Words From Catherine

The following are quotations from the Writings of Catherine McAuley.

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We must try to be like those rivers which enter into the sea without losing any of the sweetness of the water.

The Spirit of the Institute

The corporal and spiritual works of mercy which draw religious from a life of contemplation, so far from separating then from the love of God, unite them much more closely to Him and render them more valuable in His holy service.

The Spirit of the Institute

Our charity is to be cordial. Now cordial signifies something that renews, invigorates and warms. Such should be the effect of our love for each other.

Cork Manuscript

Mercy, the principal path pointed out by Jesus Christ to those who are desirous of following Him, has in all ages of the Church excited the faithful in a particular manner to instruct and comfort the sick and dying poor, as in them they regarded the person of our divine Master…

Original Rule, in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 297

How quietly the great God does all His mighty works! Darkness is spread over us, and light breaks in again, and there is no noise of drawing curtains or closing shutters.

Limerick Manuscript, in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 174

Will you tell the Sisters to get a good cup of tea…when I am gone and to comfort one another.

Letter of Mary Vincent Whitty to Cecilia Marmion in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 243

The Sisters shall always have the warmest and most affectionate devotion to her, regarding her in a special manner as their Mother.

Original Rule, in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 310

My legacy to the Institute is charity: If you preserve the peace and union which have never yet been violated among us, you will feel, even in this world, a happiness that will surprise you and be to you a foretaste of the bliss prepared for every one of you in heaven.

Quoted in Carroll, The Life of Catherine McAuley, p. 435

Let us fly often to the foot of the cross and repose in the wounds of Jesus. He has written us in His hands. Shall we not write His wounds in our minds and hearts?

Familiar Instructions, pp.72-73

What an ineffable consolation to serve Christ Himself, in the person of the poor, and to walk in the very same path He trod!

Familiar Instructions, p. 16

We can never say "it is enough".

Familiar Instructions, p. 2

Our love ought to be so firm, so cordial and so solid that we should never refuse to do or to suffer anything for the good of our Sisters.

Familiar Instructions, p. 106

When or how are we expected to take up our cross and follow Christ, if we are not to meet with it in those with whom we are associated?

Familiar Instructions, p. 147

We must try to be like those rivers which enter into the sea without losing any of the sweetness of the water.

The Spirit of the Institute

The corporal and spiritual works of mercy which draw religious from a life of contemplation, so far from separating then from the love of God, unite them much more closely to Him and render them more valuable in His holy service.

The Spirit of the Institute

Our charity is to be cordial. Now cordial signifies something that renews, invigorates and warms. Such should be the effect of our love for each other.

Cork Manuscript

Mercy, the principal path pointed out by Jesus Christ to those who are desirous of following Him, has in all ages of the Church excited the faithful in a particular manner to instruct and comfort the sick and dying poor, as in them they regarded the person of our divine Master…

Original Rule, in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 297

How quietly the great God does all His mighty works! Darkness is spread over us, and light breaks in again, and there is no noise of drawing curtains or closing shutters.

Limerick Manuscript, in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 174

Will you tell the Sisters to get a good cup of tea…when I am gone and to comfort one another.

Letter of Mary Vincent Whitty to Cecilia Marmion in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 243

The Sisters shall always have the warmest and most affectionate devotion to her, regarding her in a special manner as their Mother.

Original Rule, in Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy, p. 310

My legacy to the Institute is charity: If you preserve the peace and union which have never yet been violated among us, you will feel, even in this world, a happiness that will surprise you and be to you a foretaste of the bliss prepared for every one of you in heaven.

Quoted in Carroll, The Life of Catherine McAuley, p. 435

Let us fly often to the foot of the cross and repose in the wounds of Jesus. He has written us in His hands. Shall we not write His wounds in our minds and hearts?

Familiar Instructions, pp.72-73

What an ineffable consolation to serve Christ Himself, in the person of the poor, and to walk in the very same path He trod!

Familiar Instructions, p. 16

We can never say "it is enough".

Familiar Instructions, p. 2

Our love ought to be so firm, so cordial and so solid that we should never refuse to do or to suffer anything for the good of our Sisters.

Familiar Instructions, p. 106

When or how are we expected to take up our cross and follow Christ, if we are not to meet with it in those with whom we are associated?

Familiar Instructions, p. 147