For it is the explicit statement of Sacred Scripture that one who is outside of tribulation is outside the condition and hope of salvation.

It is necessary for the saints to be disciplined in this way, to descend into hell and the abyss, and to be recalled from there into heaven. For

for no man, without trials and temptations, can attain to the true understanding of the Holy Scriptures. 

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Great victories are always preceded by great tests.

Present trials strengthen you for future blessings.

The great endure terrible storms; the extraordinary rise above them.

I like the phrase my beloved because it shows that she maintains her affection for Jesus through her present season of testing. She harbors no resentment in her heart toward Jesus. She is not offended by her trial and does not stumble. He is still her beloved.

If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, then they can sure make something out of you.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

The myth of purgatory is an allegory, a projection, from the present on to the future. This is why purgatory appeals to the imagination. It is our story. It is where we are now. If we are Christians, if we believe in the risen Jesus as Lord, if we are baptized members of his body, then we are passing right now through the sufferings which form the gateway to life.