List of points

You asked me if I had a cross to bear. And I answered, “Yes, we always have to bear the Cross.” —But it is a glorious Cross, a divine seal, the authentic guarantee of our being children of God. That is why we always walk along happily with the Cross.

You feel happier. But this time it is a fidgety sort of happiness, a bit impatient. With it comes the clear feeling that something is being wrested from you as a sacrifice.

Listen to me carefully: here on earth there is no perfect happiness. That is why, now, immediately, without complaining or feeling a victim, you should offer yourself as an oblation to God, with total and absolute self-surrender.

You don’t feel like doing anything and there is nothing you look forward to. It is like a dark cloud. Showers of sadness fell, and you experienced a strong sensation of being hemmed in. And, to crown it all, a despondency set in, which grew out of a more or less objective fact: you have been struggling for so many years…, and you are still so far behind, so far.

All this is necessary, and God has things in hand. To attain gaudium cum pace — true peace and joy — we have to add to the conviction of our divine filiation, which fills us with optimism, the acknowledgement of our own personal weakness.

We could get rid of so much neurosis and hysteria if people were taught — together with Christian doctrine — really to live as Christians: loving God and knowing how to accept things that annoy us as a blessing from His hand!

Your worries are at an end… You have discovered that being sincere with the director sorts out all complications with admirable ease.

A consequence of loyalty is your assurance that you are walking along the right road, without being unsettled or confused. You are also strengthened in this additional certainty: that good sense and happiness exist.

—See whether this is fulfilled in every instant of your life.

Sadness and uneasiness grow in proportion to the time you waste.

—When you feel a holy impatience to use every minute you will be filled with joy and peace, because you will not be thinking about yourself.

Every day you are becoming more ‘crazy’… —It is noticeable in the wonderful self-assurance and confidence that knowing you are working for Christ has given you.

—Sacred Scripture has already proclaimed it: Vir fidelis multum laudabitur — the faithful man merits praise from all.

After twenty centuries, we have to proclaim with complete conviction that the spirit of Christ has not lost its redemptive force, which alone can satisfy the desires of the human heart. —Begin by feeding that truth into your own heart, which will be perpetually restless, as Saint Augustine wrote, for as long as you don’t place it entirely in God.

There is a remedy for those anxieties of yours. Be patient, have rectitude of intention and look at things from a supernatural perspective.

Someone we know well told us sincerely, in confidence, that he had never been bored, for he had never been on his own, without our Friend.

—It was late in the evening, and there was a great silence… You felt very intently the presence of God… And, in the knowledge of that reality, what peace!

Holy Mary is the Queen of peace, and thus the Church invokes her. So when your soul or your family are troubled, or things go wrong at work, in society or between nations, cry out to her without ceasing. Call to her by this title: Regina pacis, ora pro nobis — Queen of peace, pray for us. Have you at least tried it when you have lost your calm?… —You will be surprised at its immediate effect.