Learn the lesson that, if you are to do the work of a prophet, what you need is not a sceptre but a hoe.
Bernard of ClairvauxTrue penance consists in regretting without ceasing the faults of the past, and in firmly resolving to never again commit that which is so deplorable.
Bernard of ClairvauxDeath is the gate of life. Ingratitude is the soul's enemy... Ingratitude is a burning wind that dries up the source of love, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace. You will find something far greater in the woods than you will find in books. Stones and trees will teach you that which you will never learn from masters.
Bernard of ClairvauxFor I have learnt for a fact that nothing so effectively obtains, retains and regains grace, as that we should always be found not high-minded before God, but filled with holy fear.
Bernard of Clairvaux