Quotes from Bernard of Clairvaux

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

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

Death is the gate of life.

The measure of love is love without measure.

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.

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

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

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

Jesus, what made You so small? LOVE!

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.

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

Learn first to love yourself, and then you can love me.

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

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

Qui me amat, amet et canem meum. (Who loves me will love my dog also.)

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.

Love me, love my dog.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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