We cannot save ourselves. God wants us to follow the inspirations of His Holy Spirit and hope everything from His mercy. He will not refuse mercy to those who ask sincerely, for this disposition is a work of God’s grace. Hasn’t Our Lord said, “All that the Father giveth to me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will not cast out.”? (John 6:37) Hasn’t He also said, “Without Me you can do nothing.”? (John 15:5). So cast yourselves without fear into the arms of your loving Saviour. If you have this desire, you can be certain that He does too; though to a much greater degree!
“Merciful God… by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You.” – St. Francis of Assisi
“It is not the sinner who returns to the Father to beg His forgiveness, but God who runs after the sinner and makes him return to Him.” – St. John Vianney
“Since there is no doubt whatever that a man, if he is already old enough to have the use of reason, cannot believe, hope, or love unless he wills to do so, nor can he win the reward of God’s high vocation unless he runs it willingly, how can it depend not upon human will or exertion, but on the God who shows mercy unless the will itself is prepared by the Lord?… It remains for us to recognize that the words “So it comes not from the one who wills or runs, but from the God who shows mercy” are said truly, that all [glory] may be given to God, who makes the good will of man ready for His help, and helps the will He has made ready…. For in sacred scripture we read both “His mercy shall go before me” (Ps 59:10) and “His mercy shall follow me” (Ps 23:6): it goes before the unwilling that they may will, and it follows the willing, that they may not will in vain.” – St. Augustine
“From this divine heart, three streams flow endlessly. The first is the stream of mercy for sinners; it pours into their hearts sentiments of contrition and repentance.” – St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
“Conversion as well as perseverance is a grace of My mercy.” – (Diary)
“If anyone says they can repent as they ought, without previous inspiration of the Holy Ghost… let him be anathema.” – Church dogma
“Sooner would Heaven and Earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul.” (Diary, 1777)
“It is impossible that anyone should not receive all that he believed and hoped he would obtain. Therefore it gives me real pleasure when men hope great things from Me, and I will always grant them more than they expect.” – Jesus to St. Mechtilde
“Place all your hope in the heart of Jesus; it is a safe asylum; for he who trusts in God is sheltered and protected by his mercy.” – St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“…Each time thou wouldst pray for any souls, offer Me My most gracious Heart, in union with the love which made Me take this human Heart for the salvation of mankind, and in union with that special love with which I have given it to thee so often, and I will then grant thee whatever thou mayest ask for me. It will be as if the safe of a rich man were brought to him, that he might draw from it presents for his friends.” – Jesus to St. Gertrude
**One day when she [St Gertrude] was praying for praying for the salvation of a prodigious number of sinners, not daring to speak of reprobate souls, Our Lord first reproached her gently for having, by thus placing bounds to her confidence, put limits also to His divine mercy; then, after she had worded her petition according to the infinite mercy of His Heart, as she begged to know what she could do to obtain this immense grace, He answered her, “Confidence by itself can easily obtain all things,” and He granted all that Gertrude’s confidence had hoped from His goodness.**
“…hope confoundeth not.” – Romans 5: 5
“Whosoever believes in Him shall not be confounded.” – Romans 10:11
“No one has hoped in the Lord, and has been confounded” – Ecclesiastes/Sirach 2:11
“And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be confounded that wait for him.” – Isaiah 49:23
“They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.” – Psalm 22:5
“Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or put to shame. I delight particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in My goodness.” (Diary, 1541)
“ Listen to me, O sinners who have had the misfortune of having hitherto [previously] offended God, and of being condemned to Hell: if the Devil tells you that but little hope remains of your eternal salvation, answer him in the words of the Scripture: “No one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded” (Eccl. 2:11). No sinner has ever trusted in God, and has been lost. Make, then, a firm purpose to sin no more; abandon yourselves into the arms of the divine goodness; and rest assured that God will have mercy on you, and save you from Hell. “Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee” (Ps. 54:23). The Lord, as we read in Blosius, one day said to St. Gertrude, “He who confides in me, does me such violence that I cannot but hear all his petitions.” – St. Alphonsus Liguori
“In God’s tribunal, those who return are always received, because God is a searcher of hearts, and knows those who return in sincerity.” – St. Thomas Aquinas
“In Christ there are two proofs of the gentleness of his nature. He patiently awaits the return of the sinner and he gently receives the penitent. This twofold mercy abounds in the heart of the Lord Jesus – his long-suffering in waiting for the sinner and his readiness in granting pardon.” – St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“Oh! With what tenderness does God embrace a sinner that returns to Him!” – St. Alphonsus Liguori
“I set neither limit nor measure to My gifts of grace for those who seek them in My Heart.” – Jesus to St. Margaret Mary (I think)
“Place all your trust in the heart of sweet Jesus……Never abandon your faith and renew it always. Faith has never abandoned any man, and far less so will it forsake a soul that yearns to love God.” – St. Padre Pio
“Place your heart gently in Our Lord’s wounds. Have great confidence in His mercy for He will never abandon you.” – St. Padre Pio
Littlest Souls 