10 Quotations From St. Paul of the Cross on Suffering

Saint Paul of the Cross' life was marked by hardships. It is not surprising that he developed such a great love for the Passion of Jesus Christ. His namesake, Saint Paul of Tarsus' letter to the Romans, Chapter 5, states "... let us exult, too, in our hardships, understanding that hardship develops perseverance, and perseverance develops character." Likewise, St. Paul of the Cross in the following 10 quotations expresses the immense value and divine blessing that attends our suffering.

The soul is a seed which God sows in the field of the Church; to produce fruits, it must die under the strokes of pains, sorrows, contradictions, and persecutions.

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Let us fear more to be deprived of sufferings than a miser fears to lose his treasures.

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Suffering is brief; joy will be eternal.

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Do you know why God subjects you to so many miseries? That He may bestow on you the riches of heaven.

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In your trials, have recourse to Mary, and She will remedy them.

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He who truly loves God regards as little what he suffers for God's sake.

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The greater our cross, the greater is our gain; the more deprived suffering is of consolation, the purer is it; the more creatures are against us, the more closely united are we to God.

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Sufferings are the pearls of Jesus crucified....It happens sometimes that the lightning rends a mountain and discloses therein a mine of treasures. So, also, the thunderbolts of adversity bring forth a gold-mine in certain souls.

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I hope that God will save me through the merits of the Passion of Jesus. The more difficulties in life, the more I hope in God. By God’s grace I will not lose my soul, but I hope in His mercy.

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