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In doubts, in temptations, where can I take refuge if Thou, O good Jesus, will not open Thy Heart to me? Take everything from me, but do not let me be deprived of Thee!

Suffering is a great favor. Remember that everything soon comes to an end . . . and take courage. Think of how our gain is eternal.

Watch with care, for everything passes quickly...Behold the more you struggle the more you show the love you have for your God and the more you will rejoice in your Beloved with a joy and delight that cannot end.

The devil does a great deal to incapacitate us when he sees a little fear.

The soul, in the courage of its love, glories in what ministers to the Beloved, in that it has done anything for Him, and is lost to the things of the world.

I would like to fly as the eagle does, but I can only flutter my wings - it is beyond my feeble strength to soar.

Never take a man for your example in the tasks you have to perform, however holy he may be, for the devil will set his imperfection before you. But imitate Christ, who is supremely perfect and supremely holy, and you will never err.

To secure a hearing there is no need to recite set prayers composed for the occasion. . . .
I have not the courage to search through books for beautiful prayers; they are so numerous, that it would only make my head ache, and besides, each one is more lovely than the other. Unable either to say them all or to choose between them, I do as a child would do who cannot read-I say just what I want to say to God, quite simply and He never fails to understand.

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.

Only the person who renounces self-importance, who no longer struggles to defend or assert himself, can be large enough for God's boundless action.

When you are burdened you are close to God, your strength, who abides with the afflicted. When you are relieved of the burden you are close to yourself, your own weakness; for virtue and strength of soul grow and are confirmed in the trials of patience.

Courage, my sister, the yoke of a Carmelite is necessarily very light or very heavy in proportion as one's courage bears it or one's cowardice drags it.