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.
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.
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 terriblesinner, have he never so little true desire to be converted.
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?
Jesus our Heart, our Heart of Hearts, lovingly watches over us.
Rest your spirit upon the stone which was represented by the onebeneath 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.
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.
Yes, abandonment to God in interiorand exterior suffering is excellent. Oh! how good it is to live but in God, to work but in God, to rejoice but in God.
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.”
I must tell you that you are nowdead 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.
You should be particularly careful to lean wholly to the side of humility, since you are so much inclined to pride and self-esteem.
Let us humble ourselves and speakof 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.
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 theLily of the Valley.
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 yourselfthat, as regards you at least, the world judges truly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In what do you think the greatnessof 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.
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.
I would rather be a gnat by the will of God than a seraph by my own.
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.
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.
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.
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—emotionswhich continue to trouble it, because it has not yet cast deep enough the foundations of love of the cross and abjection.
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.
God be praised! Live, Jesus! We must bear our cross; whoever bears it best, is through it made the stronger.
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.
Never lose your interior peace for anything, whatever it may be, even though everything be overturned about you; for what are all the things of this life compared to peace of heart?
Under all circumstances, be invariable in the resolution to adhere with great simplicity and unity toGod, by a perfectly trustful love, abandoning yourself to the mercy of love and the paternal care which His Providence has of you.
Remain unalterable in a holy nudity of spirit, never assuming any care, desire, affection, or pretension whatever. Our Lord loves you, He wishes you to be wholly his; let no arms but his support you, rest upon no other breast but his.
We must descend to earth to regulate the necessities of this life, but in all things our heart should relish only the dew of God’s pleasure, and refer all to the praise of God.
344.
If we love our sweet Saviour let us feed his lambs, since it is a mark of faithful love;—but with what must we feed these dear sheep? With love itself, for they will either not live at all, or they will live upon love.
He who would lay up virtues without humility is like one who carries a precious dust in his hand exposed to the wind. The great secret of maintaining true devotion is to have great humility. Be humble and God will be with you. God is pleased to dwell in a heart deepened by humility, docile through simplicity, and great through charity. He who is trulyhumble desires to be humbled. Humility produces generosity. Remember, my dear daughter, that the keenest humiliations are those which are least visible.
We must change from one place to another without changing our love or the object of our love. Be indifferent to all occupation in the midst of different occupations. Be uninfluenced by affairs, and remain equally for God in all things.
How happy we shall be if one day we change self into that holy love which shall make us one, and entirely free us from all complexity of affairs, so that we shall have at heart onlythe sovereign unity of his Holy Trinity.
Curiosity, ambition, restlessness, and forgetfulness of the end for which we are in this world are the cause of our having more impediments than works, more bustle than business, more undertakings than results. And these incumbrances, these superfluous occupations with which we burden ourselves, are what divert us from God, and not the legitimate exercise of our employments.
Our perfection must be true and solid. For example, though anger is raging within me, though my bloodboils, I will not cease to be as gracious and gentle as it is possible to be, and all the reasons which nature urges for its release I will strangle as she presents them, I will not listen to one of them. This is true virtue, true gentleness. Ah! God gives you occasion to practise patience. Would you let it escape you? Perhaps you may never in life meet with such another opportunity.
Courage, my poor mind! Let us reject all discourse, research, inquiry; let us become more simple, and be rid of this tiresome care of self; let us confine ourselves to the simple view of God and our own nothingness. Let us steadily lean upon the resultsof the sovereign will, even when we fall, for the dear Jesus will give us the necessary sentiments. O mind, one is never wholly master of thee.... Thou wouldst know all in spite of us. O my God, stop this miserable wanderer!
The saints did not abound so much in sensible sentiments, they worked according to the lights and truths of faith. Ah! let us be ever wholly detached from everything before God, taking no trouble for what comes to us. Let all that is not God be as nothing to us. Let us contemplate the infinite goodness of God and forget ourselves. Let us immolate all our affections to Jesus Christ.
352.
Condescending to the humour of others, bearing with rudeness and tiresome manners on the part of our neighbour, victories over our own humours and passions, renouncing our smallest inclinations, efforts against our aversions and repugnances, a continual endeavour to maintain the peace of our soul, a kind and amiable manner of receiving censures upon our condition, our life, our conversation, are all more fruitful to our soul than we can imagine, provided love for God be the motive which animates us.
Whenever I enter a place consecrated to our august Queen, I experience a thrill of love which tellsme that I am with my mother, for I feel that I am the child of her who is called the refuge of sinners.
Away from me those who love severity, for I will have none of it! It is better to be obliged to account to God for too much gentleness than too much severity. Is not God all love? God the Father is the father of the wretched; God the Son is called a lamb; God the Holy Ghost manifests Himself under the form of a dove. If there were anything better than benignity Jesus Christ would have told us, and yet He gives us but two lessons to learn of Him—meekness and humility.
The passport of the daughters ofJesus Christ is peace. The joy of the daughters of Our Lady is peace. We must always be at peace. Know that the virtue of patience is that which most assures us perfection; and if we are to be patient with others, we must be equally so with ourselves. May Jesus be in the midst of thy heart, and thy heart in the midst of Jesus! May Jesus live in thy heart, and thy heart in Jesus! Amen.
Great saints never are guilty of mortal sin, but only of useless, ill-timed, imprudent, and rude actions; slight acts of impatience, slight excesses of joy, of mirth, slight failings in vanity, and other like faults are useless movements and irregularitiesinto which the just fall seven times—that is, very often.
If I want only pure water, what does it matter whether it be brought me in a vase of gold or glass? What is it to me whether the will of God be presented to me in tribulation or consolation, since I desire and seek only the divine will?
A heart indifferent to all things is like a ball of wax in the hands of God, to receive all the impressions of his eternal good pleasure, a heart with no choice, disposed for all things, placing its affection, not in the thingswhich God wills, but in the will of God which decrees them.
Paradise is no more pleasing than the miseries of this world, if the divine good pleasure be equally in the miseries as in paradise. Labour is paradise, if the divine will be found in it, and paradise labour, if the divine will be not in it.
The divine good pleasure is the sovereign object of the detached soul; wherever it sees it, it runs in the odour of its perfumes, unceasingly seeks the places where it most abounds, regardless of all other things.
361.
In the monastery of the devout life each one considers himself a novice, and a lifetime is devoted to a probation according to the rule of the order; it is not the solemnity of the vows but their fulfilment which makes novices professed.
He who ardently loves God does not turn back his gaze upon himself to discover what he is doing, but keeps his heart occupied with God, the object of his love. A heavenly chorister takes so much delight in pleasing God, that he desires no pleasure from the melody of his voice, save as it is pleasing to his Sovereign.
363.
There is nothing so sad as to serve a master who knows nothing of our devotion, or who, if he knows it, gives no sign of being satisfied with it; and it must be a strong love which sustains itself alone, unsupported by any pleasure or aspiration. Thus does it happen in the exercises of sacred love; like deaf choristers we do not hear our own voice, on the contrary, we are oppressed by a thousand fears, and by the uproar which the devil makes about our heart, suggesting that we are not pleasing to our Master, that our love is useless, yea, even false and vain. Oh, my dear Theotime! it is then we must manifest an invincible fidelity to our Saviour, serving Him purelyfor love of his will, not only without pleasure, but in the midst of this deluge of sadness, terrors, alarms, and temptations.
No, Lord, I wish for no event; for I leave Thee to will it for me as Thou pleasest; but instead of wishing for events I bless Thee for those Thou has ordained. Father, I am thine. I know not what I should wish; it is for Thee to will and do for me all that shall seem to Thee good. “My Father truly loves me, and I am wholly his.”
O Jesus! be my sweetness and my honey; sweeten my heart by the sweetness of thine.
366.
To whom is He not good, this Sovereign Love of hearts? Those who taste of his sweetness can never be sated therewith, and those who approach His heart cannot contain their own with praising and blessing Him for ever. Continue to unite yourself more and more to this dear Saviour. Bury your heart in the charity of his, and let us say with all our heart: “May I die and Jesus live; this shall be a happy death if it take place in this life.” May you be blessed with the benediction which the Divine Goodness has prepared for hearts which abandon themselves a prey to his sacred and holy love.
367.
You must bow your head and bear yourself contrary to your habits or inclinations. Live humbly before God, amiably with your neighbour, and sweetly with yourself.
Cast your thoughts earnestly upon the shoulders of the Saviour, and He will support and strengthen you. When He calls you to a kind of service which is contrary to your taste, your courage should not be less, but rather more than if your taste concurred with his pleasure, for where there is least of self the work goes best. Do not permit your mind to consider itself, its powers, its inclinations. You must keep your eyesfixed upon the good pleasure of God, and upon Providence.
We must not amuse ourselves with discoursing when we should run, nor with chatting about difficulties when we should conquer them. Say courageously: “I will do much; not I, but the grace of God which is within me.”
Hold the cross of our Lord upon your breast, and as long as you firmly clasp it in your arms, the enemy will be at your feet.
Ah! how I would like to see youalways transfigured in our Lord! Oh! how beautiful is his face, how sweet his eyes in their wonderful gentleness, and how good it is to be with Him on the mount of glory! It is there we should lodge our affections, and not on this earth, where there is nothing but empty beauty and false vanity.
May God give you strength to break the ties which prevent you from following the heavenly attractions of your heart! Ah! it is sad to see a little bee in the treacherous coils of a spider, but if a favourable wind of grace break these wretched fetters, these unfortunate meshes, why does not this dear bee hasten todisentangle itself and proceed to the making of its sweet honey.
The sting of honey-bees is much more dangerous than that of other bees, and so the machinations of friends against us are exceedingly hard to bear; but we must endure them, bear with them, and finally love them as dear contradictions. We must absolutely, invariably, and inviolably desire only God. But the means of serving Him should be the object of a very feeble desire on our part, so that if one means be taken from us we shall not be greatly affected thereby. Our desire for everything which is not God should be very weak and indifferent.
374.
When we are ill in body we must exact of our minds only acts of submission and acceptance of labour, and acts uniting our will with the good pleasure of God, which acts are formed in the superior part of the soul. As to exterior actions, we must perform them as best we can, even though it be languidly, heavily, and against our inclinations; and to make them acceptable to Divine Love, we must acknowledge, accept, and cherish the holy abjection of our state. In this way you will change the lead of your languor into gold, and that, too, finer gold than your heart could offer in its brightest and happiest moments.
375.
It seems to me that I see your heart before me like a dial placed in the sun, which never moves, while its needle and balance are continually in motion, ever turning towards the beautiful planet; for your heart in like manner remains motionless, while your will is continually turning by means of its good desires towards God.
How is your poor heart? Is it always valiant and vigilant against attacks of sadness? In God’s name, do not torment it, even though it wander a little; reprove it gently, and bring it back to the path. You will see that this heart will becomea true heart, according to the Heart of God.
Think of that great dereliction which our Master endured, and see how this dear Son, having asked consolation of his good Father, and seeing that He willed not to grant it, thought of it no more, ceased to seek it, but, as if He had never desired it, valiantly and courageously set about the work of our redemption. After you shall have prayed to your Heavenly Father for consolation, if it does not please Him to give it you, cease to think of it, but renew your courage to work out your salvation on the cross, as if you were never to descend therefrom.
378.
O my God! how beautiful, how lovely is this cross! We make every effort to obtain the wood, and we exalt it on the Mount of Calvary. Alas! happy are those who love it and bear it. It will be exalted in heaven, when our Lord shall come to judge the living and the dead, to teach us that heaven is the mansion of crucified souls.
I love independent, vigorous, and sensible souls; for this great sensibility confuses and disquiets the heart, and distracts it from the prayer of loving attention to God, preventscomplete resignation, and impedes the perfect destruction of self-love. I am the most affectionate person in the world; and it seems to me that I love nothing but God, and all souls for God.
When a soul aspires to be the spouse of Jesus Christ, it must cast off the old man and clothe itself in the new, by giving up sin, and then cutting off from its life all the superfluities which could divert it from divine love.
As the exercise of purity of heartends only with life, let us not be troubled at sight of our imperfections. Our perfection consists in combating them, and we cannot combat or vanquish them without feeling and knowing them.
Our Lord is the mysterious tree of desire of which the holy spouse of the canticle speaks. It is to his feet, then, that we must go to breathe a sweeter air, howsoever little the heart may be oppressed by the atmosphere of the world.
We desire to build a great edifice,that is, to erect God’s dwelling within us; therefore let us consider whether we have sufficient courage to ruin ourselves, or to let God raze us to the ground that He may rebuild us into a living temple of his Majesty.
Our sole pretentions should be to be united to God, as our Lord was united to his Father when He died on the cross.
Desire nothing, ask nothing, refuse nothing; this practice contains all perfection.
386.
There is a certain simplicity of heart which contains the perfection of all perfections; and it is this simplicity which makes our soul consider God alone, and keep its forces wholly collected within itself, in order to devote itself with all possible fidelity to the observance of his laws, with no wish or desire for anything else.
Recall yourself sometimes to the interior solitude of your heart, and there, removed from all creatures, treat of the affairs of your salvation and your perfection with God, as afriend would speak heart to heart with another.
We retire into God because we aspire to Him, and we aspire to Him that we may retire into Him. Thus the retirement of the heart and the aspiration towards God are one the effect of the other.
Our will can never die, but it sometimes passes beyond the limits of its ordinary life to live wholly in the divine will. This is accomplished when it will not and cannot anylonger will anything, but abandons itself without reserve to the good pleasure of Providence: it no longer lives, but the will of God lives in it.
Let us be earnestly attentive to blessing God for all that He shall do, saying: “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” No, Lord, I desire nothing; for I leave Thee to will for me wholly as Thou pleasest; instead of wishing for anything, I bless Thee for what Thou shalt decree.
Hast thou fallen into the net ofadversity? Look not at thy misfortunes, or the snares into which thou art taken, but turn to God and leave all to Him. He will care for thee.
We should peacefully abide in our misery and abjection, in the midst of our imperfections and weakness until it shall please God to raise us to the practice of great virtues.
We must live in this world as if our mind were in heaven and our body in the tomb.
394.
Choose the best virtues and not those which are most esteemed; the most excellent, and not the most apparent; the most solid, and not the most fanciful.
If anger or pride attack me, I must do all in my power to incline my heart to humility and meekness, devoting to that end my spiritual exercises, the sacraments and the other virtues.
Do not limit your patience to certain trials, but extend it universally to all that God shall send you, or permit to reach you through any source.
397.
A truly patient man bears, with the same evenness of temper, ignominious trials and those which are honourable. As the sting of bees is more painful than that of flies, so the contradictions we experience at the hands of good people are more trying than those which come from the wicked.
Complain as little as possible of injuries, for it rarely happens that one complains without sin, since our self-love exaggerates in our eyes and hearts the wrongs we have received.
You wish absolutely to form JesusChrist in you, in your heart, in your works, by a sincere love of his doctrine and a perfect imitation of his life; rest assured it will cost you many pangs; but they will pass away, and the presence of Jesus, who shall live in you, will fill your soul with an ineffable joy which can never be taken from you.
Think frequently of Jesus crucified; consider Him covered with wounds, filled with sadness, despoiled of everything, loaded with maledictions. Then you will acknowledge that your sufferings can in no way compare with his, and that never shall you endure anything in the least degree approaching what He suffered for you.
401.
God’s great desire is that we should be perfect, to unite ourselves with Him by the perfect imitation of his sanctity. “Be you therefore perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
Live Jesus!God be Praised.M. H. Gill & Son, Printers, Dublin.
Live Jesus!God be Praised.M. H. Gill & Son, Printers, Dublin.
Live Jesus!
God be Praised.
M. H. Gill & Son, Printers, Dublin.
Transcriber’s Notes
Transcriber’s Notes
Transcriber’s Notes