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And it is clear that since God wants to lead those whom He greatly loves by the path of tribulation there is no reason to think that He despises contemplatives, for with His own mouth He praises them and considers them His friends.

Ah, if you got to know Him a little, prayer wouldn't bore you any more; to me it seems to be rest, relaxation. 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.

He that seeks here any other thing than purely God and the salvation of his soul, will find nothing but trouble and sorrow.

One cannot attain the end without adopting the means, and as Our Lord made me understand that it was by the Cross He would give me souls, the more crosses I met with the stronger grew my attraction to suffering.

I love You so much, my heart burns with love for You, that I cannot live calm and happy, while You, my Beloved Spouse, suffer.

You will ask me perhaps how we are to glorify Him. It is very simple...cling closely to the will of this adorable Master. Look upon everything, every suffering and every joy, as coming straight from Him and your life will be a continual communion since everything will be, as it were, a sacrament which gives you God — and that is really true, for God is not divided. His will is Himself. He is wholly and entirely in everything and these things are, in a way, but an emanation of His love.

What would it matter were I to remain in purgatory until judgment day if through my prayer I could save even one soul? How much less would it matter if my prayer is to the advantage of many and for the honor of the Lord. Pay no attention to sufferings that come to an end if through them some greater service is rendered to Him who endured so many for us.

To make acts of penance of all my contradictions, temporal or spiritual pains, as well as all the actions that could displease me is what I call the penance of the moment.

When I accepted the fact that I might spend my life suffering from these troubles and anxieties-which in no way diminished the trust I had in God and served only to increase my faith-I found myself changed all at once. And my soul, until that time always in turmoil, experienced a deep inner peace as if it had found its center and place of rest.

Whoever lives in the presence of so good a friend and excellent a leader as is Jesus Christ can endure all things. Christ helps us and strengthens us and never fails; he is a true friend...What more do we desire from such a good friend at our side, who will not abandon us in our labors and tribulations, as friends in the world do. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and keeps him near.

I only think that the soul comes out of the crucible like gold, more refined and purified, so as to see the Lord within itself. So afterward these trials that seemed unbearable become small.

When evening comes and a backward glance shows us that we have not finished even a minimum part of the work that we had planned and that much remains incomplete, when so many things provoke shame and sorrow, then let us take everything as it is and place it in the hands of God, entrusting it to Him. In this way we will be able to repose in Him, truly rest and to begin the new day as if it were a new life.