Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love. - Saint John of the Cross
—What lingers after this line?
Cycle of Love
This quote emphasizes the reciprocative nature of love. By giving love selflessly, even in places where it might be lacking, one can inspire others to respond with love in return.
Transformative Power of Love
It highlights the transformative power of love. When one introduces love into a loveless situation, it has the potential to change the environment and the people within it positively.
Self-Initiated Change
The statement encourages taking the initiative to be the source of love rather than waiting for it to emerge naturally. It promotes proactive love, suggesting that changes in relationships and environments start with one's own actions.
Spiritual Teaching
Saint John of the Cross, a Spanish mystic and friar, often wrote about the profound impact of divine love. This quote reflects his belief in the spiritual duty to spread love as a path to experiencing God's presence and grace.
Unconditional Love
The quote suggests the practice of unconditional love—offering love without expecting anything in return. This kind of love has the potential to inspire and heal even the coldest hearts.
Interpersonal Relationships
It also speaks to the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, where expressing love can break through barriers of indifference or hostility, fostering a more compassionate and understanding community.
Recommended Reading
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
One-minute reflection
Where does this idea show up in your life right now?
Related Quotes
6 selectedWe might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it's our garden that is really nurturing us. — Jenny Uglow
Jenny Uglow
At first glance, Jenny Uglow’s remark seems to describe a simple exchange: we water, weed, and prune, and the garden flourishes. Yet her deeper point is a reversal of ownership and care.
Read full interpretation →In the quiet of our own hearts, we find the strength to hold space for others, and in doing so, we find our own belonging. — Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers begins with an inward movement, suggesting that strength does not always arrive through force or performance but through quiet reflection. In the stillness of our own hearts, we become more aware of our fears...
Read full interpretation →Real craftsmanship, regardless of the skill involved, reflects real caring, and real caring reflects our attitude about ourselves, about our fellowmen, and about life. — Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball’s statement begins by reframing craftsmanship as something deeper than technical competence.
Read full interpretation →Sharpen your mind with action and temper your will with mercy — C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis’s line works like a paired instruction: cultivate a mind that cuts cleanly, and shape a will that does not crush.
Read full interpretation →Lasting change requires compassion alongside courage, not punishment disguised as self-improvement. — Brené Brown
Brené Brown
Brené Brown’s line challenges the common belief that harshness is the fastest route to transformation. Instead, she argues that durable change is built from two forces working together: the courage to face what must shif...
Read full interpretation →Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion. — Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield’s line begins with a quiet reversal: rather than escaping sorrow and wounds, he suggests healing starts when we face them directly. The word “only” is doing important work here—it implies that avoidance ma...
Read full interpretation →More From Author
More from Saint John of the Cross →