John of the Cross Quotes

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

Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.

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.

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.

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.

Let all find COMPASSION in YOU.

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

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

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

Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved. The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of Divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for until the cord be broken, the bird cannot fly.

My sole occupation is love.

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

Who teaches the soul if not God?

If you lose an opportunity you will be like one who lets the bird fly away; you will never get it back.

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.

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

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.

God leads every soul by a separate path.

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

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

The conditions of a solitary bird are five: The first, that it flies to the highest point; The Second, that it does not suffer for company, not even of its own kind; The Third, that it aims its beak to the skies; The Fourth, that it does not have a definite color; The Fifth, that it sings very softly.

The centre of the soul is God; and, when the soul has attained to Him according to the whole capacity of its being, which is the strength and virtue of the soul, it will have reached the last and the deep centre of the soul, which will be when with all its powers it loves and understands and enjoys God.

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.

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

He who avoids prayer is avoiding everything that is good.

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

Though the path is plain and smooth for men of good will, he who walks it will not travel far, and will do so only with difficulty, if he does not have good feet: that is, courage and a persevering spirit.

Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul. Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you. Do not think that He is leaving you alone, for that would be to wrong Him.

Beloved, all that is harsh and difficult I want for myself, and all that is gentle and sweet for thee.

There is nothing better or morenecessary than love.

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

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

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.

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.

For true devotion must issue from the heart, and consist in the truth and substances alone of what is represented by spiritual things; all the rest is affection and attachment proceeding from imperfection; and in order that one may pass to any kind of perfection it is necessary for such desires to be killed.

The eternal spring is hidden in this living bread for our life's sake, although it is night. It is here calling out to creatures; and they satisfy their thirst, although in darkness, because it is night. This living spring that I long for, I see in this bread of life, although it is night.

The eternal tide flows hid in Living Bread. That with its Heavenly Life too be fed.

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

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

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

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.

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

The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.

Desolation is a file, and the endurance of darkness is preparation for great light.

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

However high be your endeavors, unless you renounce and subjugate your own will - unless you forget yourself and all that pertains to yourself - not one step will you advance on the road to perfection.

Lord, I shall see you no more with the eyes of the flesh.