Blessed Damien Quotes

I noticed a few people today stumbled upon this little blog search for quotes from Blessed Damien of Molokai. Here are a few I copied down from his letters:

The sacrifice is great for a heart which tenderly loves his parents, family, religious brothers, and the land where he was born. But the voice which invites us, which has called us to make the offering of everything we have, is the voice of God Himself. It is our Divine Savior Who says to us as to His first apostles: “Go, teach all nations, instructing them to observe all my commandments…”

A parent’s first duty is to provide for the children. I have the obligation of giving my children, newly born of water and the Holy Spirit, the things that are necessary for spiritual life.

I wish to give myself unconditionally to the poor lepers. The harvest appears to be ripe here. Pray, and ask others to pray both for me and for all.

“…that we must choose the state God has predestined for us, so as to be happy in our next life.”

“Obedience to our parents is one of God’s commandments, not only in our childhood but also when we have reached the age of reason.”

“I would gladly give my life for them. I do not spare myself when it is necessary to go on a sick call that takes me twenty to twenty-five miles away.”

“My greatest pleasure is to go there [the cemetery] to say my beads, and meditate on that unending happiness which so many of them are already enjoying.”

“I confess to you, my dear brother, the cemetery and the hut of the dying are my best meditation books, as well as for the benefit of my own soul as in view of preparing my instructions.”

“My greatest pleasure is to serve the Lord in his poor children rejected by other people.”

“Be severe toward yourself, indulgent toward others. Have scrupulous exactitude for everything regarding God: prayer, meditation, Mass, administration of the Sacraments. Unite your heart with God… Remember always your three vows, by which you are dead to the things of the world. Remember that God is eternal and work courageously in order every day to be united with him forever.”

“I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ.”

“Having no doubts about the true nature of the disease, I am calm, resigned, and very happy in the midst of my people. God certainly knows what is best for my sanctification and I gladly repeat: ‘Thy will be done.’”

“A parent’s first duty is to provide for the children. I have the obligation of giving my children, newly born of water and the Holy Spirit, the things that are necessary for spiritual life.”

“Jesus Christ treats missionaries in a very special manner, for it is He who guides their footsteps and preserves them from all danger.”“I find my consolation in the one and only companion who will never leave me, that is, our Divine Saviour in the Holy Eucharist. . . .It is at the foot of the altar that we find the strength necessary in this isolation of ours. Without the Blessed Sacrament a position like mine would be unbearable. But, having Our Lord at my side, I continue always to be happy and content. . . . Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the most tender of friends with souls who seek to please Him. His goodness knows how to proportion itself to the smallest of His creatures as to the greatest of them. Be not afraid then in your solitary conversations, to tell Him of your miseries, your fears, your worries, of those who are dear to you, of your projects, and of your hopes. Do so with confidence and with an open heart.”