Teresa of Avila Quotes - Page 3

It is not a matter of thinking a great deal but of loving a great deal, so do whatever arouses you most to love.

People in the world pay little heed to reason where their own interests are involved.

Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing affright thee. All things are passing. Patience obtains all things. He who has God has everything - God alone suffices.

Love makes labour light. Love alone gives value to all things.

Teach by works more than words.

Granting that we are always in the presence of God, yet it seems to me that those who pray are in His presence in a very different sense; for they, as it were, see that He is looking upon them, while others may go for days on end without even once recollecting that God sees them.

Let us look at our own faults, and not other people's. We ought not to insist on everyone following in our footsteps, nor to take upon ourselves to give instructions in spirituality when, perhaps, we do not even know what it is.

Strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into your own heart.

It is true that we cannot be free from sin, but at least let our sins not always be the same.

Life is a night spent in an uncomfortable inn.

Do not think you have gained a virtue unless you have first been tried by its opposite.

Love turns work into rest.

No one should think or say anything of another which he would not wish thought or said of himself.

There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.

Let there be no disappointment when obedience keeps you busy in outward tasks. If it sends you to the kitchen, remember that the Lord walks among the pots and pans.

We need no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to look upon Him present within us.

God has no hands or feet or voice except ours and through these He works.

All the troubles of the Church, all the evils in the world, flow from this source: that men do not by clear and sound knowledge and serious consideration penetrate into the truths of Sacred Scripture.

Don't be curious of matters that don't concern you; never speak of them, and don't ask about them.

It is a dangerous thing to be satisfied with ourselves.

The life of the spirit is not our life, but the life of God within us.

From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.

I was living an extremely burdensome life, because every time I prayed, I became more clearly aware of my faults. On the one hand, God was calling me. On the other, I was following the way of the world. Doing what God wanted made me happy; but I felt bound by the things of this world.

Souls who do not practice prayer are like people whose limbs are paralyzed.

Be kind to all and severe to thyself.