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In times of aridity when I am incapable of praying, of practicing virtue, I seek little opportunities, mere trifles, to give  pleasure to Jesus; for instance a smile, a pleasant word when inclined to be silent and to show weariness. If I find no opportunities, I at least tell Him again and again that I love Him; that is not difficult and it keeps alive the fire in my heart.

How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God's mercy.

What God seeks, He being Himself God by nature, is to make us gods through participation, just as fire converts all things into fire.

Let yourself be seen by all as you really are. Just as we are in the sight of God, so let us be in the sight of all.

"Do you know the souls that most enjoy my Goodness?," said our Lord (to a chosen soul). "The ones who trust in me the most. Trusting souls are the ones who steal away my graces. I am all Love, and the greatest pain one can give my Heart is to doubt my Goodness."

...Sunday must be a great door through which celestial life can enter into everyday life, and strength for the work of the entire week, and how the great feasts, holidays, and seasons of lent, lived though in the spirit of the Church permit the soul to mature the more from year to year to the eternal Sabbath rest.

To prove to Our Lord how much you love Him, learn to forget yourself always ... and be very faithful to all your duties and all your resolutions. Live by will rather than by imagination. If you feel your weakness, God wants you to make use of it in order to make acts of the will which you will offer Him as so many acts of love ... He so loves you and He so wants you for His own, whatever may be the path whereby you must follow Him here below.

Ordinarily this contemplation, which is secret and hidden from the very one who receives it, imparts to the soul, together with the dryness and emptiness it produces in the senses, an inclination to remain alone and in quietude.

He would be still more ignorant if he followed God looking for sweetness, and rejoiced and rested in it when obtained. In this case his love is not set purely on God alone above all things, for in clinging to and desiring what is created, his will cannot soar to God.

There’s no need for us to be advising Him about what He should give us, for He can rightly tell us that we don’t know what we’re asking for.

When we have many things to do, when we are persecuted and in trouble, when we cannot have much rest, and when we have our seasons of dryness, Christ is our best Friend; for we regard Him as Man, and behold Him faint and in trouble, and He is our Companion.

When the evening of life comes, I shall stand before You with empty hands, because I do not ask You, my God, to take account of my works. All our good deeds are blemished in Your eyes. I wish therefore to be robed with Your own justice, and to receive from Your love the everlasting gift of Yourself. I desire no other throne but You, O my Beloved!