Whoever is near us and needing us must be our ”neighbor”; it does not matter whether he is related to us or not, whether he is morally worthy of our help or not. The love of Christ knows no limits. It never ends; it does not shrink from ugliness and filth.
— Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)
The way of the cross is this expiation. The triple collapse under the burden of the cross corresponds to the triple fall of humanity: the first sin, the rejection of the Savior by his chosen people, and the falling away of those who bear the name of Christian.
–Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)
There is a state of resting in God, an absolute break from all intellectual activity, when one forms no plans, makes no decisions and for the first time really ceases to act, when one simply hands over the future to God’s will and ‘surrenders himself to fate.’
— Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)
The Bread that we need each day to grow in eternal life, makes of our will a docile instrument of the Divine Will; sets the Kingdom of God within us; gives us pure lips, and a pure heart with which to glorify his holy name.
— Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)
To erect a structure of holiness… one must dig deep and build high, must descend into the depth of the dark night of one’s own nothingness in order to be raised up high into the sunlight of divine love and compassion.
–Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)
On the question of relating to our fellowman – our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love.
— Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)
