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The following ideas come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s excellent book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

425. ‘Blessed are the pure in hearth for they shall see God.‘ (Matthew 5:8). Priests and religious are not the only people called to observe chastity. Rather, everyone must do so according to his or her state of life. The life of chastity is not a life of restriction, but a life of greater freedom.

426. There are many people who, while appearing to be angels of charity, are in fact devils of covetousness. Unhappy the community that meets with such an angel!

427. God grants the gift of chastity only to humble souls. Pray for it every day then with a simple and sincere heart, one that acknowledges its own weaknesses.

428. The proud will fall sooner or later: because they rely on their own strength rather than on God, he will allow them to stand alone on this shallow foundation.

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The following ideas come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s excellent book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

407. Your possessions will bury you if you wear them on your head or close to your heart. They will be your footstool if you stand on them.

408. ‘Be poor in the place you live, be poor in the clothes you wear, be poor in the food you eat, be poor in the things you use, be poor in the work you do‘ (Pere Chevrier).

409. The person who asks for little is always content because he considers himself to have sufficient. The person who demands much is extremely miserable because he keeps feeling deprived.

410. Looking at yourself, you feel deprived, you feel that you are the most miserable person in the world. Take a look around you and see how many people are really worse off than you are.

411. To have no possessions while still yearning for them is not poverty. Having possessions, but being detached from them, is a sign of poverty in spirit.

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The following ideas come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s excellent book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

389. Did you vow obedience to your superiors or did your superiors vow to obey you?

390. The person of weak character who loses control of his will is like a mahout who cannot control an elephant. The obedient person who has mastered his will is like a circus trainer who controls tigers.

391. A disciplined army is a strong army. An obedient apostle is a strong and brave apostle.

392. You can accurately estimate how holy a person is by how readily and joyfully he obeys.

393. While the world may call such obedience folly, God nevertheless asks you to obey out of love of him. This obedience is heroic virtue, not folly.

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

343. The Eucharist shapes Christians; Christians shape the Eucharist. The Eucharist shapes the Church; the Church shapes the Eucharist.

344. Non-Catholics think it is strange: they ask, “If day after day the priest does the same things at Mass, why do Catholics continue gathering together to celebrate?” What they say is partly correct; whoever celebrates and wherever it is celebrated, the Eucharistic Celebration is the one sacrifice of Calvary. But it is the power of mystery that draws people, for it is Jesus himself who offers the sacrifice.

345. Some people contend that only by going to Mass when they feel fervent are they being sincere with God. This is not true; in fact, such people go to Mass for their own self-satisfaction.

346. If you appreciate the value of the Eucharistic Celebration you will participate in it no matter how far away or difficult it is. The greater the sacrifice involved, the more evident is your love of God.

347. Have you ever met someone who became materially deprived simply because he spent too much time in Church?

348. People celebrate Eucharist together, but their sentiments can be vastly different. So it was at the foot of the cross, as a study of those who stood there shows.

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

291. To be an apostle means to be like the apostles, so if you wish to be an apostle, you must reflect on and grow to understand the Acts of the Apostles.

292. The faithful of the early Church commonly described an apostle as a person with Christ in his or her heart, demeanour, speech, actions, and even body. In a word, an apostle is a person filled with Christ and who spends his or her life transmitting Christ to others.

293. Apostolic work involves the sanctification of the milieu in which you are present. The worker is an apostle of workers, the student is an apostle of students, and the soldier is an apostle of soldiers.

294. “Whoever holds out till the end, they will be saved” (Mt 10:22), so let us pray and support one another.

295. Of themselves, good works do not make the apostle; a real apostle performs good works because they are part of Christ’s mission.

296. We live in a new period of time – it has new needs and demands new methods in the apostolate. However, Christ said: “Behold, I will be with you all the days until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). He is still with the Church and he continues to give the Church a new Pentecost.

297. Work with all your heart and soul, but be ready to share with everyone and to cooperate with those who may be less capable than yourself. Do not control everything as if nothing would get done without you.

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

271. As you travel along the Road of Hope, you will need a light to show you the way during times of darkness and difficulties. That light is your faith, which the Church passed on to you on the day of your baptism.

272. If you are faced with the most desired of promises or the most fearful of threats, you must remind yourself: “I am a child of the Church, I am a descendant of the saints, I follow the faith which guides me.”

273. If you wish to hold firmly to your faith, then choose the Road of Hope which was followed by Christ’s disciples, not the road to death offered by “the world.”

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

247. Whenever anyone expressed their concern to Pope Paul VI about his sufferings or the fatigue of his labours, he would always reply: “For the Church! For the Church!” You should try to live and respond in a similar fashion.

248. A person who really loves the Church does not seek to destroy it.

249. “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). Twenty centuries have passed since Jesus uttered these words to Peter. There have been so many ups and downs, so many crises, attacks from within and without. There have been many periods when the Church was in desperate straits. Yet the Church still stands firm because it is the Church of God and not a mere human institution.

250. “We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church” (Nicene Creed). We have but one faith; we know the same happiness; we share a like determination!

251. Do not be surprised when people seek to destroy the Church. They seek to kill Christ again, but since they cannot do so, they seek to destroy the Church which is the Body of Christ.

252. There are many people who criticize the organization of the Roman Curia. I would agree with them that the Roman Curia is not perfect, but I would ask them whether their own government is any better. Besides, one must distinguish between the Curia, which is only a human organ of the Church, and the Church itself, the Body of Christ.

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

230. Put your hand over your heart often and tell yourself: “God is living with me and in me.” Little by little, God will give you a taste of that happiness which his presence brings.

231. When we teach children to answer the question: “Where is God?” with, “God is in heaven,” there is something missing. We should add, “God is living in me.” This answer is far more accurate and will bring them into a closer relationship with God, and greater happiness.

232. Thousands of patients in the House of Saint Joseph of Cottolengo have a special expression on their faces for, from time to time, a gentle voice is heard repeating over the public address system: “God is here in our house.”

233. The pealing of a bell or the spire of a church is a reminder that Jesus is in a tabernacle nearby. Then raise your heart toward that place to worship and love God.

234. God’s presence to you is not just a pious idea; it is a reality. God our Father is at your side with all his power and love. He is the Father who persuades you, who counsels you, who calls you, who admonishes you, who forgives you, and who loves you always.

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

195. God has given you the gift of life. He has also given you the freedom to make your life holy and wonderfully useful. Do not misuse it so that it becomes stunted and a betrayal of God’s gift.

196. Selfish people avoid responsibility, sacrifice, and situations in which they might tire themselves out. They wish to create their own heaven here on earth, but they risk losing the heaven that lasts for all eternity.

197. A person of character regards everyone in the world as a brother or sister and looks upon their work as his or her own. The selfish person regards everyone as rungs of a ladder to be used for his or her own advancement. Such a person knows only “my” work and “my” possessions.

198. To exploit people in order to advance your own interests is unworthy of a leader. You will be a worthy leader if you do not distance yourself from people, but mingle with them and risk yourself for their sake.

199. Do not confuse cowardice with prudence. It is because so many people have this kind of “wisdom” that darkness prevails in so many situations.

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

176. Do not offer your heart to God and then look for another’s hart to replace it. You are not a surgeon performing heart transplants.

177. The older the saints became, the younger their hearts became.

178. Do not let your heart grow old with the passing of time. Love with a love that grows more intense daily, ever new, ever more pure – that is, with the love that God pours into your heart.

179. Why do you hesitate? If you are bound with even a gold chain, cut yourself loose so that you may make progress along this road. The Lord waits to welcome you at the end of it.

180. Every time you fail, you say, “Oh, if only I had made a strong resolution in the beginning!” I hope you do not keep having these belated regrets.

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