List of points

—God is my Father! If you meditate on it, you will never let go of this consoling consideration.

—Jesus is my intimate Friend (another re-discovery) who loves me with all the divine madness of his Heart.

—The Holy Spirit is my Consoler, who guides my every step along the road.

Consider this often: you are God’s… and God is yours.

Lord, we are glad to find ourselves in your wounded palm. Grasp us tight, squeeze us hard, make us lose all our earthly wretchedness, purify us, set us on fire, make us feel drenched in your Blood.

—And then, cast us far, far away, hungry for the harvest, to sow the seed more fruitfully each day, for Love of you.

I see myself like a poor little bird, accustomed only to making short flights from tree to tree, or, at most, up to a third floor balcony… One day in its life it succeeded in reaching the roof of a modest building, that you could hardly call a skyscraper.

But suddenly our little bird is snatched up by an eagle, who mistakes the bird for one of its own brood. In its powerful talons the bird is borne higher and higher, above the mountains of the earth and the snow-capped peaks, above the white, blue and rose-pink clouds, and higher and higher until it can look right into the sun. And then the eagle lets go of the little bird and says: Off you go. Fly!

—Lord, may I never flutter again close to the ground. May I always be enlightened by the rays of the divine sun — Christ — in the Eucharist. May my flight never be interrupted until I find repose in your Heart.

Renew each day the effective desire to empty yourself, to deny yourself, to forget yourself, to walk in novitate sensus, with a new life, exchanging this misery of ours for all the hidden and eternal grandeur of God.

Your life is happy, very happy, though on occasions you feel a pang of sadness, and even experience almost constantly a real sense of weariness.

—Joy and affliction can go hand in hand like this, each in its own “man”: the former in the new man, the latter in the old.

Let us marvel at the lovable paradox of our Christian condition: it is our own wretchedness which leads us to seek refuge in God, to become “like unto God”. With him we can do all things.

Do trifles and trivialities, that bring me nothing and from which I expect nothing, engage my attention more than my God? Who am I with, when I am not with God?

Thank Jesus for the confidence he gives you! It’s not stubbornness, but God’s light that makes you firm as a rock. Meanwhile, others, good as they are, present a sorry picture. They seem to be sinking in the sand… They lack the foundation of the faith.

Ask Our Lord to grant that the demands of the virtue of faith may be met both in your life and in the lives of others.

You don’t know whether you are making progress, nor how much… But what use is such a reckoning to you?…

—What is important is that you should persevere, that your heart should be on fire, that you should see more light and wider horizons; that you should work hard for our intentions, that you should feel them as your own — even though you don’t know what they are — and that you should pray for all of them.

We can never attribute to ourselves the power of Jesus who is passing by amongst us. Our Lord is passing by: and he transforms souls when we come close to him with one heart, one feeling, one desire: to be good Christians. But it is he who does it: not you nor I. It is Christ who is passing by!

—And then he stays in our hearts — in yours and in mine! — and in our tabernacles.

—Jesus is passing by, and Jesus comes to stay. He stays in you, in each one of you, and in me.

Be generous. Don’t ask Jesus for even one consolation!

—You ask me why. And I reply, because you know very well that even though this God of ours seems to be far away, he really is seated in the very centre of your soul, imparting a divine character to your whole life.