List of points

Heroism, sanctity, daring, require a constant spiritual preparation. You can only ever give to others what you already have. And, to give God to them, you yourself need to get to know him, to live his Life, to serve him.

Seek God in the depths of your pure, clean heart; in the depths of your soul when you are faithful to him. And never lose that intimacy.

—And if ever you do not know how to speak to him or what to say, or you do not dare to look for Jesus inside yourself, turn to Mary, tota pulchra, all pure and wonderful, and tell her: Our Lady and Mother, the Lord wanted you yourself to look after God and tend him with your own hands. Teach me, teach us all, how to treat your Son!

You have reached a level of real intimacy with this God of ours, who is so close to you, so deeply lodged in your soul… But what are you doing to increase and deepen this intimacy? Are you careful not to allow silly little hindrances to creep in which would upset this friendship?

—Show courage! Don’t refuse to break with every single thing, no matter how small, which could cause suffering to the One who loves you so much.

I heard some people I knew talking about their radio sets. Almost without realising it, I brought the subject round to the spiritual area: we have got a strong earth, too strong, and we have forgotten to put up the aerial of the interior life…

—That is why there are so few souls who keep in touch with God. May we never be without our supernatural aerial.

Saint Teresa assures us that “anyone who doesn’t pray doesn’t need any devil to tempt him; while whoever prays, even if only for a quarter of an hour each day, will necessarily be saved.” This is because our conversation with Our Lord — who is so loving, even in times of difficulty or dryness of soul —enables us to see things in their proper perspective and discover the true proportions of life.

Be a soul of prayer.

You became a bit frightened when you saw so much light, so bright that you thought it would be difficult to look, or even to see.

—Disregard your obvious weaknesses, and open the eyes of your soul to faith, to hope and to love. Carry on, allowing yourself to be guided by God through whoever directs your soul.