St John Of The Cross Quotes

In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human success, but rather on how much we have loved.

Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.

In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the Spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.

To love is to be transformed into what we love. To love God is therefore to be transformed into God.

Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing.

Silence is God's first language.

Where there is no love, pour love in, and you will draw love out.

Whoever does not seek the cross of Christ doesn't seek the glory of Christ.

In sorrow and suffering, go straight to God with confidence, and you will be strengthened, enlightened and instructed.

God leads every soul by a separate path.

Have a great love for those who contradict and fail to love you, for in this way love is begotten in a heart that has no love.

Now that I no longer desire all, I have it all without desire.

He who avoids prayer is avoiding everything that is good.

A Christian should always remember that the value of his good works is not based on their number and excellence, but on the love of God which prompts him to do these things.

Contemplation is nothing else but a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which, if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the Spirit of love.

Seek in reading and you will find in meditation; knock in prayer and it will be opened to you in contemplation.

God passes through the thicket of the world, and wherever His glance falls He turns all things to beauty.

In the dark night of the soul, bright flows the river of God.

The soul that walks in love neither tires others nor grows tired.

It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.

The soul of one who serves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday, is always in her palace of jubilation, ever singing with fresh ardor and fresh pleasure a new song of joy and love.

Take God for your spouse and friend and walk with him continually, and you will not sin and will learn to love, and the things you must do will work out prosperously for you.

They say, "God told me", or "God replied to me". And yet most of the time they are talking to themselves.

Abide in peace, banish cares, take no account of all that happens, and you will serve God according to his good pleasure and rest in him.

Yearning: It needs to hurt in order to be worthy of the word. Otherwise it is just wanting.

Never listen to accounts of the frailty of others; and if anyone should complain to you of another, humbly ask him not to speak about him at all.

At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity.

There is nothing better or morenecessary than love.

Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved.

See that you are not suddenly saddened by the adversities of this world, for you do not know the good they bring, being ordained in the judgments of God for the everlasting joy of the elect.

Faith is a dark night for man, but in this very way it gives him light.

If you do not learn to deny yourself, you can make no progress in perfection.

He who loves is not ashamed before men of what he does for God, neither does he hide it through shame though the whole world should condemn it.

God desires the smallest degree of purity of conscience in you more than all the works you can perform.

At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.

Live as though only God and yourself were in this world, so that your heart may not be detained by anything human.

If it were given to a man to see virtue's reward in the next world, he would occupy his intellect, memory and will in nothing but good works, careless of danger or fatigue.

He who interrupts the course of his spiritual exercises and prayer is like a man who allows a bird to escape from his hand; he can hardly catch it again.

The soul that journey's to God, but doesn't shake off it's cares and quiet it's appetities, is like someone who drags a cart of dirt uphill.

Oh, night that guided me, Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,Oh, night that joined Beloved with lover, Lover transformed in the Beloved!

Obedience is a penance of reason, and, on that account, a sacrifice more acceptable than all corporal penances and mortifications.

In tribulation immediately draw near to God with confidence, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction.

All the powers of soul and body,memory, understanding, and will, interior and exterior senses, thedesires of spirit and of sense, all workin and by love.

Let all find COMPASSION in YOU.

My sole occupation is love.

He who loses an opportunity is like the man who lets a bird fly from his hand, for he will never recover it.

Strive always to confess your sins with a deep knowledge of your own wretchedness and with clarity and purity.

Never relax, for you will not attain to the possession of true spiritual delights if first you do not learn to deny your every desire.

Let my soul live as if separated from my body.

The purest suffering bears and carries in its train the purest understanding.