Wholly somber and solitary…

Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361), Page: Quotes, Quote Author, Quote Topic, Spiritual (life)

Then there opens up a very deserted road, which is wholly somber and solitary. On this road God takes back all that He has given. Man is then so completely abandoned to himself that he no longer knows whether he is on the right road… and this becomes so painful to him that this vast world seems to narrow to him. He has no longer any feeling of his God, he no longer knows anything about Him, and everything else displeases him.
–Johannes Tauler (1300–1361)

Find true peace…

Abandonment (of self), Page: Quotes, Quote Topic, Spiritual (life)

Whosoever would find true peace between himself and God must love God in such a way that he can, with a free heart, renounce for the glory of God everything which he does or loves inordinately, or which he possesses, or can possess, contrary to the glory of God. This is the first thing which is needful to all people.
–Blessed John Ruysbroeck (1293-1381)

Be mothers of God…

Meister Eckhart (1260-1328), Page: Quotes, Quote Author, Quote Topic, Spiritual (life)

We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of Man is begotten in us.
–Meister Eckhart  (1260-1328)

Only first steps are easy…

Page: Quotes, Quote Topic, Spiritual (life)

Only the first steps in the approach to God are easy; the feeling that we have wings, the enthusiasm caused by the certainty that we are approaching God, are followed by a gradual cooling down, by doubt. In order to sustain our faith, it is necessary to make an effort, to struggle, to fight for it.
–Alexander Elchaninov (1881-1934)