Bernard of Clairvaux quotes:

You wish me to tell you why and how God should be loved. My answer is that God himself is the reason he is to be loved.

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].

Theirs is an endless road, a hopeless maze, who seek for goods before they seek for God.

You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.

I was made a sinner by deriving my being from Adam; I am made just by being washed in the blood of Christ and not by Christ's 'words and example.'

Who loves me will love my dog also.

Love me, love my dog.

Let us then cast ourselves at the feet of this good Mother, and embracing them let us not depart until she blesses us, and accepts us for her children.

The true measure of loving God is to love him without measure.

Prostrate, see Thy cross I grasp,And Thy pierced feet I clasp;Gracious Jesus, spurn me not;On me, with compassion fraught,Let Thy glances fall.Thy cross of agony,My Beloved, look on me;Turn me wholly unto Thee;"Be thou whole," say openly:"I forgive thee all.

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.

Hell is full of good wishes or desires.

Learn the lesson that, if you are to do the work of a prophet, what you need is not a sceptre but a hoe.

True penance consists in regretting without ceasing the faults of the past, and in firmly resolving to never again commit that which is so deplorable.

The heart of Christ can be seen through the openings of his wounds. For what can prove to me so clearly as your wounds that you, O Lord Jesus, are sweet & mild & plenteous in mercy.

The spiteful tongue strikes a deadly blow at charity in all who hear him speak and, so far as it can, destroys root and branch, not only in the immediate hearers but also in all others to whom the slander, flying from lip to lip, is afterwards repeated.

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.

What of the souls already released from their bodies? We believe that they are overwhelmed in that vast sea of eternal light and of luminous eternity

The Eucharist is that love which surpasses all loves in Heaven and on earth

It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment.

Many of those who are humiliated are not humble. Some react to humiliation with anger, others with patience, and others with freedom. The first are culpable, the next harmless, the last just.

Your actions in passing, pass not away, for every good work is a grain of seed for eternal life.

When God forgives a sinner who humbly confesses his sin, the devil loses his dominion over the heart he had taken.

If then you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. For a canal spreads abroad water as it receives it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, and thus communicates, without loss to itself, its superabundant water. In the Church at the present day, we have many canals, few reservoirs.

Many appear full of mildness and sweetness as long as everything goes their own way; but the moment any contradiction or adversity arises, they are in a flame, and begin to rage like a burning mountain. Such people as these are like red-hot coals hidden under ashes. This is not the mildness which Our Lord undertook to teach us in order to make us like unto Himself.

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...

I have ascended to the highest in me, and look, the Word is towering above that. I have descended to explore my lowest depths, and I found Him deeper still.

There is no greater misery than false joys.

To shame our sins He blushed in blood;He closed His eyes to show us God;Let all the world fall down and knowThat none but God such love can show

There are people who go clad in tunics and have nothing to do with furs, who nevertheless are lacking in humility. Surely humility in furs is better than pride in tunics.

There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.

Action and contemplation are...

The measure of love is love without measure.

We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those who love us.

With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal.

Ingratitude is the soul's enemy... Ingratitude is a burning wind that dries up the source of love, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace.

The three most important virtues are humility, humility, and humility.

Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts, Thou fount of life, thou Light of men, From the best bliss that earth imparts We turn unfilled to Thee again. We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread, And long to feast upon Thee still: We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead, And thirst our souls from Thee to fill. O Jesus, ever with us stay, Make all our moments calm and bright; Chase the dark night of sin away, Shed o'er the world Thy holy light.

The rivers of Grace cannot flow uphill, up the steep cliff of the proud man's heart.

What we love we shall grow to resemble.

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.

Spiritual life is like living water that springs up from the very depths of our own spiritual experience. In spiritual life everyone has to drink from his or her own well.

We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable.

Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love.

Action and contemplation are very close companions; they live together in one house on equal terms. Martha and Mary are sisters.

Prayer is a virtue that prevaileth against all temptations.

All things are possible to one who believes.

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.

Expect much of God, and he will do much for you.

Let your prayer for temporal blessings be strictly limited to things absolutely necessary.

Neither fear nor self-interest can convert the soul. They may change the appearance, perhaps even the conduct, but never the object of supreme desire... Fear is the motive which constrains the slave; greed binds the selfish man, by which he is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed (James 1:14). But neither fear nor self-interest is undefiled, nor can they convert the soul. Only charity can convert the soul, freeing it from unworthy motives.

The peacemakers shall be called the sons of God, who came to make peace between God and man. What then shall the sowers of discord be called, but the children of the devil? And what must they look for but their father's portion?

He rightly reads scripture who turns words into deeds.

What I know of the divine sciences and Holy Scriptures, I learned in woods and fields. I have no other masters than the beeches and the oaks.

It is a fault, not a virtue, to wish your humility recognized and applauded.

God will either give us what we ask, or what He knows to be better for us.

Vines and trees will teach you that which you will never learn from masters.

Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens.

You wish to see; listen. Hearing is a step toward Vision.

If you would know whether you have made a good confession, ask yourself I you have resolved to abandon your sins.

Believe one who has tried, you shall find a fuller satisfaction in the woods than in the books. The trees and the rocks will teach you that which you cannot hear from the masters.

He won me over entirely by giving Himself entirely to me.

Therefore gird yourselves manfully and take up joyful arms for the name of God.

Death is the gate of life.

How beautiful then is modesty and what a gem among virtues it is.

Grace is necessary to salvation, free will equally so - but grace in order to give salvation, free will in order to receive it.

Humility is, of all graces , the chiefest when it does not know itself to be a grace at all.

It was love that motivated His self-emptying, that led Him to become a little lower than angels, to be subject to parents, to bow His head beneath the Baptist's hands, to endure the weakness of the flesh, and to submit to death even upon the cross

Wherever...thou shalt be, pray secretly within thyself. If thou shalt be far from a house of prayer, give not thyself trouble to seek for one, for thou thyself art a sanctuary designed for prayer. If thou shalt be in bed, or in any other place, pray there; thy temple is there.

If anyone makes himself his own master in the spiritual life, he makes himself scholar to a fool.

Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son. There can be no doubt that whatever we say in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son.

The reason for our loving God is God.

True love does not demand a reward, but it deserves one.

Jesus to me is honey in the mouth, music in the ear, a song in the heart,

Thus understanding and love, that is, the knowledge of and delight in the truth, are, as it were, the two arms of the soul, with which it embraces and comprehends with all the saints the length and breath, the height and depth, that is the eternity, the love, the goodness, and the wisdom of God.

What I know of the divine science and holy scripture, I learnt in the woods and fields.

I know by myself how incomprehensible God is, seeing I cannot comprehend the parts of my own being.

Jesus, what made You so small? LOVE!

Inordinate love for the flesh is cruelty, because under the appearance of pleasing the body, we kill the soul.

The more I contemplate God, the more God looks on me. The more I pray to him, the more he thinks of me too.

If you concentrate hard on the state you are in, it would be suprising if you have time for anything else.

It's not as if grace did one half of the work and free choice the other; each does the whole work, in its own peculiar contribution. Grace does the whole work, and so does free choice - with this one qualification: That whereas the whole is done in free choice, so is the whole done of grace.

A pretext is never lacking to him who would break with a friend.

For I have learnt for a fact that nothing so effectively obtains, retains and regains grace, as that we should always be found not high-minded before God, but filled with holy fear.

As patience leads to peace, and study to science, so are humiliations the path that leads to humility.

O Blessed Mary, whoever loves you honors God; whoever serves you pleases God; whoever invokes your holy name with a pure heart will infallibly receive the object of his petition.

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.

God will become visible as God's image is reborn in you.

There are three distinct comings of the Lord of which I know: His coming to men, His coming into men, and His coming against men.

My burden is light," said the blessed Redeemer, a light burden indeed, which carries him that bears it. I have looked through all nature for a resemblance of this, and seem to find a shadow of it in the wings of a bird, which are indeed borne by the creature, and yet support her flight towards heaven.The wings of a bird, which are indeed borne by the creature, and yet support her flight towards heaven

Let us affectionately love His angels as counselors and defenders appointed by the Father and placed over us. They are faithful; they are prudent; they are powerful; Let us only follow them, let us remain close to them, and in the protection of the God of heaven let us abide.

Among us on the earth there is His memory; but in the Kingdom of heaven His very Presence. That Presence is the joy of those who have already attained to beatitude; the memory is the comfort of us who are still wayfarers, journeying towards the Fatherland.

Humility in furs is better than pride in tunics.

Prayer is a wine which makes glad the heart of man

Our King [Jesus] is accused of treachery; it is said of him [by the Muslims] that he is not God, but that he falsely pretended to be something he was not.

Death is the gate of life. Ingratitude is the soul's enemy... Ingratitude is a burning wind that dries up the source of love, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace. You will find something far greater in the woods than you will find in books. Stones and trees will teach you that which you will never learn from masters.

To serve Mary is a mark of eternal salvation to come.

Understanding is the sure and clear knowledge of some invisible thing.

What does God hate or punish except self-will? Let self-will cease, and there will be no hell. On what does that fire feed except on self-will?

Love of Mary and devotion to her are a sure sign of obtaining eternal salvation.

So far from being able to answer for my sins, I cannot even answer for my righteousness!

Have death always before your eyes as a salutary means of returning to God.

From the best bliss that earth imparts, we turn unfilled to Thee again.

A truly obedient man does not discriminate between one thing and another, since his only aim is to execute faithfully whatever may be assigned to him.

Nothing can work me damage except myself.

The tears of those repenting are the wine of angels.

Obey your bishop! "Obey those set over you [Heb 13:17]," the teachers of the Church.... I remind you, my dear friends, of what I said when I was with you: do not receive any outside or unknown preacher, unless he be sent by your bishop or preaches with the permission of the pope. For "how shall they preach unless they are sent [Rom 10:15]?

Love is alone sufficient by itself, it pleases by itself and for it's own sake. It is itself a merit, and itself it's own recompense. It seeks neither cause, nor consequences beyond itself. It is its own fruit, its own object and usefulness. I love because I love you, I love that I may love.

Persecution shows who is a hireling, and who a true pastor.

I do a great wrong in His sight, when I beseech Him that He will hear my prayer, which as I give utterance to it, I do not hear myself. I entreat Him that He will think of me; but I regard neither myself nor Him. Nay, what is worse, turning over corrupt and evil thoughts in mine heart, I thrust a dreadful offensiveness into His presence.

Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

I have no other masters than the beeches and the oaks.

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.

First learn to love yourself, and then you can love me.