You may be sure, if you do all you can and prepare yourselves for contemplation as I have described, that if He does not grant it to you, He is keeping back this consolation in reserve only to give it to you all at once in heaven. -St. Teresa of…
To belong wholly to God, to give oneself to Him, to His service, for love, this is the vocation, not only of all the elect but of every Christian; whether consecrated or not, man or woman. – St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)
O Jesus, I feel, that, if by an impossibility You could find a soul weaker than mine, You would fill it with even greater graces, provided that such a soul abandoned itself with absolute confidence to Your infinite Mercy. -St. Therese
The soul suffers many trials, for the Lord wants the poor gardener to think that all the trouble he has taken in watering the garden and keeping it alive is lost. Then is the proper time for weeding and rooting out the smaller plants, and this must be done, however…
That gaze of the soul at its Bridegroom inflames it with love. You can always look at Him. That sight of Jesus will bring you peace, if you are disturbed or exalted. It will fortify you, if you are cast down; it will bring you recollection, if you are dissipated.…
Those who now desire to question God or receive some vision or revelation are guilty not only of foolish behavior but of also offending Him by not fixing their eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty. – St. John of the Cross
When we have prayed to the Blessed Virgin and she has not given us what we asked for, we should let her do what she pleases, without insisting on our request; and after that let us not worry any more about it. – St. Therese
If trials are not suffered for God, they are worth nothing; if they are suffered for Him, His Majesty adapts them to our strength. Thus, if we are so afraid of them it is because we are fainthearted. – St. Teresa of Avila
How your life would be transformed if you were frequently with Jesus as with a friend! Do you perchance think that Jesus will not receive you as such? If you think such a thing, you would demonstrate that you do not know Him. He is all tenderness, all love for…
The remembrance of my faults humbles me, and helps me never to rely upon my own strength, which is mere weakness. More than all, it speaks to me of mercy and of love. When a soul with childlike trust casts her faults into Love’s all-devouring furnace, how can they escape…