List of points

Alone! You are not alone. We are keeping you close company from afar. Besides…, the holy Spirit, living in your soul in grace — God with you, — is giving a supernatural tone to all your thoughts, desires and actions.

I wrote to you and said: I'm relying on you: you'll see what we can do…!' — What could we do, except rely on Him!

A missionary. — You dream of being a missionary. Another Francis Xavier… And you long to conquer an empire for Christ. Japan, China, India, Russia… the peoples of the North of Europe, or America, or Africa, or Australia?

Stir up that fire in your heart, that hunger for souls. But don't forget that you are more of a missionary 'obeying'. Geographically distant from those apostolic fields, you work both 'here' and 'there': don't you — like Xavier — feel your arm tired after administering baptism to so many?

Communion of Saints. — How shall I explain it? You know what blood-transfusions do for the body? Well that is more or less what the Communion of Saints does for the soul.

Son, how well you lived the Communion of Saints when you wrote: 'Yesterday I felt that you were praying for me'!

Someone else who knows of this 'pool' of supernatural riches, tells me: 'That last letter did me a world of good: I could feel everyone's prayers behind it… and I need their prayers very much!'

You will find it easier to do your duty if you think of how your brothers are helping you, and of the help you fail to give them if you are not faithful.

The holy souls in purgatory. Out of charity, out of justice, and out of excusable selfishness — they have such power with God! — remember them often in your sacrifices and in your prayers.

May you be able to say when you speak of them, 'My good friends the souls in purgatory.'

If you live the 'life of childhood', you should have the sweet tooth of a child, a 'spiritual sweet tooth!' Like those 'of your age', think of the good things your Mother keeps.

And do so many times a day. It just takes a moment… Mary… Jesus… the Tabernacle… Communion… Love… suffering… the blessed souls in purgatory… those who are fighting: the Pope, the priests… the faithful… your soul… the souls of your people… the guardian Angels… sinners…

That little mortification costs you so much! You're in two minds. It's as if some one were saying: why must you be so faithful to your plan of life, to the clock? Listen: have you noticed how easily little children are taken in? They don't want to swallow their medicine, but 'Come', they are told, 'this one spoonful for Daddy, and this one for Granny.' And so on, until they have finished the lot.

Do the same; fifteen minutes more mortification for the souls in purgatory; five more for your parents; another five for your brothers in the apostolate… Until, in the end, the allotted time is up.

Your mortification done in this way… is worth so much!