abjection. I am guilty of a blunder; it brings humiliation upon me;
good. I am guilty of immoderate anger; I am sorry for the offence
against God, and very glad that it proves me vile, abject, and
miserable.
235.
If envy could reign in the kingdom of eternal love, the angels would
envy the sufferings of God for man, and the sufferings of man for God.
236.
Do not be troubled about not making acts of virtue well; for, as I told
you, they do not cease to be very good, even when made languidly and
wearily as if by force. You can only give God what you have, and in this
season of affliction you have no other action to offer Him.
237.
You will be very happy if you receive with a filial and loving heart
what our Lord sends you from a heart so paternal in its care of your
perfection.
238.
I will not tell you not to regard your afflictions, for your impulsive
heart will answer, “I cannot but consider them, they make themselves so
keenly felt;” but I tell you to look at them through the cross, and you
will find them so small, or at least so agreeable, that you will rather
endure their suffering than all consolations without them.
239.
Right sadness speaks thus: “I am miserable, vile, and abject;
nevertheless God will exercise his mercy towards me, for virtue will be
perfected in infirmity.”
240.
When our Lord was upon the cross even his enemies declared Him King;
when souls are upon the cross they are declared queens.
241.
Ah! do not examine whether what you do is much or little, whether it is
done well or ill, provided it be not sin, and provided you have an
upright intention to do it for God. Do everything as perfectly as you
can; but, once an action is performed, think no more of it, but rather
of what there is to be done.
242.
We should equally resolve upon two things: first, to bring the utmost
fidelity to the fulfilment of our exercises; second, to be in no way
troubled, disquieted, or astonished if we sometimes fail; for the first
comes from our fidelity, which should always be earnest and constantly
increasing, and the latter comes from our infirmity.
243.
We must, then, correct our poor heart gently and quietly, and not add to
its trouble by the severity of our reprimands. “My heart, my friend,” we
should say, “in the name of God, take courage; let us keep on and be
more watchful in future; let us turn to our Helper and our God.” Alas!
we must be charitable to our poor soul, and refrain from severity as
long as we see that its offences are not deliberate.
244.
Loadstone attracts iron, amber attracts hay and straw; were we hard as
iron, or light as straws, we must unite ourselves to this Sovereign
Infant Jesus, who truly draws all hearts to Him.
245.
The best thoughts, affections, and aspirations of a great soul are fixed
upon the infinitude of eternity; destined as such a soul is for
immortality, it finds all that is not eternal too short, all that is not
infinite too small.
246.
Yes, speak little, and gently, little and well, little and frankly,
little and amiably.
247.
O my God, how beautiful must heaven be, now that the Saviour is its Sun,
and his bosom is a fountain of love where the blessed drink at will!
248.
Each one looks therein and sees his name written in characters of
love—characters which love alone can read, which love alone has graven.
249.
St. John the Baptist, through obedience, kept himself absent from our
Saviour, knowing well that to seek our Saviour outside of obedience was
to lose Him.
250.
I leave you to imagine the good odour which this beautiful lily (the
Blessed Virgin) spreads in the house of Zachary. What could she give
forth but that with which she was filled? And she was filled with Jesus.
251.
My God, I marvel to find that I am so full of myself after so many
communions.
252.
There are two kinds of wills: one says, “I would like very much to do
good; but it costs a disagreeable effort; it is too difficult;” the
other says: “I desire indeed to do good; the will is not wanting, but
the power alone stops me.” The first fills hell, the second paradise,
and it was the latter will which caused Daniel to be called a “man of
desires.”
253.
I pray you, hide your trouble from yourself as much as you can, and if
you feel it, at least do not think about it. You are a little given to
dwelling upon it.
254.
You tell me that it is hard to will to do, and to be unable to do. I do
not say to you that we must will what we can do, but that before God it
is a great deal to be able to will.
255.
What would you do, if you were never to be delivered from your trials?
You would say to God: “I am thine; if my miseries are pleasing to Thee
multiply them, prolong them.” Make friends with your trials, as if you
were always to live together, and you will find that when you no longer
think of them and cease to be anxious, God will deliver you from them.
256.
No, my dear daughter, I am not troubled as long as our resolutions
remain steadfast. Though we were to die, though everything were to be
overturned, what would it matter provided they continued firm?
257.
Our night is as brilliant as our day, when God is in our hearts, and our
day is night when God is absent from us.
258.
A spirit of indifference helps us in all things, even to making us
content during seven weeks, when a father, and a father who loves as I
do, and a daughter, such as you, receive no news of each other.
259.
Let the darkness be what it may, we are near the light. Let our
impotence be what it may, we are at the feet of the All-powerful.
260.
I shall say nothing of the extent of my affection for you, except that
it is incomparable, that it is whiter than the snow, and purer than the
sun.
261.
There is nothing which prevents our attaining the perfection of our
vocation like desiring another.
262.
I beseech you, my dear daughter, do not fear God as you do, for He does
not wish to harm you; love Him fervently, for He wishes to do you a
great deal of good.
263.
Our Lord will cause us to enjoy peace when we shall be sufficiently
humble to sweetly endure war.
264.
Nothing can equal in merit the offering of our sorrows to Him who saved
us by his own.
265.
Dwell very little upon the mixture of self-love in your actions; we
should pay no attention to these sallies of self. When we disavow them
two or three times a day we have done all that is required. Nor must we
violently resist them; a gentle denial is sufficient.
266.
The whole world is not worth a soul, and a soul is worth nothing without
its resolutions. We need not be troubled because we are weak, if by
trusting in the power and mercy of God we never lose courage; on the
contrary, my daughter, I would rather be weak than strong before God,
for He takes the weak in his arms, and the strong He leads by the hand.
267.
Believe me, we advance through stormy weather, and under a dark and
cloudy sky. It is a better time for travellers than if the sun poured
its ardent heat upon us. Courage! light and joy are not within our
power, nor any consolation except that which depends upon the will; but
while that will is protected by our holy resolutions, and as long as the
great seal of the heavenly chancery remains upon our hearts, we have
nothing to fear.
268.
Those who spiritually digest Jesus Christ feel that Jesus Christ who is
their food is diffused through every part of soul and body. They have
Jesus in their mind, in their heart, in their breast, in their eyes, in
their hands, in their tongue, in their ears, in their feet. But what
does this Saviour do in all these parts? He redresses, purifies, prunes,
and vivifies all; the heart loves through Him, the mind understands
through Him, the breast breathes through Him, the eyes see through Him,
the tongue speaks through Him. Then we can say, “We live now, not we,
but Christ Jesus liveth in us.” I show you to what we must aspire though
we must be content to attain it by degrees.
269.
Let us keep ourselves humble and go to Holy Communion boldly; we shall
gradually become accustomed to this heavenly food and learn to digest it
to our profit.
270.
Charity, so far from searching for evil, fears to meet it; if she
encounter it, she turns away and appears not to see it. She will shut
her eyes rather than meet it.
271.
Oh! happy is the mind which sees but two objects, God and self, one of
which enraptures it with a sovereign delight, and the other abases it to
the extremest abjection.
272.
If what we are doing be necessary, even though it distract our attention
from God, we need not be troubled. We are taught to do all our actions
for God, and by so doing we keep ourselves in his presence. Beware of
thinking it necessary to offer each action to our Lord, for that would
interfere with the simplicity of the practice of the Presence of God.
273.
Oh! I pray you, do not fall into the fault of considering the
imperfections of others, for it will retard your perfection very much
and will injure your soul.
274.
My dear daughter, we must flay the victim if we would have it acceptable
to God. In the Old Law, God would accept no victim as a holocaust if it
had not first been flayed; in like manner our hearts can never be
immolated and sacrificed to God until they shall have been flayed,
stripped of their old skin, that is, of their habits, inclinations,
repugnances, and superfluous affections.
275.
An act of mortification performed with great repugnance is infinitely
suited to strongly advance you in perfection.
276.
My daughters, do not deprive yourselves of Holy Communion because of
bitterness of heart; but when you feel it you must draw near to God, to
strengthen your heart and unite it to his spirit of meekness.
277.
To pray is to raise the mind to God and converse with Him concerning our
interests with a reverent familiarity, and a confidence greater than has
the most petted child in its mother, and to talk with Him of all things
both high and low, of the things of heaven and the things of earth; it
is to open one’s heart to Him and pour it out unreservedly to Him; it is
to tell Him of our labours, our sins, our desires, and all that is in
our soul, and to find our rest with Him as we would with a friend. It is
what the Holy Scripture calls “pouring forth one’s heart as water before
Him.”
278.
All should serve charity and charity should serve no one, not even her
Beloved, of whom she is not the servant, but the spouse, and to whom she
owes love, not service.
279.
Be patient with your trials; our Lord, alas! permits them that you may
one day know what you are when left to yourself. Do you not see that the
trouble of the day is lighter after the rest of the night? an evident
sign that our soul needs but to firmly resign itself to its God, and to
become indifferent to serving Him amid thorns or roses.
280.
Be a little lamb, a little dove, quite simple, sweet, and amiable,
unquestioning and frank. Love this good God who loves you so much.
281.
Be not too tender towards yourself; avoid weeping and complaints;
endeavour to be free and detached from yourself, in order to be wholly
under the guidance of God’s hand, for where his spirit is there is also
liberty.
282.
I see your childish tears and troubles. Know, then, that all our
childishness comes from this: that we forget the maxims of the saints,
who warn us that we must act as if we were daily to begin anew the
labour of our advancement; we shall not be so much astonished to find
miseries and faults to correct in ourselves. The work we have undertaken
is never finished; we must continually begin over again with a good
heart.
283.
There is and can be nothing which I cannot do, inasmuch as I place all
my confidence in God, who can do all things, and with this confidence
the soul courageously undertakes all that it is commanded, however
difficult it may be.
284.
Live joyously, my dearest daughters, in the midst of your holy
occupations. When the atmosphere is heavy in the midst of aridity,
labour independently of your heart by the practice of a holy abjection
and humility.
285.
We shall never possess perfect sweetness and complete charity, if they
be not exercised in spite of repugnance, aversion, and disgust. True
peace does not consist in not combating but in conquering.
286.
It should be a source of humiliation to us that we are so little master
of ourselves, and so fond of our ease. Our Saviour did not come to seek
his ease or comfort, either spiritual or temporal, but to deny, to
combat Himself, and to die.
287.
Do not allow yourself to yield in any way to sadness, which is the enemy
to devotion. What, then, should sadden a soul which serves Him who shall
be our joy forever?
288.
Our Lord revealed to Blessed Angela that there is no good so pleasing to
Him as that which is done by force; that is, the good which a resolute
will effects and offers Him by working against the weight of the flesh,
and the repugnances in the inferior part of the soul, and in spite of
sadness, aridity, and interior desolation.
289.
What can I say to you on the return of your miseries, save that as the
enemy returns we must resume our arms and bring back our courage, in
order to fight more valiantly than ever?
290.
Beware of yielding to any kind of distrust, for the heavenly goodness
does not permit you to fall in order to abandon you, but to humble you,
and teach you to keep a firmer and closer hold of the hand of his mercy.
291.
What happiness to serve God in the desert without manna, without water,
with no consolation save that of being under his guidance, and suffering
for Him!
292.
When you meet with some contradiction, take your resolutions and place
them in the wounds of our Lord, and pray Him to preserve them and you
with them; then wait in these blessed retreats until the tempest has
past.
293.
The throes and pangs of spiritual birth are painful to nature; our souls
must give birth not exteriorly, but interiorly to the sweetest, the most
pleasing, the most beautiful child that could be desired. It is the good
Jesus whom we must form within ourselves. Courage! we must suffer much
that He may be born in us.
294.
You always examine too much to discover whence your sadness comes. We
must not be so curious as to wish to know the cause of the diversity of
states in this life. And in what way shall we show our love for Him who
suffered so much for us, if not by patiently enduring aversions,
repugnances, and struggles?
295.
We must cast our heart among the thorns of difficulties, allow it to be
transpierced with the lance of contradictions, steeped with gall and
vinegar; in a word, feed on absinthe and bitterness, since God wills it.
296.
I desire that you should continue the exercise of getting rid of self by
abandoning yourself to our Lord, to the guide of your soul. Say: “I
earnestly wish it, Lord; tear, wrest from me without hesitation all that
burdens my heart. I except nothing; wrest me from myself! O self! I
abandon thee for ever.”
297.
You must abide like a poor miserable creature before the throne of
Divine Mercy, and remain there wholly stripped of all action and of all
affection to creatures, and make yourself indifferent to all things.
298.
How beautiful it is to renounce esteem of self, to renounce what we are,
our own will, all complacency in the creature, and, in short, all of
self. We must bury this human self in an eternal abandonment, that we
may never more see or know it as we have seen and known it.
299.
The virtues which grow in prosperity are of little value; those which
are born in the midst of afflictions are strong and firm. In this life
God usually allows his children and faithful servants only the honour of
suffering much and carrying their cross after Him.
300.
A heart indifferent to all things is like a ball of wax in the hands of
God, capable of receiving all the impressions of his eternal good
pleasure. It does not place its love in the things which God wills but
in the will of God which decrees them.
301.
To belong wholly to God say adieu to all that is not God.
302.
A monastery is an academy of strict correction, where each one should
allow himself to be treated, planed, and polished so that all the angles
being effaced he may be joined, united, and fastened to the will of God.
303.
It is an evident sign of perfection to wish to be corrected, for the
principal fruit of humility is to show us the need we have of
correction.
304.
Does God look upon you with love? What a subject to be in doubt about!
In his goodness He looks down with love upon the most terrible sinner,
have he never so little true desire to be converted.
305.
When shall we become wholly dead to ourselves in the sight of God, and
live that new life in which we shall no longer wish to do anything of
ourselves, but leave God to do all that He will through us, and let his
living will act upon ours, wholly dead in his love?
306.
Jesus our Heart, our Heart of Hearts, lovingly watches over us.
307.
Rest your spirit upon the stone which was represented by the one beneath
the head of Jacob, for it is the same upon which St. John reposed on the
day when his Master manifested the excess of his love.
308.
Behold St. Peter; fear is a greater evil than the evil which is feared;
it would have caused him to perish in the waters had not his Master
saved him. Oh! child of little faith, fear not! You are walking on the
waters, in the midst of the wind and waves, but it is with Jesus; if
fear seizes you cry loudly, “Lord, save me or I perish!” He will extend
his hand to you; clasp it firmly and go on joyously.
309.
Yes, abandonment to God in interior and exterior suffering is excellent.
Oh! how good it is to live but in God, to work but in God, to rejoice
but in God.
310.
When we are in doubt of not having done our duty, or of having offended
God, we must humble ourselves, beg God to forgive us, and start afresh.
Pure love of God says to us: “Unfaithful one, humble thyself, rely upon
the mercy of God, ask pardon, and after renewed promises of fidelity and
love, continue on in the pursuit of thy perfection.”
311.
I must tell you that you are now dead to the world. This is a part of
the holocaust; there remain two other parts, one of which is to remove
the skin of the victim, divesting your heart of self, cutting off or
getting rid of all the impressions of nature and of creatures; and the
other, to burn and reduce your self-love to ashes, and to convert your
whole soul into flames of heavenly love.
312.
You should be particularly careful to lean wholly to the side of
humility, since you are so much inclined to pride and self-esteem.
313.
Let us humble ourselves and speak of our wounds and miseries at the door
of the temple of divine piety; but remember to show them with joy, and
be perfectly happy to appear in want and despoiled of all things, in
order that our Lord may fill you with his grace.
314.
Be sweet and affable to all except to those who would take from thee thy
glory, which is thy misery and thy absolute poverty: “I glory in my
infirmities,” says the Apostle; “it is good for me to die, rather than
that any man should make my glory void.” See, he would rather die than
lose his infirmities.
315.
Yes, you must keep your misery and lowliness, for God looks down upon
it. Men look at the exterior, God looks at the heart; if He sees the
lowliness of your heart He will give us great graces. This humility
preserves chastity; that is why the soul of the spouse is called the
_Lily of the Valley_.
316.
Keep yourself joyously humble before God, but maintain an equally joyous
humility before the world. Be very glad that men make no account of you.
If you have their esteem laugh at it joyously; if they esteem you not,
console yourself that, as regards you at least, the world judges truly.
317.
I am truly like those fathers who never tire speaking with their
children of means for their advancement. But what shall I say to you to
this end? Be always very lowly; humble yourself more and more every day.
This is true greatness.
318.
I have gotten the habit of recommending all who address themselves to me
to lift up their hearts, as the Church tells us in the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass. A heart thus generously lifted up is always humble, for it is
established in truth and not in vanity; it is sweet and peaceful, for it
makes no account of what could trouble it.
319.
When I say that the heart is sweet and peaceful, I do not mean that it
does not suffer and feel affliction. No, certainly, I do not say that;
but I say that it meets sufferings, trials, and tribulations with such a
strong will to bear them for God, that all its bitterness is full of
peace and tranquillity.
320.
It is a great part of our perfection to bear with one another in our
imperfections. How can we, in fact, practise love for our neighbour, if
not by this forbearance?
321.
Our heart must be kind and gentle towards our neighbour, and full of
affection for him, particularly when he is wearisome and displeasing to
us, for then we find nothing in him to make us love him but respect for
our Saviour.
322.
If your heart be in heaven the winds of the earth cannot move it. No
action of the world can harm him who has renounced the world.
323.
Speak of yourself as little as possible; this I tell you earnestly;
remember it and pay attention to it. If you are imperfect, humble
yourself and do not speak of it.
324.
We must die between the two pillows of humility and confidence.
325.
We must fortify our courage, and never give up because of obstacles, but
fight valiantly, astonished neither at the number of our enemies nor the
duration of the struggle.
326.
Lord, command my soul all that Thou wilt, and give me strength to obey.
Thou hast begun in me the work of my perfection, and I can never doubt
that thy goodness will achieve it, if I faithfully co-operate with Thee.
327.
In what do you think the greatness of courage consists? It is in the
humility of courage, and yours will be greater in proportion to the
humility in which you possess it, that is, in proportion to your little
esteem of yourself.
328.
Recall to mind the words so admirably impressed upon the hearts of the
apostles by our Saviour: “Unless you be converted and become as little
children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Verily, if we
would attain perfection we must be like little children in our courage,
that is, humble, gentle, docile, and easily turned to any purposes.
329.
If you speak, speak of God; if you are silent, speak to God.
330.
I would rather be a gnat by the will of God than a seraph by my own.
331.
Our gentleness with our neighbour must be carried to extreme, even to
foolishness, and we must never retaliate; believe me, if we lose
something by this, our Lord will make it up elsewhere.
332.
Courage, my very dear daughter: behold, you are at last upon the sacred
altar to be sacrificed, immolated, consumed before the face of the
living God. Truly, this day must be counted as one of the days which the
Lord has made.
333.
Ah! how happy are these beloved hearts of my daughters, in having left
for a few years the false liberty of the world to enjoy eternally the
enviable slavery which takes away no liberty, save that which would
prevent us from being truly free.
334.
I know the state of your soul very well, and I seem to see it always
before me with its little emotions of sadness, surprise, and
disquiet—emotions which continue to trouble it, because it has not yet
cast deep enough the foundations of love of the cross and abjection.
335.
No, my dear daughter, it is not necessary to the practice of virtues to
be continually mindful of all of them; that would only embarrass your
thoughts and your affections. Humility and charity are the mother cords
to which all the others are attached: one is the highest, the other the
lowest. The safety of a whole edifice depends upon the foundation and
the roof. These are the mother virtues, which the others follow as
little chickens do the mother hen.
336.
I have just spoken of you with our Lord, but I dare not absolutely ask
for your deliverance; for if it please Him to flay the victim, it is not
for me to desire that He should not; but I implore Him to hold you by
the hand as He has always done.
337.
God be praised! Live, Jesus! We must bear our cross; whoever bears it
best, is through it made the stronger.
338.
There never was a saint who did not experience both ecstasy and rapture
in life and its operations by overcoming himself and his natural
inclinations.
339.
Whoever has a spirit of prayer despatches more business in an hour than
others in several, and wholly at leisure hastens to his rest, which is
to treat with God; but God only communicates Himself to the obedient.
340.