Quotes from Christian Mystics
St. John of the Cross (1542–1591) - A Spanish mystic and Carmelite friar known for his profound poetry and works like The Dark Night of the Soul. He explored the soul’s journey through spiritual purification to union with God.
Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it. Strive to preserve your heart in peace; let no event of this world disturb it. Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation.
In the dark night of the soul, bright flows the river of God. To come to the pleasure you have not, you must go by a way in which you enjoy not.
The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. God refuses no one the gift of divine union; it is we who refuse God by our attachments.
Where there is no love, put love — and you will find love. In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.
St. Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) - Another Spanish Carmelite, she wrote The Interior Castle, describing the soul’s progression through seven stages of spiritual growth. Her vivid accounts of mystical prayer are foundational.
Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things are passing away; God never changes. May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. To have courage for whatever comes in life — everything lies in that.
It is love alone that gives worth to all things. God does not look at the greatness of the work, but at the love with which it is performed. Prayer is an act of love; words are not needed.”
We need no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to look upon Him present within us. The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes.
Julian of Norwich (1342–c. 1416) - An English mystic famous for Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest surviving English-language book by a woman. Her optimistic theology emphasized God’s love, famously stating, “All shall be well.”
Our soul is made to be God’s dwelling place, and the dwelling of our soul is God.
All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. Thou shalt not be overcome. Sin is behovely [necessary], but all shall be well.
The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything. The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of His love. I saw no wrath in God, for our good Lord has endless compassion.
God loved us before He made us; and His love has never diminished and never shall. Our Lord is our Mother, who loves us and kindly nurtures us.
Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–c. 1328) - A German Dominican theologian and mystic whose sermons on detachment and the soul’s unity with God stirred both admiration and controversy. His ideas influenced later mystics and philosophers.
To be full of things is to be empty of God; to be empty of things is to be full of God. God does not ask anything else of you except that you let yourself go and let God be God in you. God is at home; it is we who have gone out for a walk.
The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me. What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.
The most powerful prayer, one well-nigh omnipotent, and the worthiest work of all is the outcome of a quiet mind. If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) - A German Benedictine abbess, composer, and visionary. Her works, like Scivias, detail her mystical visions, blending theology, cosmology, and music with a unique feminine perspective.
Humanity, take a good look at yourself. Inside, you’ve got heaven and earth, and all of creation. You’re a world—everything is hidden in you. The soul is a breath of living spirit, that with excellent sensitivity, pierces every part of our being and brings us into harmony with God.
All of creation is a song of praise to God. I am the one whose praise echoes on high. I adorn all the earth. I am the breeze that nurtures all things green. I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripened fruit. God has arranged all things in the world in consideration of everything else.
Even in a world that's being shipwrecked, remain brave and strong.
St. Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226) - An Italian friar and founder of the Franciscan Order, known for his ecstatic connection to nature and Christ. His mystical experiences, including receiving the stigmata, reflect a life of radical devotion.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. It is in giving that we receive.
He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist. Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) - An Italian mystic and Dominican tertiary whose Dialogue recounts her conversations with God. Her intense visions and advocacy for Church reform mark her as a powerful figure.
You are rewarded not according to your work or your time but according to the measure of your love. The soul cannot live without love. She always wants to love something because love is the stuff she is made of, and through love I created her.
Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire. Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.
You, eternal Trinity, are a sea so deep that the more I seek, the more I find; and the more I find, the more I seek you.
Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) - A French Cistercian monk whose writings, like On Loving God, emphasize mystical love and contemplation of Christ. He shaped medieval monastic spirituality.
The measure of love is to love without measure. What we love we shall grow to resemble.
There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love.You wish to see; listen. Hearing is a step toward vision.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but heaven is built with good works.
Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts, thou fount of life, thou light of men, from the best bliss that earth imparts, we turn unfilled to thee again.
St. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–c. 395) - An early Church Father from Cappadocia, known for his mystical theology in works like The Life of Moses. He described the soul’s infinite pursuit of God as a journey into divine darkness.
The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God. The desire for God is itself the gift of God, who alone can satisfy it. The soul’s perfection consists in its capacity to advance endlessly toward the infinite. What the soul once was, it will be again; the body that is dissolved will be restored to its original form by the Creator’s power.
Since the nature of our mind, which is subject to change, is in a state of flux, it must necessarily move toward the better or the worse; it cannot remain static.
Concepts create idols; only wonder grasps anything.
Thomas Merton (1915–1968) - A modern American Trappist monk whose books, such as The Seven Storey Mountain, blend Christian mysticism with insights from Eastern traditions, exploring contemplation and inner silence.
In silence, God ceases to be an object and becomes an experience. Contemplation is the highest expression of man’s intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive.
We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.
The beginning of the fight against the false self is the realization that it is not who we really are.
Do not depend on the hope of results. You may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.
The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image.
Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.
