John of the Cross
|
Saint John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz) (June 24, 1542 – December 14, 1591) was a major figure in the Catholic Reformation, a Spanish mystic and Carmelite friar born at Fontiveros, a small village near Ávila. He is renowned for his cooperation with Saint Teresa of Avila in the reformation of the Carmelite order, and for his writings; both his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul (in the Christian sense of detachment from creatures and attachment to God) are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and one of the peaks of all Spanish literature. He is one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Church.
|
Quotes
|
"If we are guided by Divine Scripture, we shall not err, for he who speaks in it is the Holy Spirit."
-John of the Cross "O how gently and how lovingly dost thou lie awake in the depth and center of my soul, where thou in secret and in silence alone, as its sole Lord, abidest, not only in Thine own house or in Thine own chamber, but also as within my own bosom, in close and intimate union." -John of the Cross “Never listen to those who speak of the weakness of another. If someone comes to complain about someone, you can ask that person with humility, not to say anything.” -John of the Cross “Unintentionally and unknowingly we fall back into imperfections…bad habits are like living roots that return. These roots must be dug away and cleared from the garden of our soul…This requires the direct intervention of God.” -John of the Cross “I no longer want just to hear about you, beloved Lord, through messengers. I no longer want to hear doctrines about you, nor to have my emotions stirred by people speaking of you. I yearn for your presence. These messengers simply frustrate and grieve me, because they remind me of how distant I am from you. They reopen wounds in my heart, and they seem to delay your coming to me. From this day onward please send no more messengers, no more doctrines, because they cannot satisfy my overwhelming desire for you. I want to give myself completely to you. And I want you to give yourself completely to me. The love which you show in glimpses, reveal to me fully. The love which you convey through messengers, speak it directly to me. I sometimes think you are mocking me by hiding yourself from me. Come to me with the priceless jewel of your love.” -John of the Cross "Until a soul is placed by God in the passive purgation of that dark night, which we will soon explain, it cannot purify itself completely of these imperfections or others… In this cure God will heal them of what through their own efforts they were unable to remedy. No matter how much individuals do through their own efforts, they cannot actively purify themselves enough to be disposed in the least degree for the divine union of the perfection of love. God must take over and purge them in that fire that is dark for them." -John of the Cross “God wars against all the imperfect habits of the soul and, purifying the soul with the heat of his flame, he uproots these habits from it and prepares it so that at last he may enter it and be united with it by his sweet, peaceful and glorious love, as is the fire when it has entered the wood.” -John of the Cross “The endurance of darkness is the preparation for great light.” -John of the Cross “It is best to learn to silence the faculties and to cause them to be still so that God may speak.” -John of the Cross "Faith “is like the feet wherewith the soul journeys to God, and love is the guide that directs it.” -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 “Abide in peace, banish cares, take no account of all that happens, and you will serve God according to his good pleasure and rest in him.” -John of the Cross “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” -John of the Cross “In the dark night of the soul, bright flows the river of God.” -John of the Cross “To become that which you are not you must go a way in which you are not.” -John of the Cross |
|
Public Domain Image.
Image has been cropped. |
