List of points

What must the cheerful way that Jesus looked upon people have been like? It must have been the same which shone from the eyes of his Mother who could not contain her joy — Magnificat anima mea Dominum! — and her soul glorified the Lord while she carried Him within her and by her side.

Oh, Mother!: May we, like you, rejoice to be with Him and to hold Him.

When I speak to you about “apostolate of friendship”, I mean a personal friendship, self-sacrificing and sincere: face to face, heart to heart.

When you find it difficult to do a favour or a service for someone, remember that he or she is a child of God, and that the Lord has asked us to love one another.

—And I’d say more: go deeper into that evangelical precept every day; do not remain on the surface. Draw the right conclusions from it — it is quite easy to do so. Then adapt your behaviour, on every occasion, to those requirements.

“There is so much hurry in the way we live that Christian charity has become a rare phenomenon in this world of ours, even though, at least nominally, Christ is being preached.”

—I grant you that. But what are you doing about it as a Catholic, you who have to become united to him, and follow in his footsteps? Because he has told us that we must go and teach his doctrine to all peoples — all peoples — throughout the ages.

Men — this has always happened in history — bind their lives together to accomplish a collective mission and destiny.

—Is the unique destiny of eternal happiness worth less to the men and women of today?

You understood the meaning of friendship when you began to feel that you were like the shepherd of a little flock which you had left abandoned, but were now trying to gather together again, taking it upon yourself to serve each one of them.

You cannot just be passive. You have to become a real friend of your friends — by helping them. First, with the example of your behaviour and then with your advice and with the influence that a close friendship provides.

The spirit of fraternity and companionship you discovered unexpectedly filled you with enthusiasm. —That is natural, for it was something you had dreamed about longingly but had never experienced. You had not experienced it because men forget they are brothers of Christ, that lovable Brother of ours, who gave his life for us, for every single one of us, without reserve.

You have had the good fortune to find real teachers, authentic friends, who have taught you everything you wanted to know without holding back. You have had no need to employ any tricks to steal their knowledge, because they led you along the easiest path, even though it had cost them a lot of hard work and suffering to discover it… Now, it is your turn to do the same, with one person, and another — with everyone!

Meditate on this carefully and act accordingly: people who think you are unpleasant will stop thinking that when they realise that you really love them. It is up to you.

It’s not enough to be good; you need to show it. What would you say of a rose bush which produced only thorns?

To be warmed up, the tepid need to be surrounded by the fire of enthusiasm.

Many could cry out: “There is no point in your lamenting my situation! Teach me how to get out of this condition which saddens you so much!”

Sometimes you try to excuse yourself, saying that you are distracted or absent-minded, or that it is your character to be dry and reserved. That, you add, is why you don’t even know very well the people you live with.

—Listen, isn’t it true that this excuse doesn’t really satisfy you?

I advised you to inject a great deal of supernatural outlook into every detail of your ordinary life. And I added immediately that living with other people provided you with ample opportunity throughout the day.

Practising charity means respecting other people’s way of thinking. It means rejoicing at their road to God, without trying to make them think like you or joining you.

It occurred to me to put this consideration to you. These other ways are different, but parallel; each person will reach God by following his own way. Don’t get sidetracked in comparisons, or in wanting to know who is higher. That does not matter; what does matter is that we should all attain the end.

You say that he is full of defects! Very well… but, apart from the fact that people who are perfect are found only in Heaven, you too have defects, yet others put up with you and, what is more, appreciate you. That is because they love you with the love Jesus Christ had for his own, and they had a fair number of shortcomings.

—Learn from this!

You complain that he shows you no understanding. I am certain he does as much as he can to try to understand you. But what about you? When will you make a bit of an effort to understand him?

All right, I agree! That person has behaved badly; his behaviour has been reprehensible and unworthy; he shows no merit at all.

—Humanly speaking he deserves to be utterly despised, you added.

—I understand what you mean, I can assure you, but I do not share this concluding view of yours. That life which seems so mean is sacred. Christ has died to save it. If He did not despise it, how can you dare to?

If your friendship is brought down to such a level that you become an accomplice in the wretched behaviour of others, it will have been reduced to a sad confederacy which deserves no esteem whatsoever.

It is true that life, which by its nature is already rather narrow and uncertain, sometimes becomes difficult. —But that will help you to become more supernatural and to see the hand of God. Then you will be more human and understanding with those around you.

Forbearance is proportional to authority. A simple judge has to condemn — even if he takes into account extenuating circumstances — the convicted criminal who has admitted being guilty. The sovereign power of the country may sometimes grant a pardon or amnesty. God always forgives a contrite soul.

“Through you I have seen God, who has forgotten my follies and my offences, and has welcomed me with the affection of a Father.” This is what a contrite prodigal son of the twentieth century wrote to his family when he returned to his father’s house.

It has cost you a lot to begin getting rid of those niggling worries and forgetting about those personal things you were looking forward to. They may have been few and not very splendid, but they were deeply rooted. —In exchange, you are sure now that you are interested and concerned about your brothers, and only about them, for you have learned to discover Jesus Christ in your neighbour.

“A hundredfold!” How you remembered a few days ago that promise of the Lord!

—In the fraternity that is lived among your companions in the apostolate, I assure you, you will find that hundredfold.