get it all done- either way our mortifications can sometimes seem fruitless. But we are here to tell you that your Lenten sacrifices are not only worthwhile, but essential to your spiritual growth this season. If you want to be strengthened in carrying out your Lenten resolutions, sacrifices, and mortifications, read on for inspiration from St. Josemaria.
7 St. Josemaria Quotes on Sacrifice & Mortification
“Choose mortifications that don’t mortify others.” (The Way, 179)
“If you don’t deny yourself, you will never be a soul of prayer.” (The Way, 172)
“Don’t say: ‘That person gets on my nerves.’ Think: ‘That person sanctifies me.” (The Way, 174)
“Christ is nailed to the Cross. And you? … Still taken up with your whims and fancies – or rather, nailed by them!” (The Forge, 761)
“The world admires only spectacular sacrifice, because it does not realize the value of sacrifice that is hidden and silent.” (The Way, 185)
“It is not the spirit of penance to do great mortifications on some days, and nothing on others. —The spirit of penance means knowing how to overcome yourself every single day, offering up both great and small things for love, without putting on show.” (The Forge, 784)
“With you, Jesus, what joy in suffering, what light in darkness!” (The Way, 229)
For spiritual reading to help you remain convicted in your Lenten resolutions, we highly recommend The Sadness of Christ, the last book St. Thomas More wrote before he was martyred, and The Sacred Passion by Luis de la Palma, a book St. Josemaria gave to young men and women to reinvigorate their faith and a powerful meditation on Jesus’ final days.
