“The Christian…must keep in mind, that the value of his good works, fasting, almsgiving…and prayers, does not depend on their number and nature, but on the love which moves him to perform them for God; and that they are then most perfect when they are wrought in the most pure and sincere love of God, and with the least regard to our own present and future interests, to joy and sweetness, consolation and praise.”
John of the Cross (1542-1591) in The Ascent of Mount Carmel (London: Thomas Baker, 1906) 323.