The following quotations are taken from the correspondence of Blessed Edmund Rice

One thing you can be sure of: that whilst you work for God, whether you succeed or not, he will amply reward you.
Edmund Rice to Bolger Bryan, 1810.

Have great devotion to Our Blessed Lady. Say in her honour the Memorare daily.
Edmund Rice to Brother James Aloysius Hoare.

Have courage, the good seed will grow up in the children's hearts later on.
Edmund Rice to Brother Edward Patrick O’Flaherty, Gibraltar, 1837.

What thanksgiving should we not give to God for calling us into religion. May he be blessed and praised for ever.
Edmund Rice to Mother Mary Patrick Keeshan, Presentation Convent, Waterford, 1836

Pray, Brother, that God’s will may be fulfilled in me.
Edmund Rice to Brother Patrick Stanislaus Carroll [Memories of Edmund Rice 24]

Were we to now the merit and value of only going from one street to another for the live of God, we should prize it more than gold or silver.
Edmund Rice to Bryan Bolger, 1810.

Be intent on prayer and whatever may happen will turn to our good.
Edmund Rice in letter convoking the 1829 Assembly.

Praise be Thee, O Christ.
Edmund Rice on his deathbed. Recalled by Brother Daniel Thomas Drislane 1912.

Cast all your cares into the arms of Divine Providence.
Edmund Rice in letter convoking the 1829 Assembly.

The will of God be done in this and everything we undertake.
Edmund Rice to Bolger Bryan, 1810.

Lord Jesus open our minds to the needs of our fellow men. Help us not to be selfish.
The Lord gave, the Lord taketh away, so blessed be his name for ever and ever.
Edmund Rice to Brother John Patrick Corbett, Carrick-on-Suir, 1835

The Institute being the work of God and for God, its existence does not depend on man, and those whose motto is “Providence is our inheritance” will never be forsaken.
1836 following withdrawal from National Board of Education [History of the Institute]

The world and everything in it is continually changing which proves to us that there is nothing permanent under the sun, and that perfect happiness is not to be expected but in another world!
Edmund Rice to Mother Mary Knowd, Presentation Convent, Dublin. All Souls’ Day 1813

Above all, beg of him to give you the virtue of humility which is so necessary for religious in every station, but particularly for those who have the care and direction of others. If you only acquire this virtue, it will always guide you safely let your paths be ever so cross or difficult.
Edmund Rice to Brother Austin Grace, aged 26, on being appointed Superior in Preston. 20 September 1826.

Our Limerick Brothers are doing more than our good ones here (in Dublin) have done. Every day they are attending the poor cholera patients in the Hospitals. They give a rightful account of the ravages it is making there. Sixteen sent dead out of their school - which had been turned into a hospital - one morning . I am not one bit in dread that a priest, Nun or Monk will sink under its direful hand.
Edmund Rice to Mother Austin McGrath, Presentation Convent, Dungarvan. 12 June 1832.

"O God, did we even now rightly begin to serve you,
your loving heart would take us all to its final embrace."

"Each Brother is an open letter from Christ, a message written not with ink
but in the Spirit of the living God, with a faithful human heart to carry it."

"Give to the poor in handfuls."

"Tell them that for the last (few) days I was a good deal occupied, and what was worse that my spirits were for the most part as low as ditch water."

"Never allow vain notions of your own sense, abilities, or other natural or acquired qualifications to take root in your mind, but always beseech God to make known to you your sins and imperfections."

"You being yet very young in religion and placed over a senior Brother will require great watchfulness over yourself to perform well the task which is assigned to you, and you should beg frequently of God light and grace to effect it. Above all beg him to give you the virtue of humility which is so necessary for religious in every station, but particularly for those who have the care or direction of others."

"It (a law case) is a painful anxiety, but to some of us it is not so much as one may imagine. 'The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away, so blessed be his name for ever and ever.' This should be all our motto."

"I had on Saturday last the account of poor Phil Kirwan's death in a letter from Br. P. Ellis. May his soul rest in peace. I wrote poor Mary a letter yesterday. May the Lord help her, she is now in the dregs of misery and misfortune. I told Mary in my letter that she ought to give the poor in handfuls part of the poor fellow's property and you ought to tell her the same, which would be a great relief to his poor soul. We have offered several Communions for him, and are still offering prayers for him."

"I enclose you 20 pounds which you will have the kindness to send to the Mendicity Asylum, Waterford. I have reasons for wishing that my name should not be identified with it, and therefore shall thank you not to mention it. This Institution is very dear to me and I should feel much regret if it were to go down."

Scripture Texts:

These texts are the scriptures references that Edmund Rice noted in the flyleaf at the beginning of his Bible. They apparently had particular significance for him and have to do with "usury" or moneylending at high rates of interest.