God passes through the thicket of the world, and wherever His glance falls He turns all things to beauty

God passes through the thicket of the world, and wherever His glance falls He turns all things to beauty

Saint John of the Cross, a Spanish mystic and poet, is known for his profound spiritual insights and poetic expressions of divine love. One of his most famous quotes is, “God passes through the thicket of the world, and wherever His glance falls He turns all things to beauty.” This quote encapsulates the essence of Saint John of the Cross’s teachings on the transformative power of God’s love and presence in the world.

In the context of Saint John of the Cross’s writings, the “thicket of the world” represents the complexities and challenges of human existence. It symbolizes the struggles, suffering, and darkness that we encounter in our lives. However, Saint John of the Cross believed that God’s presence is always there, even in the midst of the thicket. God’s gaze has the power to transform even the most difficult and painful experiences into moments of beauty and grace.

For Saint John of the Cross, the key to experiencing this transformation is surrendering to God’s will and allowing His love to work in and through us. By opening ourselves up to God’s presence and allowing His gaze to fall upon us, we can be transformed from within. This process of transformation is often described as a “dark night of the soul,” where the soul is purified and refined through the trials and tribulations of life.

Through this process of purification, the soul becomes more receptive to God’s love and grace, and is able to see the beauty and goodness that exists in all things. Saint John of the Cross believed that God’s love has the power to illuminate even the darkest corners of our lives and turn them into sources of light and beauty.