Part 2

I approve of your making an act of humility every day, humbling yourself to an inferior, performing some menial office in the house.

107.

It is not possible that you should so soon be mistress of your soul, or that you should control it so absolutely at first.

108.

Dispose your soul to tranquillity in the morning, and be careful during the day to recall it frequently to that state, and to keep your soul within your control.

109.

Do not be terrified if you are guilty of some little impatience; do not let it trouble you, but when you recognise it quietly humble yourself before God.

110.

Try to preserve a sweet tranquillity of mind; say to your soul: “Courage! we have made a false step, but let us keep steadily on and keep watch over ourselves.”

111.

Make no account of the judgments of men.

112.

Be silent concerning all things, and you will have interior peace, because for you and me the only secret of acquiring this peace is to endure to the utmost the judgments of men.

113.

Consider for whom you labour, and those who strive to trouble you shall labour in vain.

114.

Among beggars, those whose sores are the most terrible consider themselves the most fortunate, for they excite more compassion and receive more abundant alms. We are only beggars, and the most miserable among us are the most fortunate, for these God looks upon with greater compassion.

115.

Be glad that men make no account of you.

116.

Consider how all the vexations of the past have vanished; those of the future shall vanish in the same way.

117.

The great point of humility is to see, to honour, to serve, and converse fittingly with those whom we dislike, keeping ourselves humble, gentle, and submissive to them, for remember that the humiliations which are the least visible are the keenest.

118.

Let our Lord turn us to the left or to the right, and send us in a hundred directions. He never abandons us but to get closer possession of us; He never leaves us but to guard us better; He never struggles with us but to enter our souls and bless us.

119.

Courage! Let us keep on in the low valleys of the small and humble virtues. I love these three little virtues: gentleness of heart, firmness of mind, and simplicity of life.

120.

I recommend to you more than anything else the exercise of holy gentleness and sweetness in all the events of this life.

121.

Accustom yourself in all that you do to act and speak gently and quietly, and you will see that in three or four years you will completely control that abrupt impulsiveness.

122.

He who can preserve peace in the midst of the confusion and complexity of business, and sweetness in the midst of suffering, is almost perfect.

123.

I recommend to you great evenness of temper, sweetness and gentleness of heart; for these virtues, like the oil of a lamp, maintain the flame of good example; for there is nothing more edifying to our neighbour than charitable kindliness.

124.

When shall we be wholly imbued with sweetness and gentleness towards our neighbour? You needed only that; your zeal was good, but it had this fault; it was a little bitter, over-urgent, and captious.

125.

Raise your eyes to heaven, and among the mortals now immortal there you will not find one who attained eternal happiness but through continual afflictions and trouble.

126.

Let us humble ourselves profoundly, and acknowledge that if God be not our shield and armour, we shall be pierced through and through with every kind of sin.

127.

I desire that you should be extremely lowly and humble in your own eyes, condescending and gentle as a dove.

128.

Do not be quick to speak; say much by a modest and judicious silence.

129.

Behold God in all things without exception, acquiescing in all his commands with great simplicity.

130.

Say frequently, in the midst of your contradictions and sufferings: This is the path to heaven; I behold the gate, and I am sure that the storms will not prevent my reaching it.

131.

Take no trouble on account of what the world thinks of you; despise its good opinion and its contempt, and let it say what it will of good or evil.

132.

Do not think that our Lord is further from you in the midst of turmoil.... It is not tranquillity which brings Him to our hearts, but the fidelity of our love.

133.

From day to day withdraw your heart from all kinds of amusement and vanity, ... from all that turns you from a blessed eternity.

134.

I desire to love God or die; death or love, for life without love is worse than death.

135.

O God! it is towards Thee that I am sailing.... We reach the port through all storms, provided we have an upright heart, a good intention, firm courage, our eyes fixed upon God, and all our confidence in Him.

136.

Do not be vexed at the annoyances which come from the complexity of business; believe me, true virtue is not nourished in exterior repose any more than good fish in stagnant water.

137.

Keep your hearts well under control, beware of over-anxiety. Place your confidence in the providence of our Lord. Be fully convinced that heaven and earth shall pass away rather than that our Lord shall fail to protect you while you are his obedient daughter, or, at least, desirous to obey Him.

138.

Live wholly in our Lord, let Him be the atmosphere in which your heart breathes at ease.

139.

Give particular attention to the practice of gentleness, study every pulsation of your heart, and if it be not gentle, make it so before all things.

140.

I desire that upon all occasions during the day you should interiorly recollect yourself in God, addressing Him a few words of fidelity and love.

141.

Believe me, God loves souls shaken by storms, provided they receive all from his hands and valiantly strive to remain faithful in the midst of combats.

142.

One of the best penances and satisfactions which a heart guilty of some fault can offer is to endure a continual cross and abnegation of its self-love.

143.

It gives me an incomparable pleasure to think of the great honour it is for a soul to speak heart to heart with its God—that great, sovereign infinite Being—yes, for what the heart says to God is known only to God Himself. Is not this a marvellous secret!

144.

When we pray it is well to think that there is no one in the world but God.

145.

The great secret in prayer is simply to follow the attractions of the heart. We must go on in good faith and with pure intention to reach God, to love Him, and unite ourselves to Him. True love has little method.

146.

You should be so in love with God that even though you can do nothing in his presence, you should nevertheless be glad to be near Him, were it only to see Him and look at Him from time to time.

147.

When your heart is distracted in prayer, bring it gently back to the point from which it has wandered, and lay it tenderly at the feet of its Master. If you do but this your hour will be well employed.

148.

If we can speak to our Lord in prayer let us speak to Him, praise Him, listen to Him. If we cannot speak because we are spiritually hoarse, let us stay nevertheless and make Him a reverence.

149.

What a happiness it is to be with God, no one knowing what passes between God and the heart but God Himself and the adoring heart.

150.

I should like to have a good hammer with which to blunt the sharpness of your mind, which is too subtle in its ideas of your advancement. I have often told you that in devotion we must go on in good faith, acting frankly and promptly. If you do well, praise God; if ill, humble yourself.

151.

Humble yourself profoundly, and urge on your soul with the love of Christ crucified, that you may be able to spiritually digest this heavenly food.

152.

He who communicates according to the spirit of the Spouse annihilates himself before God, saying to our Lord: Destroy me, annihilate me, and convert me into Thee; then it is no longer we who live, but Jesus Christ, who liveth in us.

153.

When the mother pearl has received the drops of the fresh morning dew it draws within itself and closes its shell to preserve them fresh; in like manner, when you have received the Blessed Sacrament, withdraw into yourself and collect all the faculties of your soul to adore this sovereign King, and relish by a lively faith the spiritual refreshment which this Divine Germ produces in your breast.

154.

Take your rest as much as possible near the heavenly Infant. See how He receives the breath of that great ox and that ass, which neither feel his presence nor show it by any movement. Will He not then receive the inspirations of our poor hearts?

155.

How happy we should be had we only Jesus in our understanding, only Jesus in our imagination! Jesus would be in us everywhere, and we everywhere in Jesus.

156.

We should manage our years, our months, our weeks, our days, our hours, our moments so well that, being employed for the love of God, they all may be profitable to us for eternal life.

157.

Shall we not, in future, cease to be the old selves, which shall all, without exception, be for ever sacrificed unreservedly and unconditionally to God and his love?

158.

When you encounter things which give you trouble, remember that the saints cheerfully did greater and more troublesome tasks, and encourage yourself by their example.

159.

A person who is free from the fever of her own will is satisfied with everything, provided God be served. She is indifferent to the nature of the service which God chooses to give her.

160.

Frequently say to our Lord: What wilt Thou that I do? Is it Thy will that I should serve Thee in the most lowly duties of the house? Provided I serve Thee, I care not what the service may be.

161.

Love this good God in your retreats, in Holy Communion, and when He consoles you; love Him particularly in the midst of trouble and confusion, in aridity, contradictions, and tribulations; for it was thus He loved you in the midst of the scourging, the nails, the thorns, the darkness of Calvary.

162.

The monastery is a hospital of spiritual sick who desire to be cured, and to this end submit themselves to the knife, to the lancet, to be burned, to be bled, and to all kinds of bitter remedies. O my very dear daughter, firmly resolve that you will submit to all this, and pay no attention to what self-love may urge to the contrary, but sweetly, amiably, and lovingly take the blessed resolution: to die or to be cured.

163.

Must you be disquieted and troubled because of difficulties? Oh, by no means. It is the devil who is ferreting and spying about your mind, to see if he cannot find some door open to him.

164.

You are right not to care what is said of you; you who belong to God should not think of reputation. Let God dispose of our life, our reputation, and our honour as He pleases, since they are all his. If our humiliations be his glory, are we not glorified?

165.

When you meet with contradictions or afflictions through anyone, beware of yielding to complaints, but compel your heart to suffer tranquilly; if some sudden outburst of impatience escape you, bring your heart back to sweetness and peace.

166.

See, my daughter, we are too fastidious in calling poor a state in which we endure neither hunger, nor cold, nor ignominy, but merely some inconvenience in our plans.

167.

Gradually temper the vivacity of your mind to patience, sweetness, humility, and affability, in the midst of the silliness and imperfections of your sisters.

168.

Nothing gives us profound tranquillity in this world but to frequently look upon our Lord in all his sufferings. In comparison with all that He endured, we shall see that we are wrong to call the little accidents which we encounter afflictions, and that we do not need patience for things so trifling, since a little modesty would suffice to make us bear well all that happens to us.

169.

We must never answer temptations, nor appear to hear the enemy. If he is noisy, patience! we must prostrate ourselves before God and remain at his feet. He will understand that we want his assistance, though we may not be able to speak.

170.

Believe me, my dear daughter, sweets engender worms in little children; that is why our Lord mixes bitter with the sweet for us. We must have a great courage, which on all occasions will resolutely cry, God be praised! caring little for sweet or bitter, light or darkness. Let us keep on in this essential love.

171.

God desires that you serve Him without relish or feeling, in the midst of aversions and afflictions of mind. This service will not give you satisfaction, but it will content Him; it will not be to your taste but it will be to his.

172.

God is so good that He will visit your soul interiorly, and strengthen and establish it in solid humility, simplicity, and mortification.

173.

Let us always keep on; however slow our progress we are getting over a great deal of the road. God wishes that our misery should be the throne of his mercy.

174.

Keep your heart brave and ready for any service that shall be imposed upon it; according as you undertake many things for God, He will second you and work with you.

175.

Have the heart of a child; a will of wax, and a mind free from the slavery of all affection.

176.

Oh, what a great blessing it is, my daughter, to be pliable and easily turned to any service. Our Lord has taught us this submission by his example, as much as by his words.

177.

He who is very attentive to please the heavenly lover has no leisure for introspection; his mind continually tends whither love leads him.

178.

This exercise of the continual abandonment of one’s self to the hands of God includes in the most excellent manner all other exercises in their greatest simplicity, purity, and perfection, and while God leaves us the desire for it we should not change it.

179.

Simplicity is an act of charity pure and simple, which considers only God. It looks straight at God, and can suffer no mixture of self-interest nor intermingling of creatures; God alone is its object.

180.

We should bear tenderly with those whom our Lord bears with, we must bow our heads, and bear ourselves contrary to our habits and inclinations.

181.

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.

182.

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.

183.

Great evenness of temper, continual gentleness and suavity of heart, are more rare than perfect chastity, yet very desirable.

184.

As regards our perfection, which consists in the union of our soul with the Divine Goodness, it is only a question of knowing little and doing much.

185.

We must make up our minds to two things: one is, that we shall find bad weeds growing in our garden, and the other, that we will have the courage to uproot them, for our self-love will live as long as we do, and from it arises all this noxious growth.

186.

We must endeavour to double, not our desires and our exercises, but the perfection with which we fulfil them, seeking by this means to gain more by one action than we would by a hundred others done according to our inclination and affection.

187.

One act performed in dryness of spirit is worth more than several done in great sensible fervour.

188.

I say, then, that we must die in order that God may live in us, for it is impossible to acquire union with God by any other means than mortification. These words, “We must die,” are hard, but they are followed by a great sweetness, and this sweetness is union with God.

189.

Your miseries and infirmities should not astonish you; God has seen many others, and his mercy does not reject the miserable, but is exercised in doing them good.

190.

We must do everything through a motive of love, and nothing through compulsion. Our love for obedience must be greater than our fear of disobedience.

191.

I leave you liberty of spirit, not that which excludes obedience, but that which excludes constraint, scruple, or over-eagerness.

192.

Here are the marks of true liberty: 1st. The heart which possesses this liberty is not attached to consolations, but receives afflictions with all the sweetness that the flesh admits of. I do not say that it does not love and desire consolations, but that the heart is not bound to them.

193.

2nd. Such a heart is in no way attached to spiritual exercises, so that if sickness or any other accident interferes with them it feels no regret. I also do not say that it does not love them, but that it is not attached to them.

194.

3rd. Such a heart rarely loses its joy, for no privation saddens one whose heart is not bound to anything. I do not say that it _never_ loses its joy, but that it is only for a short time.

195.

A soul which possesses true liberty will leave his prayer, and with an amiable countenance and gracious manner greet the importunate person who disturbs him. For it is the same to him whether he serve God in meditation or by bearing with his neighbour; they are both the will of God.

196.

Liberty of spirit has two vices: a spirit of inconstancy and a spirit of constraint. For example: I resolve to make a meditation every morning. If I have a spirit of inconstancy I will defer it till evening at the slightest excuse—for the barking of a dog which has disturbed my sleep, for a letter to be written, though it is not at all urgent. On the contrary, if I have a spirit of constraint I will not omit my meditation, even though a sick person is very much in need of my services.

197.

Everything tends to the good of those who love God. And, in truth, since God can draw good from evil, for whom will He do it, if not for those who have given themselves without reserve to Him? Yes, everything tends to their profit, even sin. David would never have been so humble if he had not sinned; nor would Magdalene’s love for her Saviour have been what it was. Tell me, then, what will He not do with our afflictions and labours?

198.

If, then, it ever happen that some grief come upon you, assure your soul that if she love God all things will turn to her good. And though you may not see the means by which this good shall be effected, be all the more convinced of it.

199.

It is a very good sign that the enemy rages and beats at your door: it shows that he has not what he wants. If he had he would cease to cry out, but would quietly enter and stay with you.

200.

Courage! As long as we can say, even coldly, God be praised, there is no reason to fear. And do not tell me that it seems to you that you say it in a spiritless way, with no strength or courage, but as if you had to do violence to yourself to utter it. Oh, this is the blessed violence which taketh heaven!

201.

As long as a temptation is displeasing to you there is nothing to fear, for why does it displease you if not because you do not wish it?

202.

Moreover, these very importunate temptations come from the malice of the devil, but the trouble and suffering they cause us come from the mercy of God. He draws from the malice of his enemy the holy tribulation by which He refines the gold He desires to place in his treasury. Despise the temptations and embrace the tribulations.

203.

We must endure our own want of perfection, if we would attain perfection. I say that we must endure it patiently, but we must not love or caress it. It is by the endurance of this suffering that humility is nourished.

204.

Those who aspire to pure love of God have not so much need of patience with others as with themselves.

205.

We must confess the truth: we are poor creatures, capable of very little that is good; but God, who is infinitely good, is content with our poor labours, and finds acceptable the preparation of our heart.

206.

But what means this preparation of our heart according to the expression of Holy Writ: “God is greater than our heart, and our heart is greater than the world?” When our heart, in the solitude of meditation, prepares the service which it must render God, it effects marvels. All this preparation, nevertheless, is in no way proportioned to the grandeur of God, and ordinarily it exceeds our strength, and becomes too great to be carried out in our exterior actions.

207.

Our minds prepare for God a mortified flesh free from the rebellion of the senses, prayer free from distraction, a loving heart free from all bitterness, a humility free from all taint of vanity. All this is very good, an excellent preparation; but who carries it out? Alas! when we come to the practise of it, we fall short. Must we on this account be disquieted, troubled, or afflicted? No, certainly not. Must we apply ourselves to exciting a multitude of desires to stimulate ourselves to attain this perfection? By no means.

208.

I do not say that we must not tend to perfection; but we must not desire to attain it in a day, that is in a day of this mortal life, for such a desire would only uselessly disquiet us.

209.

It is not possible, I assure you, to be completely rid of self while we are on earth. We must always carry self with us, until God carries us to heaven; and while we carry self, we carry a burden of very little value.

210.

Solomon tells us that a servant who suddenly becomes mistress is a very insolent creature. Were a soul to become all at once perfect mistress of passions which it had long served, I fear it could not but be vain and proud.

211.

If in our heart there be a single thread of affection which is not for God, we should instantly tear it out.

212.

I cannot understand how you, a daughter of God, long since abandoned to the bosom of his mercy and consecrated to his love, can yield to such immoderate sadness. You should console yourself, despising all the mournful and melancholy suggestions with which the devil tries to weary you.

213.