List of points

We are children of God. —Bearers of the only flame that can light up the paths of the earth for souls, of the only brightness which can never be darkened, dimmed or overshadowed.

—The Lord uses us as torches, to make that light shine out… It depends on us that many should not remain in darkness, but walk instead along paths that lead to eternal life.

—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.

My Father — talk to him like that, confidently — who art in heaven, look upon me with compassionate Love, and make me respond to thy love.

—Melt and enkindle my heart of bronze, burn and purify my unmortified flesh, fill my mind with supernatural light, make my tongue proclaim the Love and Glory of Christ.

Christ, who went up to the Cross with his arms wide open, with the gesture of the Eternal Priest, wants to count on us — who are nothing! — to bring to all men the fruits of his Redemption.

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.

Do not be afraid. Do not be alarmed or surprised. Do not allow yourself to be overcome by false prudence.

The call to fulfil God’s will — this goes for vocation too — is sudden, as it was for the Apostles: a meeting with Christ and his call is followed…

—None of them doubted. Meeting Christ and following him was all one.

A day of salvation, of eternity, has come for us. Once again the call of the Divine Shepherd can be heard, those affectionate words: Vocavi te nomine tuo — I have called you by your name.

Just like our mother, he calls us by our name, even by the name we were affectionately called at home. —There, in the depths of our soul, he calls us and we just have to answer: Ecce ego quia vocasti me —here I am, for you have called me, and this time I’m determined not to let time flow by like water over rounded stones, leaving no trace behind.

Live close to Christ! You should be another character in the Gospel, side by side with Peter, and John, and Andrew. For Christ is also living now: Iesus Christus, heri et hodie, ipse et in saecula! — Jesus Christ lives! Today, as yesterday, he is the same, for ever and ever.

Lord, may your children be like very well lit embers, showing no flames that would make the fire be seen from afar. Let them be embers that will set alight each heart they come into contact with.

—You will make that first spark turn into a big fire, because your Angels are very skilled at blowing on embers in hearts… I know, I have seen it. And a heart cleared of dead ashes cannot but be yours.

Think about what the Holy Spirit says, and let yourself be filled with awe and gratitude: Elegit nos ante mundi constitutionem — he chose us before the foundation of the world, ut essemus sancti in conspectu eius! — that we might be holy in his presence.

—To be holy isn’t easy, but it isn’t difficult either. To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ. The more closely a person resembles Christ, the more Christian he is, the more he belongs to Christ, the holier he is.

—And what means do we have? The same means the early faithful had, when they saw Jesus directly or caught a glimpse of him in the accounts the Apostles and Evangelists gave of him.

You owe such a great debt to your Father-God! He has given you life, intelligence, will… He has given you his grace: the Holy Spirit; Jesus, in the Sacred Host; divine sonship; the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God and our Mother. He has given you the possibility of taking part in the Holy Mass; and he grants you forgiveness for your sins. He forgives you so many times! He has given you countless gifts, some of them quite extraordinary…

Tell me, my son: how have you corresponded so far to this generosity? How are you corresponding now?

I do not know how it strikes you…, but I feel I must tell you how moved I am whenever I read the words of the prophet Isaiah: Ego vocavi te nomine tuo, meus es tu! — I have called you, I have brought you into my Church, you are mine! God himself telling me I am his! It is enough to make one go mad with Love!

O Jesus…, strengthen our souls, open out the way for us, and, above all, intoxicate us with your Love! Make us into blazing fires to kindle the earth with the heavenly fire you brought us.

Coming closer to God means being ready to be converted anew, to change direction again, to listen attentively to his inspirations — those holy desires he places in our souls — and to put them into practice.

What are you so proud of? — Every impulse that moves you comes from Him. Act accordingly.

What respect, veneration and affection we should feel for every single soul when we realise that God loves it as his very own!

An aspiration: May we spend the days the Lord grants us only in pleasing him!

I would like you to behave as Peter and John did — speaking to Jesus about the needs of your friends, colleagues… as you pray. And then with your example you will be able to say to them: Respice in nos! — look at me!

When you love somebody very much, you want to know everything about him.

—Meditate on this: Do you feel a hunger to know Christ? Because… that is the measure of your love for him.

People who say that we priests are lonely are either lying or have got it all wrong. We are far less lonely than anyone else, for we can count on the constant company of the Lord, with whom we should be conversing without interruption.

—We are in love with Love, with the Author of Love!

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.

That friend of ours would finish his prayer in this way: “I love the Will of my God and that is why, abandoning myself completely into his hands, I pray that he may lead me however and wherever he likes.”

Ask the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and your Mother, to make you know yourself and weep for all those foul things that have passed through you, and which, alas, have left such dregs behind… — And at the same time, without wishing to stop considering all that, say to him: Jesus, give me a Love that will act like a purifying fire in which my miserable flesh, my miserable heart, my miserable soul, my miserable body may be consumed and cleansed of all earthly wretchedness. And when I have been completely emptied of myself, fill me with yourself. May I never become attached to anything here below. May Love always sustain me.

Desire nothing for yourself, either good or bad. For yourself, want only what God wants.

Whatever it may be, if it comes from his hand, from God, however bad it may appear in the eyes of men, with God’s help it will appear good, yes very good!, to you. And with an ever-increasing conviction you will say: Et in tribulatione mea dilatasti me… et calix tuus inebrians, quam praeclarus est! — I have rejoiced in tribulation…, how marvellous is your chalice. It inebriates my whole being!