As one of the Doctors of the Church, you’ve most likely heard of John of the Cross, or read some of his work.
A well known Spanish mystic, Carmelite priest, and poet in the 1500’s, St. John is best known for his extensive writing on spiritual journeys and transformation. His work includes many themes of suffering, contemplation, Dark Nights, and divine love experienced with God.
While I’m by no means an expert on his background, much of his writing deeply resonates with shared views of faith, and he is a figure I’m eager to learn more about. The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross spans almost *800 pages* or you can find individual copies of his work.
Until further reading (and eventually more blog posts exploring his work!) here are some of the most beautiful and thought-provoking quotes I’ve come across, written by St. John of the Cross.
1. Communication
“God, like the sun, stands above souls ready to communicate Himself.”
2. Seeker & Sought
“In the first place it should be known that if a person is seeking God, his Beloved is seeking him much more.”
3. Wisdom in Silence
“It is great wisdom to know how to be silent. Look at neither the remarks nor the deeds nor the lives of others.”
4. Language of God
“God’s first language is silence.”
5. Walk by Faith
“If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.”
6. Inner Healing
“In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the Spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.”
7. Faith & Love
“Faith and love are like the blind man’s guides. They will lead you along a path unknown to you, to the place where God is hidden.”
8. Seek & Find
“Seek by reading and you will find by meditating. Knock by praying, and it will be opened to you in contemplation.”
9. Power of the Cross
“See the Cross as a supporting staff that greatly lightens and eases the journey.”
10. Love
“Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.”
11. Ultimate Teacher
“Who teaches the soul if not God?”
12. Reverence
“Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.”
13. Courage to Love
“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.”
14. In But Not Of
“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.”
15. Cultivate Holiness
“Each of us is called to cultivate an inner garden in which the Divine Word may grow and flourish.”
16. Great Humility
“To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but the greatness of it’s humility.”
17. Prayer
“He who avoids prayer is avoiding everything that is good.”
18. Treasures of God
“The Lord has always revealed to mortals the treasures of his wisdom and His spirit, but now that the face of evil bares itself more and more, so does the Lord bare his treasures more.”
19. Timing
“A tree that is cultivated and guarded through the care of it’s owner produces it’s fruit at the expected time.”
20. Everything & Nothing
“In order to arrive at having pleasure in everything, desire to have pleasure in nothing. In order to arrive at possessing everything, desire to possess nothing. In order to arrive at being everything, desire to be nothing. In order to arrive at knowing everything, desire to know nothing.”
≫ Comment below which quote you connect with the most!
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