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Oh, how much we gain if we have no desire to gain what seems to us best and so have no fear of losing, since God never permits a truly mortified person to lose anything except when such loss will bring him greater gain!

Since this edifice is built entirely on humility, the closer one comes to God, the more progress there must be in this virtue; and if there is no progress in humility, everything is going to be ruined.

Our Lord to Teresa: "In this way you will see the reward that comes from suffering, for since you did not have the health to speak with Me, I have spoken with you and favored you."

The devil gains much and is extremely pleased to see a soul afflicted and disquieted, for he knows that disturbance impedes it from being totally occupied in loving and praising God.

God would have you keep back nothing from Him, little or great. He will have it all; in proportion to what you know you have given will your reward be great or small.

O Lord! All our trouble comes to us from not having our eyes fixed upon Thee. If we only looked at the way along which we are walking, we should soon arrive; but we stumble and fall a thousand times and stray from the way because, as I say, we do not set our eyes on the true Way.

In stumbling, in falling with Christ, do not withdraw from the cross or abandon it. Consider carefully the fatigue with which He walks and how much greater His trials are than those trials you suffer, however great you may want to paint them and no matter how much you grieve over them.

He has borne with many offences and much unworthiness in you, yet these have not sufficed to make Him turn away; is it much to ask that you should sometimes shift your gaze from earthly things to fix it on Him?

Don't imagine that, if you had a great deal of time, you would spend more of it in prayer. Get rid of that idea; it is no hindrance to prayer to spend your time well.

Let us praise Him, my daughters, for He has granted it to us, and let us not tire of praising so great a King and Lord. He has prepared for us a kingdom without end in exchange for a few little trials, which come wrapped in consolations and will end tomorrow.

I know the power obedience has of making things easy which seem impossible.

I know, too, that our progress has nothing to do with the body, which is the thing that matters least. What the journey which I am referring to demands is great humility, and it is the lack of this, I think, if you see what I mean, which prevents us from making progress.