“Give me Yourself, O my God. Surrender Yourself to me, for I love You. And if that is not enough, let me love You more ardently.” St. Augustine of Hippo (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

“Don’t you go drawing back from your God; love your God. You’re always saying to Him, ‘Give me this and give ne that’; say to Him sometimes, ‘Give me Yourself.’ If you love Him, love Him for nothing, don’t be a shameless soul. You wouldn’t be pleased with your wife, if she loved your gold, if the reason she loved you was that you had given her gold, given her a fine dress, given her a splendid villa, given her a special slave, given her a handsome eunuch; because if these were the things she loved about you, she wouldn’t be loving you. Don’t rejoice in such love as that; an adulterer, very often, can give more. You want your wife to love you for nothing, and you in turn want to sell your faith to God? ‘Because I believe in You.’ you say to your God, ‘give me gold.’…You’ve put your faith up for auction; notice its price. That’s not what it’s worth, it isn’t to be valued in gold or silver, that’s not what your faith is worth. It has a huge price tag; God Himself is its price. Love Him, and love Him freely, for nothing. You see, if you love Him on account of something else, you aren’t loving Him at all. You mustn’t want Him for the sake of anything else, but whatever else you want you must love for His sake, so that everything else may be referred to love of Him, not so that He may be referred to other loves, but that He may be preferred to other loves. Love Him, love Him freely, for nothing.” St. Augustine of Hippo

“Mountains have heights, and they are affluent, vast, beautiful, graceful, bright and fragrant. These mountains are what my Beloved is to me…Lonely valleys are quiet, pleasant, cool, shady, and flowing with fresh waters; in the variety of their groves and in the sweet song of the birds, they afford abundant recreation and delight to the senses, and in their solitude and silence they refresh and give rest. These valleys are what my Beloved is to me.” St. John of the Cross (16th century, Doctor of the Church)

“The lover is always seeking his beloved, St. Augustine comments; love goes on seeking what it has already found – not to have it, but to have it always.” St. Francis de Sales (16th-17th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

“O happy grotto, that witnessed the birth of the divine Word! Happy manger, to have had the honor of receiving the Lord of heaven! Happy straw, which served as a bed to Him Who sits on the shoulders of the seraphim!…Yes, happy was that grotto, that crib, that straw; but still happier are those souls who love this amiable Lord with fervor and tenderness, and who receive Him in the Holy Communion into hearts burning with love. Oh, with what desire and pleasure does Jesus Christ enter into and repose in a heart that loves Him! St. Alphonsus Liguori (17th-18th centuries, Doctor of the Church)

“Our heart is the throne where God reposes; our thoughts, our words, our actions, directed to Him, are His Crown. We place the Sceptre in His hands when we consecrate our will to Him; the love that we have for Him is His Purple – His royal mantle…” St. John Vianney (18th-19th centuries)

“For me, Jesus Himself is my honor, my delight, my heart, my spirit, He Whom I love, what I love, my home, Heaven here on earth. Jesus is my treasure and my love and Jesus crucified is my only happiness.” St. Bernadette Soubirous (19th century)

“Come, kings of the earth, to Love; come and adore my Love. I sing of our Creator’s power and glory; come let us adore Him. For we are the work of His hands, the price of His Blood. There is no one like to God; come let us adore Him. Stop not at the things of the earth, for they are nothing; pass to their Maker’s praise. Come, all dwellers on the earth, for they are nothing; pass by the passing things of earth. And remembering we are only pilgrims, come in adoration to our Father and King. Fall down before the Creator of all and offer Him your hearts.” St. Mary of Jesus Crucified (19th century)

“Jesus, my only Love, how I love to strew Flowers each evening at the foot of Your Crucifix! In unpetalling the springtime rose for You, I would like to dry Your tears…Strewing Flowers is offering You as first fruits my slightest sighs, my greatest sufferings. My sorrows and my joys, my little sacrifices, those are my flowers!…Lord, my soul is in love with Your beauty. I want to squander my perfumes and my flowers on You. In strewing them for You on the wings of the breeze, I would like to inflame hearts!…Strewing flowers, Jesus is my weapon when I want to fight to save sinners…The flower petals, caressing Your Face, tell you that my heart is Yours forever. You understand the language of my unpetaled rose, and You smile at my love.” St. Therese of Lisieux (19th century, Doctor of the Church)

“The purpose of man’s creation is the love of God, his Father and Creator.” St. Maximilian Kolbe (19th-20th centuries)