Quotes
St. Teresa of Ávila on Contemplative Prayer:
“What I now want to counsel you about (I can even say teach you, because as a Mother, having the office of prioress I'm allowed to teach) is how you must pray”
The Way of Perfection, 24.2
"For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us"
The Book of Her Life, 8.5
“Some books on prayer tell about where one must seek God...Within oneself, very clearly, is the best place to look”
The Book of Her Life, 40.6
“In the measure you desire Him, you will find Him”
The Way of Perfection, 26.3
“All one need do is go into solitude and look at Him within oneself”
The Way of Perfection, 28.2
“I tried as hard as I could to keep Jesus Christ, our God and our Lord, present within me and that was my way of prayer”
The Book of Her Life, 4.7
“What helps is that the soul embrace the good Jesus, our Lord, with determination, for since in Him everything is found, in Him, everything is forgotten”
The Way of Perfection, 9.5
“Keeping Christ present is what we of ourselves can do”
The Book of Her Life, 12.4
“Not with the noise of words but with longing that He hears us”
The Book of Her Life, 15.7
“The important thing is not to think much but to love much”
The Interior Castle, 4.1.7
“It's like the experience of two persons here on earth who love each other deeply and understand each other well: even without signs, just by a glance, it seems, they understand each other”
The Book of Her Life, 27.10
“And since He doesn't force our will, He takes what we give Him; but He doesn’t give Himself completely until we give ourselves completely”
The Way of Perfection, 28.12
“Do what lies in your power; surrender yourself to me (the Lord), and do not be disturbed about anything”
Spiritual Testimonies, 10
“There is no other remedy for this evil of giving up prayer than to begin again”
The Interior Castle, 2.1.10
“Even though they fall again, there remains a sign that the Lord was present in their prayer: and it is that they rise again quickly”
The Book of Her Life, 15.14
“Let us desire and be occupied in prayer not for the sake of our enjoyment but so as to have this strength to serve"
The Interior Castle, 7.4.12
“This is the reason for prayer, … the birth always of good works”
The Interior Castle, 7.4.6
“Well do I know that to abandon prayer was no longer in my hands, for He held me in His”
The Book of Her Life, 7.17
Sources (with ICS permission):
The Way of Perfection: Study Edition
Teresa of Avila Translated Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. Washington, DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 2000
The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume 1. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. Washington, DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1987
The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume 2. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. Washington, DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1980
The Interior Castle: Study Edition
Teresa of Avila Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. Washington, DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 2020
O Love that loves me more than I can love myself. - St. Teresa of Ávila, Soliloquies
St. John of the Cross on Contemplative Prayer:
In the first place it should be known that if anyone is seeking God, the Beloved is seeking that person much more.
Living Flame, 3.28
Contemplation is nothing else than a secret and peaceful and loving inflow of God, which, if not hampared, fires the soul in the spirit of love.
The Dark Night, I, 10:6
In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the Spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.
It is best to learn to silence and quiet the faculties so that God may speak.
The Ascent of Mount Carmel, III, 3:4
Sayings of Light and Love:
24. The fly that clings to honey hinders its flight, and the soul that allows itself attachment to spiritual sweetness hinders its own liberty and contemplation.
28. The very pure spirit does not bother about the regard of others or human respect, but communes inwardly with God, alone and in solitude as to all forms, and with delightful tranquility, for the knowledge of God is received in divine silence.
55. Since God is inaccessible, be careful not to concern yourself with all that your faculties can comprehend and your senses feel, so that you do not become satisfied with less and lose the lightness of soul suitable for going to him.
81. Feed not your spirit on anything but God. Cast off concern about things, and bear peace and recollection in your heart.
82. Keep spiritually tranquil in a loving attentiveness to God, and when it is necessary to speak, let it be with the same calm and peace.
88. Preserve a living attentiveness to God with no desire to feel or understand any particular thing concerning him.
90. Enter within yourself and work in the presence of your Bridegroom, who is ever present loving you.
93. Endeavor always that things be not for you, nor you for them, but forgetful of all, abide in recollection with your Bridegroom.
100. The Father spoke one Word, which was His Son, and this Word He speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul.
132. What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love.
158. Seek in reading and you will find in meditation; knock in prayer and it will be opened to you in contemplation.
Source (with ICS permission):
The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, ICS Publications, Washington, D.C.
When evening comes, you will be examined in love. Learn to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting. - St. John of the Cross, The Sayings of Light and Love, 60.