John of the Cross Quotes

61 Sourced Quotes

Seek in reading and thou shalt find in meditation; knock in prayer and it shall be opened in contemplation.

John of the Cross
The breathing of the air,
The song of the sweet nightingale,
The grove and its beauty
In the serene night,
With the flame that consumes, and gives no pains.

John of the Cross
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.

John of the Cross
There is nothing better or more necessary than love.

John of the Cross
The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master is like a long lone burning coal; it will grow colder rather than hotter.

John of the Cross
O killing north wind, cease!
Come, south wind, that awakenest love!
Blow through my garden,
And let its odours flow,
And the Beloved shall feed among the flowers.

John of the Cross
We shall go at once
To the deep caverns of the rock
Which are all secret,
There we shall enter in
And taste of the new wine of the pomegranate.

John of the Cross
He who interrupts the course of his spiritual exercises and prayer is like a man who allows a bird to escape from his hand; he can hardly catch it again.

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

John of the Cross
Not all the faculties and senses have to be employed in things, but only those that are required; as for the others, leave them unoccupied for God.

John of the Cross
O crystal well!
Oh that on Thy silvered surface
Thou wouldest mirror forth at once
Those eyes desired
Which are outlined in my heart!

John of the Cross
Strive to preserve your heart in peace; let no event of this world disturb it; reflect that all must come to an end.

John of the Cross
Despise me not,
For if I was swarthy once
Thou canst regard me now;
Since Thou hast regarded me,
Grace and beauty hast Thou given me.

John of the Cross
Let us rejoice, O my Beloved!
Let us go forth to see ourselves in Thy beauty,
To the mountain and the hill,
Where the pure water flows:
Let us enter into the heart of the thicket.

John of the Cross
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.

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

John of the Cross
My soul is occupied,
And all my substance in His service;
Now I guard no flock,
Nor have I any other employment:
My sole occupation is love.

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

John of the Cross
Deny your desires and you will find what your heart longs for. For how do you know if any desire of yours is according to God?

John of the Cross
If, then, on the common land
I am no longer seen or found,
You will say that I am lost;
That, being enamoured,
I lost myself; and yet was found.

John of the Cross
Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved.

John of the Cross
If the soul has not reached the state of unitive love, it is necessary for it to make acts of love, as well in the active as in the contemplative life. But when it has reached it, it is not requisite it should occupy itself in other and exterior duties — unless they be matters of obligation — which might hinder, were it but for a moment, the life of love in God, though they may minister greatly to His service; because an instant of pure love is more precious in the eyes of God and the soul, and more profitable to the Church, than all other good works together, though it may seem as if nothing were done.

John of the Cross
When Thou didst regard me,
Thine eyes imprinted in me Thy grace:
For this didst Thou love me again,
And thereby mine eyes did merit
To adore what in Thee they saw.

John of the Cross
In search of my Love
I will go over mountains and strands;
I will gather no flowers,
I will fear no wild beasts;
And pass by the mighty and the frontiers.

John of the Cross
Have a great love for those who contradict and fail to love you, for in this way love is begotten in a heart that has no love.

John of the Cross
I remained, lost in oblivion; My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself, Leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies.

John of the Cross
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.

John of the Cross
When a soul has advanced so far on the spiritual road as to be lost to all the natural methods of communing with God; when it seeks Him no longer by meditation, images, impressions, nor by any other created ways, or representations of sense, but only by rising above them all, in the joyful communion with Him by faith and love, then it may be said to have found God of a truth, because it has truly lost itself as to all that is not God, and also as to its own self.

John of the Cross
Although you perform many works, if you do not deny your will and submit yourself, losing all solicitude about yourself and your affairs, you will not make progress.

John of the Cross
In the happy night, In secret, when none saw me,
Nor I beheld aught, Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart.

John of the Cross