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Courage then, O soul most beautiful! You now know that your Beloved dwells hidden within your own breast. Endeavor therefore to be truly hidden with Him.

Spiritual persons must exercise care that in their heart and joy they do not become attached to temporal goods. They must fear lest, through a gradual increase, their small attachments become great.

O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life in listening to You, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from You. Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplessness, I want to gaze on You always and remain in Your great light. O my beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may not withdraw from Your radiance.

The divine life which is enkindled in the soul is the Light that came into the darkness-the mystery of the Holy Night. The one who bears it within himself understands its meaning...God is in us and we in Him; that is our portion of the kingdom of God, established by the Incarnation.

The soul that leaves the house of its own will, and abandons the bed of its own satisfaction, will find the Divine Wisdom, the Son of God, the Bridegroom, waiting at the door without.

In order to allow an entire human existence to be pervaded with divine life, it is not enough to kneel down once a year in front of the manger and allow oneself to be taken in by the spell of the Holy Night. One must be actively engaged with God one's entire life long, listen to the word which He spoke, which have been handed down to us, and then comply with these words. Above all, one must pray as the Savior himself has taught...

When the time had come
for him to be born,
he went forth like the
bridegroom
from his bridal chamber,
embracing his bride,
holding her in his arms,
whom the gracious Mother
laid in a manger
among some animals
that were there at that time.
Men sang songs
and angels melodies
celebrating the marriage
of Two such as these.
But God there in the manger
cried and moaned;
and these tears were jewels
the bride brought to the
wedding.
The Mother gazed in sheer wonder
on such an exchange:
in God, man's weeping,
and in man, gladness,
to the one and the other
things usually so strange.

We must let ourselves be transformed into one and the same image with Him, and that, quite simply, by loving all the time.

You must build a little cell within your soul as I do. Remember that God is there and enter it from time to time; when you feel nervous or you're unhappy, quickly seek refuge there and tell the Master all about it....We come quite simply to the One we love, stay close to Him like a little child in the arms of its mother, and we let our heart go....If you only knew how well He understands....You wouldn't suffer any more if you understood that.

If heavenly grace and true charity come in, there shall be no envy or narrowness of heart, nor shall self-love keep its hold. For divine charity overcomes all, and dilates all the powers of the soul.

Our Lord's love is revealed as perfectly in the most simple soul that resists His grace in nothing as in the most excellent soul...

Since, when the hour of reckoning comes, you will be sorry for not having used this time in the service of God, why do you not arrange and use it now as you would wish to have done were you dying?