We never know how strongly we cling to objects until they are taken away, and he who thinks htat he is attached to nothing, is frequently grandly mistaken, being bound to a thousand things, unknown to himself.
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte GuyonIt is the fire of suffering that brings forth the gold of godliness.
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte GuyonPrayer is the key of perfection and of sovereign happiness; it is the efficacious means of getting rid of all vices and of acquiring all virtues; for the way to become perfect is to live in the presence of God.
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte GuyonThe very discovery of these hidden things is in itself a purifying experience! The soul needs to discover what is inside. The self nature needs to see what it really is, and what it is like-right to the very bottom.
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte GuyonHow can they be delivered from the life of self, who are not willing to abandon all their possessions? How can they believe themselves despoiled of all, who possess the greatest treasure under heaven? Do not oblige me to name it, but judge, if you are enlightened; there is one of them which is less than the other, which is lost before it, but which those who must lose everything have the greatest trouble in parting with.
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon