Teresa of Avila

“O my God, what must a soul be like when it is in this state! It longs to be all one tongue with which to praise the Lord. It utters a thousand pious follies, in a continuous endeavor to please Him who thus possesses it.”

“I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.”

“It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found / not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.”

“Take God for your spouse and friend and walk with Him continually, and you will not sin, will learn to love, and the things you must do will work out prosperously for you.”

“I had many friends to help me to fall; but as to rising again, I was so much left to myself, that I wonder now I was not always on the ground. I praise God for His mercy; for it was He only Who stretched out His hand to me. May He be blessed for ever! Amen.”

“If we plant a flower or a shrub and water it daily it will grow so tall that in time we shall need a spade and a hoe to uproot it. It is just so, I think, when we commit a fault, however small, each day, and do not cure ourselves of it.”

“The time will come when we shall realize that all we have paid has been nothing at all by comparison with the greatness of our prizes.”

“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.”

“Untilled soil, however fertile it may be, will bear thistles and thorns; and so it is with man’s mind.”

“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too.”

“Be gentle to all, and stern with yourself.”

“How is it, Lord, that we are cowards in everything save in opposing Thee?”