Quotessence
Home / Authors / John of the Cross
John of the Cross

John of the Cross Quotes

Saint

Filter quotes by topic

AllSoulSaintIfsDesireMenSufferingWorldLifeNightSpiritSpiritualBirdHeartLoveMayPrayerBelovedDivineDoeFirsts

Famous John of the Cross Quotes

“I have said this to explain the stanza that follows, in which the soul replies to those who call in question its holy tranquillity, who will have it wholly occupied with outward duties, that its light may shine before the world: these persons have no conception of the fibres and the unseen root whence the sap is drawn, and which nourish the fruit.”

WorldMayPersonsSaidSoulLightDutyHolyRootsShiningFruitConceptionUnseenSapTranquillity
Book:The Collected Works of St John of the Cross: The Dark Night of the Soul, Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ, the Liv
Create image

“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.”

WayMaySaidSoulSelfSpiritualFoundLostNaturalMeditationTruth IsAnd LoveMethodImpressionRisingJoyfulRepresentationCommunionRise AboveFaith And Love
Author:John of the Cross
Create image

“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.”

IfsMaySoulMatterFeelingsSufferingStrongLibertyDivineBrokenBirdUnionsGreat ThingsBelovedDelicateThreadRopeWireDetachmentCordsSlenderFeeling Great
Author:John of the Cross
Create image

“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.”

HeartKindMaySpiritualDesireOrderIssuesPerfectionAffectionDevotionSubstanceAttachmentImperfectionProceeding
Book:Dark Night of the Soul: (Authentic Original Classic)
Create image