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I thank You, O my God, for all the graces You have bestowed on me, and particularly for making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall behold You on the Last Day bearing Your scepter - the Cross; since You have deigned to give me for my portion this most precious Cross, I have hope of resembling You in Heaven and seeing the sacred stigmata of Your Passion shine in my glorified body.

I'm keeping a rendezvous with you in the shadow of the Cross to learn the science of suffering.

We do not climb Calvary as heroes, like the champion who has won the race. A saint is not a hero: he is someone filled with God and with God's strength.

...you have only to stay close to the crucified and your suffering is the best prayer.

We look at ourselves too much ... we do not have enough trust in Him who enfolds us in His love. We must not stand in front of our cross and examine it in itself, but withdrawing into the light of faith,we must rise above it and consider that it is the instrument of Divine Love.

Let us live on the Cross. The Cross is the denial of our will. Heaven is on the Cross because Jesus is there.

They are too attached to their honor. . . . These souls, for the most part, grieve over anything said against them. They do not embrace the cross but drag it along, and so it hurts and wearies them and breaks them to pieces. However, if the cross is loved, it is easy to bear, this is certain.

What did You possess, my Lord, but trials, sufferings, and dishonor?...In sum, my God, it does not fit those of us who want to be your true children, and hold on to their inheritance, to flee suffering. Your heraldry consists of five wounds.

You, my God, have declared yourself my captain; you have raised the standard of the Cross, saying: ‘Take up the cross and follow in my footsteps.’ To correspond with this invitation, I promise to resist your love no longer; rather, I will follow you to Calvary without hesitation.

If you desire to be perfect, sell your will, give it to the poor in spirit, come to Christ in meekness and humility, and follow him to Calvary and the sepulcher.

No earthly maternal joy resembles the bliss of a soul permitted to enkindle the light of grace in the night of sins. The way to this is the cross. Beneath the cross the Virgin of virgins becomes the Mother of Grace.

For we must not be without our cross, even as our Beloved had his cross, until he died the death of love.