Quotes by St. John of the Cross

God's first language is silence.

Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved. The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of Divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for until the cord be broken, the bird cannot fly.
St. John of the Cross

Yearning: It needs to hurt in order to be worthy of the word. Otherwise it is just wanting.

If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.