“Then Jesus said to his disciples,

‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me. 

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’”

“God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.”

—St. Augustine

“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

“You must accept your cross; if you bear it courageously, it will carry you to heaven.”

—St. John Vianney

“As iron is fashioned by fire and on the anvil, so in the fire of suffering and under the weight of trials, our souls receive that form which our Lord desires them to have.”

—St. Madeline Sophie Barat

“We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.”

 —St. Teresa of Avila

“The crosses with which our path through life is strewn associate us with Jesus in the mystery of His crucifixion.”

—St. John Eudes

“One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer.”

—St. Teresa of Avila

“We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people, and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the spirit of God.”

—St. Vincent de Paul

“He longs to give us a magnificent reward. He knows that suffering is the only means of preparing us to know Him as He knows Himself, and to become ourselves divine.”

—St. Therese of Lisieux

“Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus—a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.”

—St. Teresa of Calcutta

“There is no better wood for feeding the fire of God’s love than the wood of the Cross.”

—St. Ignatius of Loyola

“The Cross is the school of love.”

—St. Maximilian Kolbe