Bernard of Clairvaux

“Bring a mirror and let a dirty face recognize itself.”

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

“Jesus the very thought of TheeWith sweetness fills my breast;But sweeter far Thy face to see,And in Thy presence rest.”

“There is no greater misery than false joys.”

“It is in the perfect union of two hearts that complete and total marriage consists.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”