List of points

How clearly I see now that “holy shamelessness” is rooted, very deeply, in the Gospel! Fulfil the Will of God…, remembering Jesus falsely accused, Jesus spat upon and buffeted, Jesus brought before the shabby courts of men… And Jesus silent!!

—A resolution: I shall bow my head when insulted, and — knowing that humiliations will certainly follow — I shall persevere in the divine undertaking with which the merciful Love of Our Lord has wished to entrust us.

It is no use trying to please everyone. There will always be people who disagree, who complain. The way popular wisdom sums it up is: “What is good for the sheep is bad for the wolves.”

The difficulties you have met have made you shrink back, and you have become “prudent, moderate and objective”.

—Remember that you have always despised those terms, when they became synonyms for cowardly, fainthearted and comfort-seeking.

You assured me that you wanted to fight without respite, and now you come to me with a long face.

Look, even humanly speaking, it is good not to find it all done for you, with no hitches. Something — a lot! — depends on you. Otherwise, how could you become a saint?

You asked Our Lord to let you suffer a little for Him. But when suffering comes in such a normal, human form — family difficulties and problems… or those thousand awkward things of ordinary life — you find it hard to see Christ behind it. —Open your hands willingly to those nails… and your sorrow will be turned into joy.

Some pressing difficulties can be remedied immediately. Others, not so quickly. But they all are solved if we are faithful: if we obey, if we observe what has been laid down.

Do you think that no one else has ever been twenty years old? Do you think they were never restricted by their parents when they were under age? Do you think they avoided the problems, however great or small, that you come up against? No. They went through the same things that you are going through now, and they matured, with the help of grace. They trod down their selfishness with generous perseverance, gave in when they should, and remained loyal — with calm humility — without being arrogant or hurting anyone when they should not have done.