Bernard of Clairvaux Quotes
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Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.
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Action and contemplation are very close companions; they live together in one house on equal terms. Martha and Mary are sisters.
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All things are possible to one who believes.
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Pride only, the chief of all iniquities, can make us treat gifts as if they were rightful attributes of our nature, and, while receiving benefits, rob our Benefactor of His due glory.
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What I know of the divine science and holy scripture, I learnt in the woods and fields.
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Vines and trees will teach you that which you will never learn from masters.
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I know by myself how incomprehensible God is, seeing I cannot comprehend the parts of my own being.
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True love does not demand a reward, but it deserves one.
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God has aroused the spirit of kings and princes to root up from the earth the enemies of the Christian name. Therefore gird yourselves manfully and take up joyful arms for the name of Christ.
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Theirs is an endless road, a hopeless maze, who seek for goods before they seek for God.
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You wish to see; listen. Hearing is a step toward Vision.
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The more I contemplate God, the more God looks on me. The more I pray to him, the more he thinks of me too.
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Let no one believe that he has received the divine kiss, if he knows the truth without loving it or loves it without understanding it. But blessed is that kiss whereby not only is God recognized but also the Father is loved; for there is never full knowledge without perfect love.
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The reason for our loving God is God.
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There are some who wish to learn for no other reason than that they may be looked upon as learned, which is ridiculous vanity ... Others desire to learn that they may morally instruct others, that is love. And, lastly, there are some who wish to learn that they may be themselves edified; and that is prudence.
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There are four degrees of love: 1) Love of self for self's sake. 2) Love of God for self's sake. 3) Love of God for God's own sake. 4) Love of self for God's sake.
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Nothing can work me damage except myself. The harm that I sustain I carry about with me, and never am a real sufferer but by my own fault.
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So far from being able to answer for my sins, I cannot even answer for my righteousness!
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And truly, O man, if you concentrate hard on the state you are in it will be surprising if you have time for anything else.
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Learn first to love yourself, and then you can love me.
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The piercing nail has become a key to unlock the door, that I may see the good will of the Lord. And what can I see as I look through the hole? Both the nail and the wound cry out that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself... Through these sacred wounds we can see the secret of his heart, the great mystery of love.
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Do what Jesus says... what he commands through his ministers who are in the Church [see 1 Cor 6:4]. Be subject to his vicars, your leaders, not only those who are gentle and kind, but even those who are overbearing [see 1 Pt 2:18].
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Pride causes us to use our gifts as though they came from ourselves, not benefits received from God, and to usurp our benefactor's glory.
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God will either give us what we ask, or what He knows to be better for us.