There are many Christians who are virtuous men, and who do great things, but their virtues and good works are utterly useless in the matter of eternal life, because they seek themselves in them, and not solely the honor and glory of God. -St. John of the Cross
God, wishing His elect to realize their own misery, often temporarily withdraws His favors: no more is needed to prove to us in a very short time what we really are. -St. Teresa of Avila
More effective than the mortification one practices according to one’s own choice is the cross that God lays upon one, exteriorly and interiorly. – St. Teresa Benedicta
Christ’s love knows no bounds, is never ending, does not draw back before ugliness and filth. He came for sinners and not for the just, and if the love of Christ lives in us we ought to do as He did and set ourselves to seek the lost sheep. –…
Believe me, the question is not whether we wear the religious habit or not, but whether we practice the virtues and submit our will in all things to the will of God. -St. Teresa of Avila
The cross and peace are my portion. But the cross and discouragement are the portion of the enemy and of those who listen to the enemy. – St. Mariam of Jesus Crucified
Oh, then, spiritual soul, when you see your appetites darkened, your inclinations dry and constrained, your faculties incapacitated for any interior exercise, do not be afflicted; think of this as a grace, since God is freeing you from yourself and taking from you your own activity. -St. John of the…
The Beloved cares for nothing else but love. The soul therefore, anxious to please him perfectly, occupies itself unceasingly in pure love of God. -St. John of the Cross
I do not desire sensible affection, a love that I feel, but only a love that is felt by Jesus. Oh! to love Him and cause Him to be loved! – St. Therese
The exemplar of the soul is God, who must be stamped thereon as the seal on the wax, as the stamp on the object. Now that is fully realized only if the reason is completely enlightened by the knowledge of God, the will riveted into the love of the sovereign…