Teresa of Ávila Quotes

you will never lack so much of the water of comfort that your thirst will be intolerable;

Humility cannot exist without love, and love cannot exist without humility. It is impossible for these virtues to exist except where there is great detachment from all created things.

It is a most certain truth that the richer we see ourselves to be, confessing at the same time our poverty, the greater will be our progress, and the more real our humility.

Let nothing disturb thee
Nothing affright thee
All things are passing
God never changeth
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things
Who God possesseth
In nothing is wanting
Alone God sufficeth.

A fé lhe ensina aquilo que lhe cumpre fazer. A memória lhe mostra aonde vão parar todas estas coisas, trazendo-lhe presente à lembrança a morte daqueles que ela viu desfrutar dessas frivolidades, e como algumas foram súbitas e quão depressa foram esquecidas por todos;

Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, all things are passing, God is unchanging. Patience gains all; nothing is lacking to those who have God: God alone is sufficient.

by committing a mortal sin, instead of seeking to please God, it prefers to gratify the devil, the prince of darkness, and so comes to share his blackness.

Reflect upon the providence and wisdom of God in all created things and praise Him in them all.

You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.

Christ has no body on Earth but ours.

Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth thistles and thorns; so also the mind of man.

I can find nothing with which to compare the great beauty of a soul and its great capacity. In fact, however acute our intellects may be, they will no more be able to attain to a comprehension of this than to an understanding of God; for, as He Himself says, He created us in His image and likeness.

Fixed your eyes on the Crucified One and all will seem easy.

Believe me, friends, it is a great thing to realize the truth of this so that we may see how deceptive are earthly things and favours when they deflect the soul in any way from its course and hinder it from entering within itself.

Let us endeavour to do our best: beware of the poisonous reptiles — that is to say, the bad thoughts and aridities which are often permitted by God to assail and torment us so that we cannot repel them. Indeed, perchance we feel their sting! He allows this to teach us to be more on our guard in the future and to see whether we grieve much at offending Him.