Wisdom of the Saints about religion

Do you not know that God has placed churches in the cities as ports in the sea, that those who come thither for shelter from the storms of this world may find perfect peace?” St. John Chrysostom (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

…the ill will against the Christian religion which is stirred up by people ignorant of history and who blame on us the disasters of life and the crumbling and collapse of civilization is without foundation. It is not a conclusion of right thinking and reasoning, but the evidence of reckless and malicious animosity. The facts are clear, even though some of the scholars pretend not to know them, or, yielding to irrational hate, deliberately encourage the bigotry.” St. Augustine (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

How glorious our Faith is! Rather than restricting hearts, as the world prefers, it uplifts them and increases their capacity to love.” St. Therese of Lisieux (19th century, Doctor of the Church)

“The parish church is the home of all the faithful, because it is the house of God, in which He has pitched His tent in the midst of our tents.” Bl. John Baptist Scalabrini (19th-20th centuries)

The only science that gives purpose to every other science is the science of Religion…Religion is the science of saving souls.” Bl. Solanus Casey (19th-20th centuries)

Christianity is not that complex system of oppressive rules which the unbeliever describes; it is peace, joy, love, and a life which is continually renewed, like the mysterious pulse of nature at the beginning of spring. This truth is your greatest treasure, which alone can give meaning and serenity to your daily life.” Pope St. John XXIII (19th-20th centuries)

There is one truth especially which we think is self-evident: when the sacred rights of God and religion are ignored or infringed upon, the foundations of human society will sooner or later crumble and give way.” Pope St. John XXIII

Do you know what religion is? It is a school in which every soul must be trained, smoothed and polished by the Holy Spirit, who acts as a physician to our souls until, well smoothed and polished, they can be united and joined to the will of God. . .Religion is an infirmary for the spiritually sick, who wish to be cured and must therefore undergo the pains of surgery.” St. Pio of Pietrelcina (19th-20th centuries)

Analyzing your soul, you discover it to be like an auto that has run out of gas, and you are not quite sure of the right road. Hence you need someone not only to give you some fuel for your tank, but also someone to to point out your destination. If you have no religion at the present time, it may be because you rightly reacted against those bland assumptions that a few moral exhortations on Sunday will transform the world into the Kingdom of God. You want a religion that starts not with how good you are, but with how confused you are.” Ven. Fulton Sheen (19th-20th centuries)

“One of the penalties of being religious is to be mocked and ridiculed. If Our Lord submitted Himself to the ribald humor of a degenerate Tetrarch, we may be sure that we, His followers, will not escape. The more Divine a religion is, the more the world will ridicule you, for the spirit of the world is the enemy of Christ.” Ven. Fulton Sheen

That woman in the house of Simon the leper in Bethany, anointing the Master’s head with precious ointment, reminds us of the duty to be generous in the worship of God. All the richness, majesty and beauty possible would still seem too little to me. And against those who attack the richness of sacred vessels, of vestments and altars, we hear the praise given by Jesus: ‘opus enim bonum operata est in me’ – ‘she has done Me a good turn’.” St. Josemaria Escriva (20th century)

The challenge facing you, dear friends, is to increase people’s awareness of the importance of religious freedom for society; to defend that freedom against those who would take religion out of the public domain and establish secularism as America’s official faith.” Pope St. John Paul II (20th-21st centuries)