John of the Cross Quotes on God
John of the Cross, the Spanish Carmelite mystic and poet, understood the approach to God as a path of progressive emptying, and the quotes gathered here express that austere theology. For John the soul reaches God not by accumulating spiritual experiences but by renunciation, not by receiving but by denying, and he counsels the seeker to close his eyes and walk in the dark in order to be sure of the road. This is the meaning of his famous image of the dark night: a stripping away of all that is not God so that God alone remains. Yet the goal of this severe discipline is union in love, the soul able to say that its sole occupation is love. Drawn from the Spiritual Canticle and the Sayings of Light and Love, these passages present God as found through detachment; several widely quoted lines are marked as attributed.
Quotes
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Attributed to John of the Cross:
“In the dark night of the soul, bright flows the river of God.”
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Attributed to John of the Cross:
“If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.”
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Attributed to John of the Cross:
“What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God.”
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“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 . ~ 28”
Spiritual Canticle of The Soul and The Bridegroom -
“There thou wilt show me That which my soul desired; And there Thou wilt give at once, O Thou, my life! That which Thou gavest me the other day. ~ 38”
Spiritual Canticle of The Soul and The Bridegroom -
“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?”
The Sayings of Light and Love -
“One human thought alone is worth more than the entire world, hence God alone is worthy of it.”
The Sayings of Light and Love -
“If you wish to attain holy recollection, you will do so not by receiving but by denying.”
The Sayings of Light and Love