List of points

Student: form yourself in a solid and active piety, be outstanding in study, have a strong desire for the 'professional' apostolate. And with that vigour of your religious and professional training, I promise you rapid and far-reaching developments.

You worry only about building up your knowledge. And what you have to build up is your soul. Then you will work as you ought — for Christ. In order that he may reign in the world, there must be some people who, with their eyes fixed on heaven, seek to acquire prestige in all human activities, so that they can carry out quietly — and effectively — an apostolate within their professions.

As long as the opinion you expressed was orthodox there is no reason to be upset, even though the malice of whoever heard you caused him to be scandalized. For his scandal is pharisaical.

If you're not bad, and yet appear to be bad, then you are stupid. And that stupidity — source of scandal — is worse than being bad.

When you see people of uncertain professional standing acting as leaders at public functions of a religious nature, don't you feel the urge to whisper in their ears: Please, would you mind being just a little less Catholic?

Naturalness. Let your lives as christian men, as christian women — your salt and your light — flow spontaneously, without anything odd or silly: always carry with you our spirit of simplicity.

'And in a paganised or pagan environment when my life clashes with its surroundings, won't my naturalness seem artificial?' you ask me.

And I reply: Undoubtedly your life will clash with theirs; and that contrast — faith confirmed by works! — is exactly the naturalness I ask of you.

You are salt, apostolic soul. 'Salt is a useful thing', we read in the holy Gospel; but if the salt loses its taste, it is good for nothing, neither for the land nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out as useless.

You are salt, apostolic soul. But if you lose your taste…