Saint John of the Cross

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"If you do not learn to deny yourself, you can make no progress in perfection."

Prayer to Saint John of the Cross

O glorious Saint John of the Cross,

great Doctor of the Church,

who, from very longing to be configured to Jesus crucified,

didst desire nothing more ardently,

even to the last moment of thy holy life,

than to suffer and

to be despised and rejected of all men;

and so great was thy thirst for suffering,

that thy generous heart was filled with joy

in the midst of most painful torments and afflictions;

I beseech thee, dear Saint,

by the glory thou didst merit by thy

manifold sufferings,

intercede for me with almighty God and

obtain for me love of suffering, together

with the grace and strength to endure all

tribulations and adversities with dauntless courage;

for these are the sure means of coming

into the possession of that crown of glory

which is prepared for me in heaven.

Ah yes, dear Saint,

from that high and glorious throne where thou

sittest triumphant, hear,

I beseech thee,

my earnest entreaties, that,

following thee,

I may become a lover of the cross and

of suffering and thus may merit to be thy companion in glory.

Amen.

Prayer source: The Prayer Book, Catholic Press Inc.

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"Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing."

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Prayer that We Will Possess All Things in Christ

My God,

You will not take away what You have given me

in Your only Son, Jesus Christ.

In him, You have given me all that I desire.

You will, therefore, no long delay-

and this is my joy-

provided that I wait for You.

So, my heart, why do you delay?

Why do you procrastinate?

From this moment on you can love your God!

Mine are the heavens,

mine is the earth and mine are the peoples;

mine are the just and mine are the sinners;

mine are the angels;

mine is the mother of God-

God Himself is mine, for me-

for mine is Christ

and everything is for me.

What do you ask, what do you seek, my soul?

Everything is for you and everything is yours!

Do not think of yourself as little

nor pay attention to the scraps that fall

from the table of your Father.

Rise on the great day

and take your glory in His!

Hide yourself in it

and be joyful:

everything which your heart desires

shall be yours.

- St. John of the Cross (1549-1591)
Priest, Mystic and Doctor of the Church

Prayer Source: New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book, Catholic Book Publishing

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"In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility."

"In giving us His Son, His only Word, He spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word -- and He has no more to say ... because what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son."

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"I wish I could persuade spiritual persons that the way of perfection does not consist in many devices, nor in much cogitation, but in denying themselves completely and yielding themselves to suffer everything for the love of Christ. And if there is failure in this exercise, all other methods of walking in the spiritual way are merely a beating about the bush, and profitless trifling, although a person should have very high contemplation and communication with God."

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"Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing."

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"O you souls who wish to go on with so much safety and consolation, if you knew how pleasing to God is suffering, and how much it helps in acquiring other good things, you would never seek consolation in anything; but you would rather look upon it as a great happiness to bear the Cross of the Lord."

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"For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ, "In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God." The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labors, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training.

The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it."

Source for the St. John of the Cross quotes on self-denial.