
“The Cross is the school of love”
St. Maximilian Kolbe
25 Powerful Quotes on Carrying Your Cross – Using Suffering to Your Advantage
It is part of our fallen nature to desire the victory without ever having picked up the cross. But we know through Scripture, Tradition and the very whisperings of our soul that God has not designed it this way. Not only has He not designed it this way, He came in the flesh to show us that carrying the cross (our sufferings!) with courage, dignity, humility and perseverance is the only way to resurrection day. In other words, without the cross there is no victory. It is that simple.
If we know from our Lord then that the victory in our lives comes only by way of the cross, then let our sufferings become a source of consolation rather than of condemnation. In bearing our sufferings courageously with Christ, He stands beside us reassuring us that the victory is near.
And while no one likes to suffer (let’s be honest, we would all much rather live comfortable lives and reap rewards for free), our Lord knew that our sufferings would actually be for our greater good. He knew well that through carrying the crosses of this life we would become His strongest, most virtuous warriors.
To conclude
In light of this, Jesus calls you to “take up thy cross” and become a Saint by way of it — the highest call this side of Heaven. So if you are going through a difficult time right now, allow these 25 Powerful Quotes on Carrying Your Cross — Using Suffering to Your Advantage to encourage you. Persevere in faith knowing that your victory is just around the corner. Keep going!
25 Powerful Quotes on Carrying Your Cross – Using Suffering to Your Advantage
“When we are overcome by sadness, fear, or suffering; when the pains of loss overwhelm us; when evil seems to have taken power; let us look to the cross and be filled with peace, knowing that Christ has walked this road and walks it now with us and with all our brothers and sisters” — St. Teresa of Avila;
“The more deeply the cross penetrates, the better; the more deprived of consolation that your suffering is, the purer it will be; the more creatures oppose us, the more closely shall we be united to God” — St. Paul of the Cross;
“Do everything calmly and peacefully. Do as much as you can as well as you can. Strive to see God in all things without exception, and consent to His will joyously. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him in word and deed. Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord and be at peace with yourself” — St. Francis de Sales;
“The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things” — St. John of the Cross;
“Jesus said to me; ‘How many times would you have abandoned Me, my son, if I had not crucified you. Beneath the cross, one learns love, and I do not give this to everyone, but only to those souls who are dearest to Me” — St. Padre Pio;
“A cross carried simply, and without those returns of self-love which exaggerate troubles, is no longer a cross. Peaceable suffering is no longer suffering. We complain of suffering! We should have much more reason to complain of not suffering, since nothing makes us more like Our Lord than carrying His Cross” — St. John Vianney;
“It is not the finest wood that feeds the fire of Divine love, but the wood of the Cross” — St. Ignatius of Loyola;
“We are co-redeemers of the world; and souls are not redeemed without the cross” — St. Teresa of the Andes;
“Oh cherished cross! Through thee my most bitter trials are replete with graces!” — St. John of the Cross;
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” — St. Paul the Apostle;
“O souls! Seek a refuge, like pure doves, in the shadow of the crucifix. There mourn the Passion of your divine Spouse, and drawing from your hearts flames of love and rivers of tears, make of them a precious balm with which to anoint the wounds of your Savior” — St. Paul of the Cross;
“Place your hopes in the mercy of God and the merits of our Redeemer; say often, looking at the crucifix: There are centered all my hopes” — St. Paul of the Cross;
“No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against Him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to Him in repentance” — St. Leo the Great;
“The cross is the school of love” — St. Maximilian Kolbe;
“How precious the gift of the cross, how splendid to contemplate! In the cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise: it is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste. The fruit of this tree is not death but life, not darkness but light. This tree does not cast us out of paradise but opens the way for our return” — St. Theodore the Studite;
“Our Savior’s Passion raises men and women from the depths, lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights” — St. Maximus of Turin;
“True reverence for the Lord’s Passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognizing in Him our own humanity” — Pope St. Leo the Great;
“Why did You suffer for me, dear Jesus? For love! The nails … the crown … the Cross … all for the love of me!” — St. Gemma Galgani;
“Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey” — St. Anthony of Padua;
“One cannot desire freedom from the Cross when one is especially chosen for the Cross” — Edith Stein;
“Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to Heaven” — St. Rose of Lima;
“Yes, I love the cross, the cross alone, because I always see it behind Jesus’ shoulders” — St. Padre Pio;
“With the cross, we are freed from the restraint of the enemy and we clutch on to the strength of salvation” — St. Theodore the Studite;
“The cross is the greatest gift God could bestow on His Elect on earth. There is nothing so necessary, so beneficial, so sweet, or so glorious as to suffer something for Jesus. If you suffer as you ought, the cross will become a precious yoke that Jesus will carry with you” — St. Louis de Montfort;
“The Passion of Christ is the greatest and most stupendous work of Divine Love. The greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love” — St. Paul of the Cross;
In short, “Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent” —St. John of the Cross.
When you are all finished reading through these powerful quotes, read them once again only this time as your personal prayer to God. Powerful!
0 comments on “25 Powerful Quotes on Carrying Your Cross – Using Suffering to Your Advantage”