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One ought to be careful not to devote oneself wholly and with too much solicitude to exterior occupations, to which it is expedient only to lend oneself as much as is necessary, keeping the rest (namely the mind and heart) for God.

Well, come now, my daughters, don’t be sad when obedience draws you to involvement in exterior matters. Know that if it is in the kitchen, the Lord walks among the pots and pans helping you both interiorly and exteriorly.

Do as perfectly as you can the tasks of your everyday life, even the most trivial. It is quite simple. Follow Our Lord like a little child. I skip after him as best I can. I put my trust in him and abandon all care.

Humility has an excellent feature: when it is present in a work, that work does not leave in the soul a feeling of frustration.

Each day Jesus nourishes me with His adorable Body and, together with this delicate food, I hear a sweet and soft voice like the harmonious echoes of the angels of heaven. This a the voice that guides me, that loosens the sails of the ship of my soul. And in my pains, in my temptations, He is my Consoler, He is my Captain.

My life begins anew each morning and ends each evening; beyond that I have no plans or intentions; that is, it may be part of one's daily duties to plan ahead, but one must never worry about the next day.

If I did not suffer from moment to moment, I would not be able to keep patience, but I see only the present moment; I forget the past and take care not to peer into the future.

"To watch in prayer"- this is to say the same thing that Elijah said with the words, "to stand before the face of God." Prayer is looking up into the face of the Eternal. We can do this only when the spirit is awake in its inmost depths, freed from all earthly occupations and pleasures that benumb it. Being awake in body does not guarantee this consciousness, nor does rest required by nature interfere.

As the earthly body has need of daily bread, so the divine life in us demands continual nourishment. "This is the bread of life come down from heaven." And each day in us, who make it become our daily bread, is accomplished the mystery of Christmas, the Incarnation of the Word.

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.

God gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher.

It is better to labor and do things for one another than to have each one work for herself, because in doing things for ourselves, there us self love; and in doing things for others, there is charity.