hymnwriters-from-germany

"O dawn, you washed them away in a woman who was clean. O form of woman, sister of Wisdom, how great is your glory! For in you there rose a life unquenchable that death shall never stifle. Wisdom exalted you to make all creatures fairer in your beauty than they were when the world was born."

"Now, O son of God, set in the valley of true humility, walk in peace without pride of spirit, which, like a precipitous mountain, offers a difficult, or near-impossible, ascent or descent to those who attempt to scale it, and on its summit no building can be built. For a person who tries to climb higher than he can achieve possesses the name of sanctity without substance, because, in name alone without a structure of good works, he glories in a kind of vain joy of the mind."

"Angels, living light most glorious! Beneath the Godhead in burning desire in the darkness and mystery of creation you look on the eye of your God never taking your fill: What glorious pleasures take shape within you!"

"O Eternal God, now may it please you to burn in love so that we become the limbs fashioned in the love you felt when you begot your Son at the first dawn before all creation. And consider this need which falls upon us, take it from us for the sake of your Son, and lead us to the joy of your salvation."

"O venerable father Bernard, I lay my claim before you, for, highly honored by God, you bring fear to the immoral foolishness of this world and, in your intense zeal and burning love for the Son of God, gather men [cf. Luke 5.10] into Christ's army to fight under the banner of the cross against pagan savagery. I beseech you in the name of the Living God to give heed to my queries."

"Father, I am greatly disturbed by a vision which has appeared to me through divine revelation, a vision seen not with my fleshly eyes but only in my spirit. Wretched, and indeed more than wretched in my womanly condition, I have from earliest childhood seen great marvels which my tongue has no power to express but which the Spirit of God has taught me that I may believe." Steadfast and gentle father, in your kindness respond to me, your unworthy servant, who has never, from her earliest childhood, lived one hour free from anxiety. In your piety and wisdom look in your spirit, as you have been taught by the Holy Spirit, and from your heart bring comfort to your handmaiden."

"O sacred head, now wounded, With grief and shame bowed down; Now scornfully surrounded With thorns, thy only crown."

"Oh! make me Thine forever; And should I fainting be, Lord! let me never, never, Outlive my love to Thee!"

"When the tempest rages, In the Rock of Ages I will safely hide; Though the earth be shaking, And all hearts be quaking, Christ is at my side."

"My God, I ask not of Thee the leaves of external consequence; I will be content to continue simple, lowly, and plain, if Thou wilt only give me grace to serve Thee and my neighbor. Outward pomp withers like a flower, but inward worth lasts even after death."

"As this brook not merely washes off impurities, but overwhelms them, so that they can no longer be found, even so Thy Divine mercy, and the stream of my Saviour's blood, not only purge away, but extinguish my sins, sweeping them into the depths of the sea, where through all eternity they shall be remembered no more."

"It is self-love, and its offspring, self-deception, which shut the gates of heaven, and lead men, as in a delicious dream, to hell."

"O my God! close my eyes that I may see Thee; separate me from the world that I may enjoy Thy company."

"Well, then, Lord Jesus! I will creep if I cannot walk; I will take hold of Thy word. When I stumble, Thou wilt support me; when I fall, Thou wilt hold out Thy Cross, and help me with it to rise again, until at length I reach the place where Thou art, and with all my weaknesses, anxieties, and wants, cast myself into Thy bosom."

"Jesus, save me from the infatuation of avarice! I too will lay up a treasure, but Thou shalt have the keeping of it."

"Be less concerned about the number of the books you read, and more about the good use you make of them. The best of books is the Bible."

"My God! my time is in Thy hands. Should it please Thee to lengthen my life, and complete, as Thou hast begun, the work of blanching my locks, grant me grace to wear them as an unsullied crown of honour."

"As ravens rejoice over carrion, so infernal spirits exult over the soul that is dead in sin."

"O, my God! withhold from me the wealth to which tears, and sighs, and curses cleave. Better none at all than wealth like that!"

"Lord Jesus, engrave Thou Thy name with Thine own finger upon my heart, that it may remain closed to worldly joy and worldly pleasure, self-interest, fading honor, and low revenge, and open only to Thee!"

"In the school of Christ they are the best scholars who continue learning to the last."

"My God, help me always resolutely to strive, and through life and death, to force my way unto Thee."

"Never have I greater reason for suspicion than when I am particularly pleased with myself, my faith, my prayers, and my alms."

"My God, give me neither poverty nor riches; but whatsoever it may be Thy will to give, give me with it a heart which knows humbly to acquiesce in what is Thy will."

"God has given you your child, that the sight of him, from time to time, might remind you of His goodness, and induce you to praise Him with filial reverence."

"The whole of Christianity is comprised in three things — to believe, to love, and to obey Jesus. These are things, however, which we must be learning all our life."