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In the night of blindness that the Lord had made fall on his eyes, Saul waited in solitary prayer for the Lord's answer to his question: "What would you have me do?" And Peter learned of his mission to the pagans while praying in solitude.

By contrast with the lethargy that comes from lack of vital energy, resting in God is something completely new and unique. The former was dead silence. Now it is replaced by the feeling of being safe, of being relieved from all anxiety and responsibility and obligation to act. And as I surrender myself to this feeling, little by little new life begins to fill me, and to stimulate me – without any exercise of my will – to new activity.

But because being one with Christ is our sanctity, and progressively becoming one with him our happiness on earth, the love of the cross in no way contradicts being a joyful child of God. Helping Christ carry his cross fills one with a strong and pure joy, and those who may and can do so, the builders of God's kingdom, are the most authentic children of God.

Living faith is the firm conviction that God exists, an acceptance as true of all that He has revealed, a loving promptness to let oneself be guided by the will of God.

Looking at things from God's viewpoint there is no such thing as chance; my whole life, down to the last detail, is traced in the plan of divine Providence and, to the all seeing eyes of God, constitutes a perfectly intelligible whole.

I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the King who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is great comfort.

The cross is not an end in itself. It beckons one toward the summit. Therefore it is not only a standard, it is also Christ's powerful weapon, the triumphal symbol with which He knocks at the gate of heaven and throws it wide.

We must, above all, pray as the Savior Himself has taught us so insistently. “Ask and it shall be given you.” This is the certain promise of being heard. And if we pray every day with all our heart: “Lord, thy will be done,” we may well trust that we shall not failed to do God’s will even when we no longer have subjective certainty.

Hope creates an emptiness in the memory constraining it to occupy itself with something it does not yet possess. It teaches us to hope for everything from God and for nothing from ourselves or from other creatures; to hope for eternal happiness from Him and therefore to renounce every pleasure and possession in this life.

I believe I see my task in a clearer and more precise way. This also means seeing my ineptitude ever more deeply, but at the same time also the possibility of being an instrument in spite of everything.

The spiritual life must be nourished, especially when one has to give much to others.

If you put yourself completely into the hands of the Lord, you can trust that you are being guided safely. What you surrender to Him is never lost; it is preserved, purified, and elevated and balanced to the correct proportions.