Flowers of The Passion

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" Father, not My will, but Thine be done.'
Luke xxii. 42.
Flowers of the Passion.
Cijougijts of St. laul of tfje ffiro0S,

Founder of tfie Passionists.
Gathered from the Letters of the Saint

By REV. LOUIS TH. DE JESUS-AGONISANT,
OF THE SAME ORDER.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH

By ELLA A. MULLIGAN.
NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO :

BENZIGER BROTHERS,
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See.
D. J. McMahon, D.D.,
Censor Librorum.
Kmprimatur.
Michael Augustine,
A rchbishop of New York.
New York, January 28, i893.
Copyright, i893, by Benziger Brothers

Jntroirtuticrn.
hese little " Flowers of the Pas

sion " are a collection of devout
thoughts and sentiments gath
ered mostly from occasional letters of
that great lover of Jesus crucified, St.
Paul of the Cross. They are a treasure
to humble and simple souls, and show
what sweetness, comfort, graces, and
virtues can be drawn from devout
meditation on the Passion and death
of Jesus Christ. It is only from con
stant and loving reflection on the love
shown towards us, and the bright exam
ples of every virtue given us by our
suffering Lord, that such beautiful and
affecting sentiments could so spon
taneously spring.
3
4 INTRODUCTION.
To enjoy, therefore, all the benefits
to be derived from these exquisite lit
tle blossoms of love, we should imitate
St. Paul of the Cross, and meditate in
our own humble way on the mysteries
of the sacred Passion of Our Lord.
Wherefore, to insure greater utility to
the devout reader of these flowerets, we
subjoin in an appendix a short instruc
tion on the most easy and profitable
method of meditating on the sufferings
of Jesus Christ, Who became an outcast
and a reproach among His people in
order to atone for our sins, to reveal
His love for us, and to give us a bright
example of every virtue. " Christ suf
fered for us, leaving you an example
that you should follow His steps."
(t Peter ii. 2i.)
Preface.
esiring to satisfy the piety of

the faithful, we have gathered
into one volume the fragments
of the letters of St. Paul of the Cross
which appear in the various histories
of his life.
Even though these letters be incom
plete, they suffice to reveal in St. Paul
of the Cross a great master of the spir
itual life, a sure guide in the way of
perfection, a heart burning with divine
love—in a word, a radiantly beautiful
soul.
We know with what eagerness the
literary world seeks to possess itself of
the correspondence of celebrated men,
that through their letters may be seen
5
6 PREFACE.
the interesting drama of their interior
lives. Now if the children of the
world do this to gratify mere human
curiosity, surely the children of God
may do likewise when there is question
of unveiling the secrets of the divine
action in the theatre of the Christian
soul.
And what a charm there is in read
ing the interior lives of the friends of
God!
Who that is familiar with them does
not admire the spiritual letters of St.
Francis de Sales, so full of wisdom,
sweetness, and unction, as well as those
of Bossuet, Fenelon, and many other
teachers in the important and difficult
art of the government of souls ? St.
Paul of the Cross deserves to rank with
these grand spiritual directors ; there
fore we present this little treatise to the
public.
To the letters we have added some
PREFACE. ' 7
reflections or maxims of the saint
which ever and anon, like flashes of
heavenly wisdom, escaped from his fer
vent soul ; they are well calculated to
enlighten and console others less fa
vored than he.
St. Paul of the Cross was pre-emi
nently the preacher of the sufferings
and Passion of Our Lord, and in enti
tling this volume " Flowers of the Pas
sion " we believe we have given the
true name to the beautiful sentiments
that it embodies. It was on Calvary,
on the holy mount, that the saint
culled them. But let us remember
that, in order to appreciate the beauty
of these Flowers and inhale their sweet
and salutary perfume, we must accept,
at the risk of wounding our hands, the
thorns which surround them and serve
as their surety and safeguard. Such is
the constant law of the spiritual life :
the cross is sweet only to those who
8 PREFACE.
love it ; and the profound joys of sacri
fice are reserved for souls who quail
not before its austerities.
(Contents.
PAGK
Introduction, 3
Preface, 5
The Passion and the Way of Perfection, . II
The Passion and the Crucifix, . . .2i
The Passion and Spiritual Infancy, . . 38
The Passion and the Virgin Mary, . . 42
The Passion and Prayer, . . . -49
The Passion and Prayer (Continued), . 58
The Passion and the Presence of God, . 67
The Passion and Sin, . . . .70
The Passion and Heaven, . . -73
The Passion and Faith, . . . .76
The Passion and Hope, . . . .80
The Passion and Charity towards God, . 83
The Passion and Love of our Neighbor, . 90
The Passion and Poverty, . . -94
The Passion and Chastity, . . .96
The Passion and Obedience, . . . i00
The Passion and Mortification, . . i04
9
10 CONTENTS.
PAGK
The Passion and Humility, . . . i07
The Passion and the Holy Will of God, . i20
The Passion and Confidence in God, . i29
The Passion and Sufferings, . . . i35
The Passion and the Trials of the Soul, . i44
The Passion and Sickness, . . . i59
The Passion and Perfect Detachment. . 168
The Passion and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, i7i
The Passion and Peace of Heart, . .i74
The Passion and Illusions, . . . i78
The Passion and the Practices of a Chris
tian Life, ...... iS3
The Passion and the Rule of Life, . .i89
Summary of Christian Perfection, . . i9i
Appendix, 207
Method of Meditating 207
Outlines of Some Meditations on the Pas
sion, ....... 2i2
Short Method of Reciting the Five Wounds
of Jesus, ...... 230
Chaplet or Beads of the Seven Dolors, . 235
The Way of the Cross before a Crucifix, . 238
Ejaculations, 240
Prayer before a Crucifix, .... 240
FLOWERS OF THE PASSION.
fthe flaesion anb the tJJag of $er-

fettion.
he Passion of Christ is the door
which opens into the delicious
pastures of the soul. Our divine
Saviour has said : " I am the door. By
Me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved." (John x. 9.)
*
Imagine yourself seriously indisposed,
and that I, who love you tenderly, call
to see you. After saying a few words of
sympathy and consolation, I should
certainly look at you with compassion
and, through love of you, make your suf
ferings my own. Thus when we medi
11
12 THE PASSION AND THE WAY OF PERFECTION.
tate on the Passion of Christ, seeing Him
in such affliction, we ought to compas
sionate Him, and then to remain look
ing upon Him in so great torments, and,
through compassionate love, make His
sufferings our own.
Suppose that you had fallen into the

river, and that a charitable person threw
himself into the water to save you.
What would you say to such kindness ?
Moreover, suppose that, hardly drawn
from the water, you had been attacked
by assassins, and that your rescuer
again came to your assistance, and saved
your life at the risk of his own. What
would you do in return for such friend
ship ? It is certain that you would do
all in your power to heal the bruises he
received on your account. So ought
we to act towards Christ : we must con
template Him engulfed in an ocean of
THE PASSI0N AND THE WAY OF PERFECTION. 13
sorrows to save us from the eternal
abyss ; consider Him all covered with
wounds and bruises to purchase for us
eternal life. Then let us make His
pains our own, sympathize with His
sorrows, and consecrate to Him all our
affections.
Keep a continual remembrance of

the sufferings of your heavenly Spouse.
Endeavor to fathom the love with which
He endured them. The shortest way is
to lose yourself completely in that abyss
of sufferings. Truly does the prophet
call the Passion of Jesus a sea of love
and of sorrow. Ah! therein lies the great
secret which is revealed only to humble
souls. In this vast sea the soul fishes
for the pearls of virtues, and makes her
own the sufferings of her Beloved. I
have a lively confidence that your
Spouse will teach you this divine
method of fishing ; He will teach it to
you if you keep yourself in interior
solitude, your mind free from all dis
traction, detached from all earthly affec
tion, from every created thing, in pure
faith and holy love.
•
Hold yourself interiorly on the bosom
of God, in the passive way ; this is the
surest means of losing "yourself in God,
passing, however, continually through
the Gate divine, which is Jesus Christ
crucified, making His sufferings yours.
Love teaches all, for the Passion with
its bitter sorrows is the work of infinite
love. .
How can you, by love, make your

own the sufferings of our sweet Jesus ?
God will teach you how when it pleases
Him, for He alone can do so. The
soul inflamed with the love of God,
without distraction, in pure and simple
THE PASSION AND THE WAY OF PERFECTION. 15
faith, suddenly finds herself, when God
pleases, penetrated with the sufferings
of Jesus ; in a glance of faith she sees
them all, without understanding; for the
Passion of Our Saviour is a labor of love,
and the soul thus lost in God, Who is
all charity, all love, makes of herself a
fount of love and sorrow.
*
Our sweet Jesus has pierced your
heart so deeply with the thorns of His
sorrows that you will say henceforth :
To suffer and not to die ! or else : To
suffer or to die ! or better still : Neither
to suffer nor to die, but entire submis
sion to the good pleasure of God. Love
has an unitive quality, and makes the
sufferings of the beloved its own. If
you feel yourself penetrated interiorly
and exteriorly with the sufferings of
your divine Spouse, rejoice; but 1 may
say that this joy is experienced only in
16 I THE FASSION AND THE WAY OF PERFECTION.
the furnace of divine love, for the fire

which burns into the marrow of the
bones transforms the loving soul into
the object of her love ; and there, love
and sorrow are so sublimely blended
that the one can no longer be distin
guished from the other, and the loving
soul rejoices in her sorrow, and finds
her happiness in her dolorous love.
Persist in the study of your nothingness,
and be faithful in the practice of virtue,
above all in the imitation of our swee^
Saviour in His patience, for this is the
cardinal point of pure love. Never
neglect to offer yourself as a holocaust
to the infinite goodness of God. This
sacrifice ought to be made in the fire of
divine charity ; light it with a bouquet
of myrrh, that is, with the sufferings of
your Saviour. All this should be done
behind closed doors, that is, apart by
yourself, in pure and simple faith.
*
In times of aridity arouse your spirit
gently, by acts of love ; then rest in the
will of God. It is thus that the soul
gives the strongest proof of her fidelity
to God. Make a bouquet of the suffer
ings of Jesus, and place it on the bosom
of your soul, as I have told you. You
can from time to time call them to
mind, and say sweetly to your Saviour :
O good Jesus, how swollen, bruised, and
defiled with spittle do I behold Thy
countenance ! O my Love ! why do I
see Thee all covered with wounds ? O
Infinite Sweetness! why are Thy bones
laid bare ? Ah, what sufferings ! what
sorrows ! O my God ! for what art Thou
all wounded ! Ah, dear sufferings !
dear wounds ! I wish to keep you al
ways in my heart.
*
Wear, if you wish, a necklace of
pearls when you go out ; but when you
18 THE PASSION AND THE WAY OF PERFECTION,
put it on remember that Jesus wore the
rope and the heavy chain about His
neck. Wear that pearl necklace only in
order to please God, and humble your
self by saying : Jesus was bound with
ropes and heavy chains during His Pas
sion, and I wear pearls.
The days of the Passion are days

when the very stones melt into tears.
What! the High-Priest is dead, and we
cannot weep over Him ? We must have
lost faith, O my God !
*
The thought of Friday is suggestive
of reflections so sad as to make one that
truly loves sorrowful unto death ; for
was it not on that day that my Incar
nate God suffered for me, even to im
molating Himself for me, on the infa
mous gibbet of the cross ?
Let us always wear mourning in our
hearts, in memory of the Passion and
death of Jesus. We should never fail
to preserve a continual and sorrowful
remembrance of it. Let each of us en
deavor to lead others to meditate on
the sufferings of our most sweet Jesus.
*
My very dear daughter in Jesus cru
cified, I invite you to Calvary, to assist
at the obsequies of Our Saviour. Ah !
would that we could, for once, remain
there, wounded by divine charity—
wounded so deeply as to die of love
and sorrow over the Passion and death
of our only Good ! I will celebrate the
divine mysteries during these holy days,
and each time I do so I will place the
heart of this spiritual daughter whom
God has given me in the most pure and
agonizing Hearts . of Jesus and Mary.
Do likewise for the poor spiritual father
whom divine Providence has given to
you. Adieu, my daughter ; may Jesus
bless you, and inflame you with divine
iove.
THK PASSION AHD THE CRUCIFIX. 21
®he JJossion anb ilje Crncifix.
hen you are alone in your room,

take your crucifix, kiss its five
wounds reverently, tell - it to
preach you a little sermon, and then
listen to the words of eternal life that it
speaks to your heart ; listen to the
pleading of the thorns, the nails, the
precious Blood. Oh, what an eloquent
sermon !
The festival of the cross may be cele

brated at every moment in the interior
sanctuary of the true lovers of the cru
cifix. And how may it be celebrated ?
I will explain to you as best I can. We
celebrate this feast spiritually by suffer
ing in silence, without leaning on any
33 THE PASSION AND THE CRUCIFIX.
creature ; and as feasts are kept with
joy, the festival of the cross ought to
be kept by the lovers of the crucifix by
suffering in silence, with a countenance
happy and serene, in order that the pain
may be hidden from the eyes of crea
tures and be known only to God. In
this feast we feed at a delicious ban
quet, nourishing ourselves in the divine
Will, in imitation of our crucified Love.
Oh, what sweet food ! It is composed
of various elements : mental and phys
ical sufferings, contradictions, calum
nies, contempt, etc. Oh, how deli-
ciously these things taste to the spiritual
palate, if they be taken in pure faith
and holy love, in silence and with con
fidence !
An angel offered me, one day, a cross
made of gold, to teach me the value of
tribulations.
THE PASSION AND THE CRUCIFIX. 83
PSALM Of LOVe.
By the cross God perfects the loving
soul that offers Him a fervent and gen
erous heart.
Oh, what can I say of the precious
and divine treasure that our great God
has hidden in suffering ?
But this is a great secret, known only
to him who loves ; and I, who have had
no experience of it, must be content to
admire it from afar.
Happy the heart that keeps itself on
the cross, in the arms of the Well-Be
loved, and that burns only with divine
love !
Happier the one that suffers with
out joy, and is thus transformed into
Christ !
Happy he who suffers without being
attached to his suffering, desiring only to
die to himself, in order to love yet more
Him Who inflicts the wound of love !
I give you this lesson from the foot
of the cross, but it is in prayer that you
will understand it.
Christ prayed for three hours on the

cross ; this was truly a crucified pray
er, without either interior or exterior
consolation. O God ! what a grand
lessor* ! Beg God to impress it on
your heart. Oh, how much food for
meditation ! While Jesus agonized on
the cross He spoke His first three
words, which were three arrows of love;
and then He kept silence until the
ninth hour, praying during the entire
interval. I leave you to consider how
devoid of consolation was this prayer.
*
Repose on the naked cross, and make
no other complaint than this infantine
cry : My Father, my Father, Thy will
be done ! and then be silent. Continue
to repose on the cross until the happy
moment of your mystical death. This
precious death is more desirable, than
life. Then, as St. Paul said, your
life will be hidden with Christ in God
(Col. iii. 3), and you will find yourself in
this profound solitude that you love,
and entirely despoiled of every created
thing. Now is the moment to suffer in
silence and in peace ; resign yourself
to the agony you suffer, and it will
conduct you to mystical death.
*
The life of the servants of God is a
continual death. For you are dead and
your life is hid with Christ in God. I
wish you to die this mystical death.
We have just celebrated the birth of
Our Lord, and I am confident that you
are born mystically in Christ daily,
more and more ; and I desire you to die
in Him in a mystical manner, from day to
day, more perfectly, and to dissipate, in
the abyss of the Divinity, all those
little distractions that annoy you.
He who is mystically dead seeks
only God, Who is so good and so great.
He casts away all other thoughts, how
ever good, in order to think only of
God. He patiently awaits the ordi
nances of God; he ignores all else, that
there may be no obstacle to the divine
operation which is effected in the secret
of the soul—there where no creature,
neither angelic nor human, may ap
proach; for God alone dwells in this
secret place, which is the essence, the
spirit, the sanctuary of the soul, where
the heavenly hosts themselves are at
tentive to this divine operation, to this
divine birth, which takes place every
moment for him who is so happy as to
be mystically dead on the cross.
There is where I study my sermon —
at the foot of the crucifix.
*
May the holy cross of Christ remain
ever planted in our heart ! May our
mind be grafted on this tree of life,
and may it produce worthy fruits of
penance, through the merits of the
death of the true Author of life !
*
Your cross is indeed great ! Thanks
to our only Good, Who holds you on
the cross ! O beloved cross ! O holy
cross, tree of life, whence springs eter
nal life, I salute thee, I embrace thee,
I press thee to my heart ! Ah ! these
are the sentiments which ought to ani
mate us in our trials. Courage, then !
courage ! Under so heavy a weight
human nature will waver, it is true; but
the soul will taste a sweet peace in the
bosom of God.
Do not consider the magnitude of
your trials ; contemplate rather Jesus,
your crucified Love, the King of sor
rows and of anguish. If you do this, all
your sufferings will be flavored with
sweetness. Lift up your heart. Fix
your heart on God. For the time being,
you cannot, I admit, apply yourself to
prayer or to other exercises of piety ;
but, with my confidence founded on
Christ, I will give you a rule which
will enable you to pray without ceasing:
He prays always who lives well. Ani
mate yourself with faith, I beg of you ;
keep yourself in the presence of God in
all your actions.
On awaking, keep your heart under
control, by the remembrance of God,
your Love, your only Good. When God
inspires you with a sentiment of love,
stop and taste it, as the bee sips the
honey. . . . Ah ! when I reflect that my
soul is the temple of God, that God
dwells in me, how my heart rejoices !
All affliction appears to me sweet and
light. . . . What a fruitful source of med
itation !
Live in the joy and the peace of the
divine Majesty. Live lost in divine
love. Live for divine love and of divine
love.
O cherished cross ! Through thee
my most bitter trials are replete with
graces !
«
O souls! seek a refuge, like pure
doves, in the shadow of the crucifix.
There mourn the Passion of your divine
Spouse, and drawing from your hearts
flames of love and rivers of tears, make
of them a precious balm with which to
anoint the wounds of your Saviour.
30 THE PASSION AND THE EUCHARIST.
3CI]C passion ants the £joln

(Sncljariat.
Lord, how sweet is Thy Spirit !

" I know whom I have believed,
and I am certain." (2 Tim. i. i2.)
I am certain that Thou art in the taber
nacle. What happiness to remain during
the most silent hours at the foot of the
altar! Oh, who will give me the wings
of a dove, that I may take my flight of
love towards Thy divine Heart ?
*
It is no time to speak to creatures
when we are before the Eucharistic
throne where dwells the Lord of lords,
the Master of the world.
*
Each time that you celebrate Mass
THE PASSION AND THE EUCHARIST. 31
or approach the holy Table, imagine
that you are receiving the Viaticum.
«
Do not neglect to make due prepara
tion for the Holy Sacrifice; always make
your thanksgiving; watch day and night
over the interior tabernacle, that is, the
heart of the worthy priest. He who
acts thus will not fail to enkindle
within himself the fire of divine love.
Guard cautiously this living taber
nacle, and k«eep always burning there
the lamps of faith and charity. May it
be ever adorned with virtues! Imitate
the perfect dispositions of your Saviour.
Since the Mass is the renewal of the
Sacrifice of the Cross, enter into the
sentiments of compunction and of love
which animated the Blessed Virgin,
St. John, Joseph of Arimathea, and
Nicodemus. The heart of the priest
ought to be the sepulchre of Christ.
As the tomb in which He was laid after
death was new, so ought your heart be
pure, animated with a lively faith, a
firm confidence, an ardent charity, a
fervent desire for the glory of God and
the salvation of souls. The Mass is the
most favorable occasion to treat with
the eternal Father, because then we
offer Him His only Son as a victim for
our salvation. Before celebrating, re
flect on the sufferings of your Redeemer,
commune peaceably with Him, even in
the midst of dryness; carry to the altar
the needs of the entire world.
*
Do not pass a single day without
visiting the God of the tabernacle ; in \
His presence grieve for the irreverences
that He receives from bad Christians,
who repay His love with sacrileges and
basest ingratitude. In reparation for so
many outrages, the loving soul ought to
THE PASSION AND THE EDCHABIST. 83
offer herself as a victim, consume herself
in the fire of divine love, offer her praises
to Jesus on the altar, visit Him for
those unhappy souls who fail to do so,
visit Him especially at hours when no
body else pays Him homage.
*
The feast of the Blessed Sacrament
is the -feast of love. Oh, what great
love ! what immense charity ! The
moth is drawn to the light, and burns
itself in it. May your soul likewise
draw near to the divine light ! May it
be reduced to ashes in that sacred
flame, particularly during this great and
sweet octave of Corpus Christi.
Ah ! eat, drink, run, sing, rejoice in
honor of your divine Spouse.
*
How wonderful are the treasures
which are enclosed in the divine
Eucharist !
I exhort you, though you live in the
world, to communicate often, but with
piety.
Holy Communion is the most effica
cious means of uniting one's self to God.
Always prepare yourself well for this
sacred banquet. Have a very pure
heart, and watch over your tongue, for
it is on the tongue that the Sacred Host
is laid. Carry Our Lord home with
you after your thanksgiving, and let
your heart be a living tabernacle for
Jesus. Visit Him often in this interior
tabernacle, offering Him your homage,
and the sentiments of gratitude with
which divine love will inspire you.
Preserve carefully the sentiments of
love with which you are filled after
Communion.
You could not love Jesus if you did
not possess the living source of holy
and pure love, namely, the Holy
Spirit. Our divine Redeemer said,
THE PASSION AND THE EUCHARIST. 3d
" He that believeth in Me, out of his
belly shall flow streams of living water."
(John vii. 38.) This He said of the
spirit which they should receive who
believed in Him. Therefore, when God
enkindles in you the flames of divine
love, holy, pure, and without stain, let
yourself disappear in the infinite Good,
and, like an infant, sleep the sleep of
faith and love in the bosom of your
heavenly Spouse.
*
Love speaks little.
*
The hermits of old, those great ser
vants of God, communicated rarely; but
because they prepared themselves care
fully they received such special graces
that, in a short time, they arrived at
perfection.
Every day make a visit to the Blessed

Sacrament, and when the duties of your
state of life prevent you, visit Him in
spirit.
*
The Holy Eucharist very often in
vigorates and strengthens even the
body. O infinite mercy of our sov
ereign Good ! this marvellous effect
proceeds from the great vigor which the
bread of angels communicates to the
soul, and which reacts on the body.
*
O Jesus, hidden under the Eucha-
ristic veils, Thou hast said: " If any one
thirst, let him come to Me, and I will
refresh him." Do Thou quench my
thirst. ... In truth, in truth, Jesus has
refreshed me ; at some future day He
will entirely quench my thirst.
My God, the tabernacle is the abode

of Thy love, prepared by Thee for
THE PASSION AND THE EUCHARIST. 87
those whom Thou lovest. When shall
I be enabled, during the hours of pro
found solitude, to commune with my
Eucharistic Love at the foot of the
holy altaT-? Who will give me the
wings of a dove, that I may take my
flight to the Sacred Heart of my Jesus .'
38 " THE PASSION AND SFmiTCAL IHFANCT.
8Tl)e passion anb Spiritnal Infancg-
UT off the old man with his works,

and put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ."
God delights in those who make
themselves little and become as little
children; He keeps them near His per
son, and nourishes them with the milk
of divine love, in order to prepare them
for the sweet wine of holy love, which
inebriates those who drink it; but it is
a blessed wine, which gives daily more
wisdom.
Let us make ourselves as children

with Jesus, hiding ourselves in our
nothingness; let us be humble and sim
ple as children by an exact obedience,
by purity of heart, by love of holy pov
THE PASSION AND SPIRITUAL INFANCY. 39
erty by a love of sufferings, and, above
all, by childlike simplicity in the faith
ful observance of our rules and consti
tutions, and let us not take the liberty
to interpret them broadly nor in any
other sense than their own. Narrow
is the way that leadeth to life. Let us
allow ourselves to be guided and used
by our superiors, whom God has placed
over us for our government and direc
tion.
Thus we shall be true imitators of
the Child Jesus, Who abandoned Him
self in everything to the care of His
Mother, the most holy and immaculate
Virgin Mary.
By these beautiful virtues you will
render yourselves worthy to partake of
the banquet of angels.
At this sacred banquet contemplate
the divine Child, trembling with cold,
which He suffered that He might en
kindle in our hearts the flames of di
40 THE PASSION AND SPIRITUAL INFANCY.
vine love. Ah ! ponder attentively this
grand mystery. Consider the incon
veniences, the cold, the poverty, the ab
sence of all comforts which Jesus, Mary,
and Joseph endured; and I hope that,
through the goodness of God, you will
form the generous resolution of becom
ing great saints by the faithful imitation
of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Model your hearts on that of the
divine Infant, that He may vivify you,
encourage you, inflame you, sanctify
you, render you capable of doing great
things for the glory of God; and may
the holy Virgin keep you pure with the
precious balm of her virtues ! Amen.
*
O Jesus, my Love, may my heart be
consumed in loving Thee; make me
humble and holy; give me childlike
simplicity; transform me into thy holy
love. O Jesus, life of my life, joy of
my soul, God of my heart, accept my
THE PASSION AND SPIRITUAL INFANCY. 41
heart as an altar, on which I will sacri
fice to Thee the gold of ardent charity,
the incense of continual, humble, and
fervent prayer, and the myrrh of con
stant mortification! Amen.
42 THE PASSION AND THE VIRGIN MARY.
®he passion onb the birjjin iftarrj.
he great heart of the child Mary

is, after the Heart of Jesus, the
holiest of all hearts; it has loved,
and it loves God more than the whole
court of heaven, more than all the
angels and saints, past, present, and to
come. Desire, then, to love God like
the heart of this sublime child, and to
this end place yourself in this beautiful
heart, and love God through it, with
the intention of practising all the vir
tues of which it has given us the ex
ample.
How can we form an adequate idea
of Mary's triumph on the occasion of
her glorious Assumption ?
*
The riches of this great Queen are
THE PASSION AND THE VIRGIN MARY. 48
immense; she is an ocean of perfection,
the depth of which can be fathomed
only by Him Who has enriched it with
so many graces.
The wonderful wound of love which
she received at the instant of her Im
maculate Conception went on ever en
larging, during life, until finally it
penetrated her so profoundly that it
detached her most holy soul from her
body. Thus it was a death of love,
sweeter than life itself, which ended
the boundless sorrow that she suffered
in the course of her earthly pilgrimage,
not only during the Passion of Christ,
but also in witnessing the offences and
ingratitude of men towards the divine
Majesty. Let us, then, rejoice in God,
over the signal triumph of Mary, our
Queen and Mother; let us rejoice in
seeing her raised above the choirs of
angels and placed at the right hand of
her divine Son. You may extol the
44 THE PASSION AND THE VIROIN MARY.
glories of Mary in the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, and even love her with this di
vine Heart; and, if Jesus permit you,
take flight into the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, rejoice with her, congratulate
her that her sufferings are at an end,
ask grace to live always immersed
in that immense ocean of divine love
whence springs that other ocean of the
sufferings of Jesus and the dolors of
Mary. Let us be pierced through by
those sufferings and these dolors; and
let the sword be well tempered, that
the wound of love may be the deeper;
for the deeper it is, the sooner will the
captive soul escape from her prison. I
am in an abyss of darkness, and I know
not how to speak of these marvels. He
who would be the most pleasing to
Mary must humble himself the most,
for Mary was the humblest of creatures,
and for that reason she pleased God
more than all others.
THE PASSION AND THE VIRGIN MARY. 45
Meditate frequently on the sorrows
of the Mother of God—sorrows insepa
rable from those of her beloved Son.
If you go to the crucifix, you will there
find the Mother, and, on the other
hand, wherever the Mother is, there,
also, is the Son.
*
Unite the sufferings of Jesus with
those of the holy Virgin, and, bowing
yourself beneath their weight, make of
yourself a holocaust of love and sor
row. Divine love will teach you how,
if you keep yourself concentrated in
your nothingness.
*
To-day we commemorate the dolors
of Mary; recommend me fervently to
her, that her dolors and the Passion of
my Jesus may be ever graven on my
heart. I wish it with all the ardor of
my soul. Would that I could impress
them on the hearts of all men; then
the whole world would be inflamed with
divine love.
My heart breaks when I think of the
sorrows of the most holy Virgin.
O tender Mother, unutterable was thy
grief in finding thyself deprived of thy
dear Son, and then in beholding Him
dead in thy arms !
Ah ! who can realize the sadness of
Mary when she returned to Bethany
after the burial of her Son ?
Jesus expires on the cross ! He is
dead that we may have life. All crea
tion mourns : the sun darkens, the
earth trembles, the rocks burst, and the
veil of the temple is rent in twain ; my
heart alone remains harder than a rock !
*
All I say to you now is, console the
poor Mother of Jesus. It is a miracle
that she does not die ; she is absorbed
THE PASSION AND THE VIRQIN MARY. 47
in the sufferings of Jesus. Imitate her,
and ask Magdalen and the beloved dis
ciple St. John what are their senti
ments.
*
I dwell in spirit at the foot of the

cross.
*
The sorrow of Mary is like the Med

iterranean Sea, for it is written, " Your
sorrow is great as the sea." From that
sea we pass to a second sea, which has
no limits; it is the Passion of Our Lord,
of which the Royal Prophet said, " I
am entered on the high sea." There the
soul enriches herself in fishing for the
priceless pearls of virtue.
O immaculate Virgin, Queen of mar

tyrs ! I conjure thee, by the sorrows that
thou didst endure during the awful Pas
sion of thy amiable Jesus, give to all of
us thy maternal blessing.
I place all my spiritual children
under the mantle of thy protection.
THE PASSION AND PBATEB. 49
<JIje JJassion ant JJrager.

I.
would believe myself to have
failed in duty, as St. Bonaven-
^r> ture said, were I to pass a single
day without thinking of my Saviour's
Passion.
Your most important business is the

care of your soul. This is why, before
leaving your room in the morning, you
should spend at least a quarter of an
hour in meditating on the life, the Pas
sion, and the death of Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
*
Oh, what joy will it give to the
blessed in heaven, and what pleasure
to your guardian angel, to see you en-
50 THE PASSION AND PRAYER.
gaged in mental prayer ! Never omit
this holy exercise.
I would like the subject of your pray

er to be the Passion of Jesus ; let your
heart lose itself in God in those lov
ing communings. But understand me
well ; I wish you to leave your soul en
tirely free to follow the attractions of
the Holy Spirit. I repeat to you, then,
that we must pray, not according to our
own fancy, but as God wills. Yes, when
the soul is inclined to be alone with
God, in pure and simple faith, reposing
on the bosom of her Well-Beloved, in a
silence begotten of love, silence in which
the soul speaks to God much better than
by words—in this case she must be left
in peace, and not be disturbed by other
exercises.
God then holds her in the arms of
His love, and nourishes her with the
THE PASSION AND PRAYElt. 51
delicious wine which generates vir
gins.
*
Sometimes, in prayer, God communi
cates to the soul, all at once, His treas
ures of lights and heavenly graces.
Imagine that you have in your hand a
golden dish, that you pour into it the
extract of the rarest and most exquisite
perfumes, and that you steep into it a
fine cambric handkerchief ; this hand
kerchief will yield a delicious and inex
plicable odor, composed of all the per
fumes. It is thus my soul feels when I
receive those intimate and hidden com
munications.
*
Oh, how I wish that everybody
would apply himself to meditation and
prayer !
What a misfortune that there are so
few souls who know the hidden treasure
52 THE PASSION AND FRAYER.
contained in prayer and union with
God !
Alas ! we enter easily on the road to
perdition when we neglect prayer.
*
If God grants you the gift of prayer,
be faithful to it ; take care, however,
that you do not become slothful in the
practice of virtues and the imitation of
Jesus.
Always begin your prayer with one of
the mysteries of the Passion, and engage
your soul in it by pious soliloquies, with
out making an effort to meditate. If
God afterwards attract you to the si
lence of love and faith, do not disturb
the peace of your soul by any explicit
reflections. I advise you, above all
things, to ground yourself in humility
and in the hatred of yourself. Of this
we can never do enough.
*
Be faithful to correspond with the
THE PASSION AND PRAYER. 58
wonderful graces which you have re
ceived from Our Lord ; they are a prep
aration for greater graces and more sub
lime lights, which will cause you to love
God more, to acquire more solid virtue,
and to practise it in a more heroic de
gree.
Truly, the more the soul is enlight
ened by faith and prayer, the more inti
mately is she united to God, and by
means of this union with the Supreme
Being she is enriched with all goods,
and she accomplishes great things with
humility and a sense of her own insuf
ficiency. Thus she disposes herself to
be all absorbed in God in contempla
tion, for the divine Lover draws her to
Himself by means of this union.
It is for this reason that I wish you to
be diligent in the study of your own
nothingness, that this nothingness may
be absorbed, so to speak, in the immen
sity of God, Who is all.
O happy loss ! The soul finds her
self again, indeed, after losing herself in
God.
*
Ah ! the God of truth loves the
truth. Now, he who knows his nothing
ness, and acknowledges it, knows the
truth.
Through contemplation, which ac
quaints us with this great truth that we
are nothing and that God is all, our
soul is plunged into the infinite love of
the Supreme Good.
Follow the rules which I have marked
out for your direction in prayer accord
ing to the lights that God has given me.
The state of prayer, in which God
has placed you, requires few words.
Love speaks little. The language of
divine love is a burning heart ; no
words can express its ardors ; they
make of the loving soul a victim of
THE PA6SI0N AND PRAYER. 65
love, a holocaust, consumed and re
duced to ashes in the divine fire of
charity.
*
My soul is entirely oblivious of self
in that immense ocean of the infinite
glories of God.
*
Let us be generous, let us serve the
Lord nobly, let us practise great virtues;
God will be our strength and will give
us victory.
I recommend you not to lose sight of
the Passion and death of Jesus, our
life.
Remember that you ought no longer

to meditate as you did in the begin
ning, but after the rules I have given
you.
Love is an unitive virtue which ap
propriates the sufferings of the Beloved.
THE PASSION AND PRAYER.
Meditate in pure faith; spend not
your time in vain imaginings.
*
Make a nosegay of the sufferings of
Jesus, and wear it on your bosom, or else
keep yourself absorbed in God in pure
faith ; let your soul be rapt in the
thought of His sufferings and His love.
Remain in this sacred silence, in this
holy admiration, which increases the
love of God.
*
I do not tell you to pray in my way,
but in that of God. Leave your soul
at liberty to receive the divine impres
sions according to God's pleasure. We
should pray according to the dictates of
the Holy Spirit.
*
If God wishes to despoil us, let us
allow Him to do so. Let us not neg
lect the practice of virtues, let us not
neglect the holy presence of God, let
usTiot neglect the remembrance of the
Passion of our dear Jesus ; but in medi
tation we must follow His inspirations,
not our own impulses. There are some
rules, but God is the Master.
Let us abandon ourselves to Him,
trust in Him, despoil ourselves of every
thing, and God will clothe us after
His own way.
*
Leave your soul free to take her
flight to the Sovereign Good as God
shall guide her.
The moth flies round the flame and
falls into it ; let your soul be drawn
into the divine light and consumed in it.
68 THE PASSION AND PRAYBft.
SClje fkssion anir ^rager.

II.
see that you can no longer meditate
as heretofore, nor picture to your
self the scenes of Our Saviour's
Passion ; your mind suffers when you
try to constrain it ; Deo gratias ! Act,
then, in this way : keep yourself in the
presence of God, with a pure and simple
consideration of His immense good
ness, in a loving silence ; rest your
spirit in the paternal bosom of your
God, and when recollection ceases, re
call it gently by a loving ejaculation.
*
O amiable Goodness ! O infinite
Charity ! O my God and my All ! O
supreme Sweetness ! Make these as
pirations, or any others, as God will
inspire you ; but remember that if, in
making one of these ejaculations of
love, your soul regain her peace and
recollection in God, it is unnecessary
to make a second ; continue, rather,
this silence, this repose of the soul in
God, which includes excellently all the
acts that we can ever make.
When, on the contrary, you do not
feel this interior peace, or this recollec
tion, the soul can no longer meditate.
Make no effort to do so ; you ought,
however, always to keep up a loving
attention to God in the superior part of
the soul. In this case, remain before
God, detached from all consolation, like
a statue in its niche.
" The true adorers shall adore the

Father in spirit and in truth." (John
iv. 23.) Note these words well, be
cause they contain all the elements
of prayer ; its perfection consists not
in the joys and sensible delights which
it may produce, but in the spirit —
that is, in a true, pure, and simple
nakedness and poverty of spirit, de
tached from all sensible consolation, so
that the spirit reposes, purely and simply,
in the infinite Spirit of God. Our Lord
adds : " and in truth "—that is to say,
we must have a full consciousness of our
nothingness, so as not to rob God of
one iota of His glory.
See that child : after having fondled
and caressed its mother, it lulls itself
on her breast, continuing to move its
tiny lips sucking the milk ; so the soul,
after having spent her affections, so to
speak, ought to rest on the bosom of
her heavenly Father, and not awaken
from this sleep of faith and love with
out the permission of God.
You ought to forget yourself in God;

let your spirit fall, as a drop of water,
into that immense ocean of charity,
to repose there and receive the divine
communications, without losing sight of
your nothingness. We learn all things
in this divine solitude ; we learn more
things in this interior school by
being silent than by talking. St. Mary
Magdalen out of love fell at the feet
of Jesus ; there she was silent, she
listened, she loved, she lost herself in
love.
*
Take with you everywhere this spirit
of prayer and interior recollection. Go
out of yourself, and lose yourself in
God ; go out of time, and lose yourself
in eternity.
I am at the sea-shore ; a drop of
water is suspended from my finger. I
ask this water : Poor drop, where would
you wish to be ? It replies : In the
sea. And what do I in answer to this
appeal ? I shake my finger and let the
poor little drop fall into the sea. Now,
I ask you, is it not true that this drop
of water is in the sea ? Certainly it is
there ; but go and seek it, now that it is
lost in the ocean, its centre. If it had
a tongue, what would it say ? Deduce
the consequence and apply the parable
to yourself. Lose sight of the heavens,
the earth, the sea and its rivers, and all
created things, and permit this soul that
God has given you to lose herself in
this infinitely great and good God Who
is her first cause.
*
See if this grace of prayer, with which
the Most High favors you, produces in
you a better knowledge of your utter
insufficiency.
*
Be careful to keep yourse^ hidden
from creatures, and visible to God only,
by an earnest desire for His greater
glory, by a profound contempt of your
self, by the practice of all virtues, es
pecially humility, patience, gentleness,
peace of heart, and by a perfect even
ness of temper towards all persons with
whom you come in contact.
Prayer is never more perfect than
when it ascends from the very depth
and essence of the soul ; we pray, then,
in the spirit of God. This is a sub
lime language, but when God wills, He
makes even the stones speak. Let the
sovereign God reign in your spirit ;
there ought to be a reciprocal repose :
God in you, and you in God. O sweet,
O divine operation !
God nourishes Himself, let me say
for want of a better word— God nour
ishes Himself with your spirit, and
your spirit sustains herself with the
Spirit of God : Jesus is my nourish
ment, and I am His. There is no illu
sion possible in this operation, because
it is a labor of faith and love.
Your prayer ought to be continual.

The place wherein we ought to pray is
the spirit of God.
In God we should chant the divine
praises ; we should do all things in God.
Pray twenty- four hours every day—
that is, perform all your actions with
heart and mind raised to God, holding
yourself in interior solitude, and repos
ing in God in pure faith.
When your poor, restless heart turns
by the grace of God towards the divine
light, and conceives a wish to fly
thither and be consumed therein, speak
to God with profound reverence and
gratitude of the wonders He did in
becoming incarnate, suffering and dying
for us.
One or two loving words may cause
the soul to become enraptured, lan
guishing, fainting of love and sorrow.
*
If you cannot spend much time at
prayer, no matter : to act well is always
to pray well.
Be attentive to your duties, and at
the same time be attentive to God by
frequently purifying your heart in the
immense ocean of divine love.
*
Take care that your prayer becomes
more and more interior, in pure faith ;
humble yourself, and seek no consola
tions but the great God Who gives
them.
*
A'word suffices, sometimes, to dispose
us to mental prayer. " Our Father,
Who art in heaven "—pronounce those
words, and then let the heart act.
66 THE PASSION AND PRAYER,
IP we are men of prayer, God will
make use of us, although poor and mis
erable, for the greatest triumphs of His
glory ; unless we are men of prayer, we
can accomplish no good.
TUB PASSION AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 67
She passion ana the presence of

®ob.
ere any one to ask me, no mat

ter at what moment, " Of
what are you thinking ? " it
seems to me I could reply, "God alone
occupies my mind."
*
Though I find myself in so wretched
a condition that I feel as if I no longer
possess faith, hope, or charity, nor even
that natural light which other men
enjoy, so that I seem to be like an ani
mal, even then, were I asked of what I
was thinking, I could truthfully say
that in the depth of my soul I have
God alone present with me.
*
It seems to me impossible not to
68 THE PASSION AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
think of God, our soul being filled with
God and we absorbed in God. In
the Pater Noster do we not say, " Who
art in heaven " ? Ah well ! our soul is
a spiritual heaven ; there the Divine
Majesty has His throne. How, then, is
it possible to forget God, or not to love
Him ?
I recommend to you particularly to

keep yourself in the presence of God,
not by a dry and sterile study, but
affectionately and peaceably, in order
to imbibe His spirit. This practice is a
powerful means of establishing, between
God and the soul, a holy union of
charity.
*
" Walk before Me and be perfect."
(Gen. xvii. i.) Let everything recall
to you the presence of God. If, for
example, you go into the garden and
see some flowers, ask one of them.
THE PASSION AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 69
What are you ? It will not reply, I am
a flower. No, but it will say to you,
Ego vox—I am a preacher ; I preach
the power, the wisdom, the goodness,
the beauty, the prudence of our great
God.
Imagine that the flower makes you
this reply, and let it penetrate your
heart and teach you a lesson of divine
love.
70 THE PASSION AND SIK.
®lje passion and Sin.
ow is it possible to offend a God

scourged, a God crowned with
thorns, a God crucified for us ?
And how is it possible that, seriously
pondering these truths of faith, we can
yet offend God ?
I have converted by this means the
most hardened sinners, and so sincere
was their repentance that, when I after
wards heard their confessions, I could
no longer find in them sufficient matter
for absolution. So remarkable a change
came about because they were faithful
to the advice I had given them to medi
tate on the sufferings of Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
*
Begin in the morning, before leaving
THE PASSION AND SIN. 71
your room, by meditating, for a quarter
of an hour, on the Passion of our Re
deemer, and you will see that, all will
go well with you, and that you will live
far removed from sin.
*
The most efficacious means of con
verting the most obdurate sinners is
the Passion of Our Lord, preached
according to the method which Christ's,
vicar on earth has approved.
The greater number of Christians live

unmindful of all that our most amiable
Jesus has done and suffered. This is
why they live on, sleeping in the horri
ble mire of iniquity. To arouse them
from their detestable lethargy, it is nec
essary to send laborers burning with
zeal, who with the trumpet of the
divine Word, preaching the Passion of
Christ, will awaken the poor sinners that
72 THE PASSION AND SIN.
are sitting in darkness and in the shadow
of death.
*
Pray for our poor congregation, whose
mission it is to mourn, without ceasing,
the sorrows and the death of our be
loved Redeemer. God wishes it to pro
duce a great number of good laborers,
who, as trumpeters of the Holy Ghost,
will preach to the world and destroy
sin.
THE PASSION AND HEAVEN. 73
Slje passion anb Qtaven.
yROM this valley of tears, turn your

gaze continually to God, ever
awaiting the moment when you
will be united to Him in heaven. Often
contemplate heaven, and fervently ex
claim: What a beautiful abode there is
above! It is destined for us! Sigh long
ingly after its possession. Sometimes
say, while your eyes are moist with tears:
Nothing in this world pleases me; I no
longer care for anything but my God.
Yes, I hope, yes, I wish to possess Him,
and I hope this of the mercy of God,
through the merits of my Saviour's Pas
sion and the dolors of my good Mother
Mary.
*
When you behold a beautiful land
scape, say : Heaven is more beautiful
74 THE PASSION AND HEAVEN.
than that ! Above there are true delights
and holy pleasures ! Let us live, then, ab
sorbed in the thought and the desire of
that immense ocean of felicity which
we are to enjoy in heaven.
'*
How beautiful to look upon is the
starry firmament ! Yet it is only the
portal of the blessed country where I
hope to go one day.
Far from consoling me, the things of
this world only inspire me with pain and
disgust.
It seems to me that I am awaiting a
thousand years the happiness of going
to my God, my supreme good.
The soul, once in paradise, will be
transformed into God, and God will be
all in the soul, in such a manner that
the soul will be, as it were, deified. Cast
a drop of sweet water into the sea: it
will be so absorbed that we can no
longer distinguish it. So in heaven the
THE PASSION AND HEAVEN. 75
beatified spirit, which is immersed in
the immense ocean of the Divinity, is
in a certain sense deified by being unit
ed, through love, to God.
*
Already the walls of the prison are
crumbling to dust, and the prisoner is
about to enjoy the "liberty of the chil
dren of God.
Sigh after that happy country ; leave
your heart free to take its flight thither;
above all, drink, with love, of your
Saviour's chalice ; inebriate yourself
with it—and how ? By pure love and
pure suffering; unite the two, or, rather,
cast a drop of your sufferings into the
ocean of divine love.
My son, in heaven the elect will not
be united to me as a friend is united
to a friend, but as the iron which is
penetrated by the fire.
T6 THK PASSION AND FAITH.
(fflje passion ano Joitlj.
alk in faith.
Oh, ho\V I love those souls
who walk in pure faith, aban
doning themselves entirely into the
hands of God !
How I wish we would all walk in
faith ! Yes, this is the true way.
Obscure though faith be, it is the in

fallible guide of holy love. Oh, what
delight my heart experiences in this
certainty !
As St. John of the Cross said: 0 night,
dark night, night more desirable than
the break of day, night which unites
the soul to God, and transforms her
into her Well-Beloved !
THE PASSION AND FAITH. 77
Oh, what a noble practice to humble
ourselves before God in pure faith, and
to lose our insignificant being in the
infinite abyss of divine love !
Let us always seek God by faith in

the interior of our soul.
Let a drop of rare perfume fall on a
ball of cotton, and a delicious odor will
be emitted from the entire ball; thus
an aspiration of the heart to God em
balms our soul with His divine spirit
and causes her to emit a sweet odor in
His presence.
Like infants let us rest on the bosom
of God by faith, that we may enjoy
His divine communications, and we
will be fully satisfied.
*
Some there are whose devotion leads
them to visit the holy places and the
famous basilicas. I do not condemn
78 THE PASSION AKD FAITH.
this devotion; however, faith tells us
that our heart is a great sanctuary,
/ because it is the living temple of God
and the abode of the Blessed Trinity.
Let us enter this temple frequently, and
there adore, in spirit and in truth, the
august Trinity.
What a sublime devotion !
*
The kingdom of God is within you.
Reanimate your faith often when you
study, work, or eat ; when you retire to
rest, or rise in the morning. Make'
some loving aspirations to God, such as:
" O Infinite Goodness! " or other prayer,
and let your soul be penetrated by these
pious sentiments as by a precious balm.
This great God is nearer to you, so to
speak, than you are to yourself.
As for me, I cannot understand how
it is possible not to be always thinking
of God.
THE PASSION AND FAITH. 79
The just live by faith. You are the
living temple of God. Visit this inte
rior sanctuary often, and see that the
lamps,— that is, faith, hope, and charity
—are burning.
80 THE PASSION AND HOPE.
STIje passion unit tyoipe.
ope expands the heart, increases

courage, and lovingly places us
in the hands of God.
*
"7^ Fancy a mother who playfully holds
in her arms a child over the edge of a
high wall, or over the brink of a preci
pice. Who could believe that this
mother would let her child fall ? Nei
ther can I persuade myself that God
will let me fall into the depths of hell
if I rely on Him ; therefore I repose
with perfect security on the bosom of
Divine Goodness much more peace
fully than does a child in the arms of its
mother.
*
Place your hopes in the mercy of
THE PASSION AND HOPE. 81
God and the merits of Our Redeemer ;
say often, looking at the crucifix : There
are centred all my hopes.
*
I am full of miseries ; however, I hope
to save my soul : I hope it of the infi
nite power and goodness of God ; I hope
it through the Passion and death of
Jesus ; I hope it by the intercession
of the Mother of Sorrows ; yes, I hope
to go to heaven.
*
If your eternal salvation depended on
yourself alone, you would have serious
cause for alarm, but since it is in the
hands of your heavenly Father, what
have you to fear ? My hopes rest on
the Passion of Jesus and on the dolors
of Mary.
Why despair of your eternal salvation ?
Do you not know how good God is ?
*
83 THE PASSION AMD HOPE.
Let all our hopes centre in the Infi
nite Goodness ; let us give thanks to our
Crucified Love when He deprives us of
all human aid, and let us place still
greater confidence in His fatherly good
ness.
THE PASSION AND CHARITY TOWARDS GOD. 83
She |)assicm anb (Eljaritg tcroarbs

@ob.
^~ ought to burn of love for God out

of gratitude for the kindness that
He has shown me.
*
If the Lord some day open my eyes
to the dangers from which He deliv
ered me, and the graces which He be
stowed on me, you will find me dead of
sorrow and love at the foot of the altar.
*
My only desire is to unite myself to
my God.
*
It is impossible, to the human mind,
to comprehend that infinite, eternal, im
mense Being ; all that we can under
84 THE PASSION AND CHARITY TOWARDS GOD.
stand of Him in this life is nothing in

comparison to the reality.
*
What ! a God made man ? a God
crucified ? a God dead ? a God in the
Sacrament of the Altar ? Who ? A
God!
*
0 charity ! O marvels of love ! And
for whom ? O ungrateful man! how is
it possible that you do not love God ?
*
Would that I could set the whole
world on fire with the love of God !
Alas that I have not the strength to
go and continue to preach my Jesus
crucified, Who died on the cross for us
sinners ! Would that I might thus put
an end to the commission of so many
crimes !
1 would fain say much, but in order

THE PASSION AHD CHARITY TOWARDS GOD. 85
to speak of love, it is necessary to love ;
love alone can suggest its own language.
Let the earth be silent before the
great God. I repeat it : I would fain
say many things, but I feel as one dumb.
Listen to your divine Spouse, and let
yourself be taught by Him.
O my God ! teach me how to express
myself.
Would that I were all aflame with love !
More than that : would that I could
sing hymns of praise in the fire of love,
and extol the marvellous mercies that
uncreated love has bestowed on us ! Is
it not truly a duty to thank God for His
gifts ? Yes, doubtless, but I know not
how. I wish to do so, and I know not
how.
To faint away with the desire to
love this great God more and more is
little.
To consume ourselves for Him is
little.
86 THE PASSION AMD CHARITY TOWARDS GOD.
What shall we do ? Ah ! we will live
for that divine Lover in a perpetual
agony of love. But think you I have
said enough ? No ; I would say more
if I knew how.
Do you know what consoles me some
what ? To know that our great God is an
infinite good, and that nobody is capa
ble of loving and praising Him as much
as He deserves.
I rejoice in the infinite love which
He bears Himself ; I rejoice in the essen
tial happiness which He enjoys in Him- ,
self, without need of any creature. But,
mad that I am, would it not be better
for me to rush into those flames of love
and there remain in silence, consumed
and lost in that infinite All ?
Ah ! this is the work of love, and I am
never sufficiently disposed to lose my
self in love.
*
My heart now experiences such a
THE PASSION AND CHARITY TOWARDS GOD. 87
thirst that a river would not suffice to sat
isfy it ; an ocean is needed to quench
this thirst, but it is an ocean of fire and
love that I wish to consume.
*
When shall we be all on fire as are
the seraphim ? What shall we do to
please our sweet Jesus ? Ah ! would
that the fire of our charity were so great
that it would inflame all who are near
us, and all who are afar, all peoples, of
every tongue and nation ; in a word, all
creatures, that all might know and love
the Supreme Being !
In all your actions purify your in

tention, renew it several times a day,
often repeat : All for the greater glory
of God!
*
I would believe myself damned if I
robbed God of one atom of His jglory.
88 THE PASSION AND CHARITY TOWARDS GOD.
I would believe myself more wicked
than Lucifer if I had anything else in
view but God.
I recommend to you simplicity, purity
of intention, and practical examen on
this virtue ; mark well that, in order to
labor for the glory of God, our soul
must be free and detached from all
things, with God alone in view.
*
We must love God always, even
when He sends us afflictions, looking
up to God alone.
O my God, how good Thou art ! I
desire nothing else but Thee !
*
Divine love is a jealous love ; one
spark of irregular affection for any creat
ure is sufficient to ruin all.
*
Let everything in creation draw you
to God. Refresh your mind with some
THE PASSION ASD CHARITY TOWARDS GOD. 89
innocent recreation and needful rest, if
it were only to saunter through the gar
den or the fields, listening to the ser
mon preached by the flowers, the trees,
the meadows, the sun, the sky, and the
whole universe. You will find that they
exhort you to love and praise God ;
that they excite you to extol the great
ness of the Sovereign Architect Who
has given them their being.
90 THE PASSION AND THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR.
©he passion onb t\)c tove of dDttr

Neighbor.
-ou will find the name of Jesus en

graven on the countenances of
the poor.
Have courage, ye poor of Christ,
because heaven is for the poor.
*
Wealth, unless it be devoted to good
works, will become to its possessor
only a source of endless torment in
hell.
*
To provide for the sick, we should
sell even our silver chalices.
*
If you succeed in bringing a single
soul to heaven, what charity ! what a
gain ! what glory to God !
THE PASSION AND THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR. 91
If, during life, we have been kind to
the suffering souls in purgatory, God
will see that help be not denied us after
death.
*
We must cover the failings of our
neighbor with the mantle of charity, at
tributing them to ignorance or inadver
tence.
*
You should regard the person that
tries your patience as a treasure. Look
upon her with an affectionate eye, as
an instrument which God uses to clothe
your soul with a garment of gold and
pearls ; that is, with the virtues, and
especially with the patience, the silence,
and the meekness of Christ. Oh,
how much I cherish the trials which
come to you through that person ! Do
not defend yourself, do not speak, or,
if you say anything, let it be to excuse
her and honor her. When you pass by
92 THE PASSION AND THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR.
her, bow your head respectfully as be
fore an instrument in the paternal hand
of God.
The better way is to be silent alto
gether, after the example of Christ.
Go in search of occasions to serve

your accusers. You should seek these
occasions more assiduously than people
seek pearls and diamonds.
*
Do not be troubled because people
despise and ignore me. God permits
this trial to humble me, and I rejoice
in it.
I know not what I have done to this
prelate ; I only know that I labored for a
long time in his diocese, and that had I
remained there I would have died. But
the poor bishop merits sympathy, for
persecutors and calumniators have not
been lacking, especially sirrce the ques
THE PASBION AND THE LOVE OF OCR NEIGHBOR. 93
don of establishing a retreat was
broached. God be blessed ! my trial
does not trouble me. I intended to
write to the bishop, but I am not equal
to the task ; it is much better to leave
my justification to God.
Love your enemies in Christ; show
them the sweetest cordiality ; at the
same time make some interior act of
love, as, for instance, " O dear souls of
Jesus! I love you in the Heart of Jesus,
which burns with love for you. O
blessed souls! love Jesus for me."
94 THE PASSION AND POVERTY.
(fflje J)ussicm anb potiertn.
overty is the glorious standard,

the impregnable fortress of the
religious life.
*
I recommend to you holy poverty ;
if you remain poor, you will be holy ;
on the contrary, if you seek to enrich
yourselves, you will lose the religious
spirit, and regular observance will dis
appear from your midst.
*
The children of the Passion of Jesus
ought to be despoiled of all created
wealth, and our Congregation should be
distinguished by its poverty of spirif
and perfect detachment from all things
*
If the religious of the Congregation
THE PASSION AND POVERTY. . 95
preserve the true spirit of poverty, the

Congregation will maintain its vigor ; I
shall never cease to repeat it. If I were
at the point of death, I should recom
mend three things; namely, to preserve
the spirit of prayer, the spirit of soli
tude, and the spirit of poverty. Let
the Congregation do this, and it will
shine before God and men.
*
Poverty, of which the world has so
great an abhorrence, imparts true joy
and is a source of riches in the sight of
God.
96 ' THE PASSION AND CHASTITY.
SChe JJossion onb €hastiii).
Sjp^ossEss purity in an eminent de-

yfav gree, and jealously preserve this
fragrant flower.
I earnestly desire to see you shine by
the brilliancy of this virtue ; be like to
angels, and omit no precaution to retain
this treasure, which is so easily lost by
imprudence.
We have this treasure in earthen ves
sels, says the Apostle. (2 Cor. x. 5.)
*
I also recommend to you holy mod
esty at all times and in all places, be
cause we are always in the presence of
God, Who is everywhere.
Let the admirable modesty of your
Saviour be seen in your countenance,
in your movements, and in your apparel.
I exhort you not only to watch over
THE PASSION AND CHASTITY. 97
your eyes and to repress sensuality,
but to conform your every movement
to the rules of this virtue, which beauti
fies and ennobles every action.
*
Be faithful in all things to your heav
enly Spouse, and live like innocent and
stainless doves.
*
Avoid failing, not only against purity,
but even against the least rules of an
exact modesty.
*
The lily becomes whiter and sheds a
sweeter fragrance among thorns than
when growing in the open soil. In like
manner, holy virginity becomes more
beautiful and more pleasing to God
amid the thorns of combats and temp
tations.
*
God permits that kind of temptation
98 THE PASSION AND CHASTITY.
in order to impress you with a deeper
sense of your own nothingness, and to
convince you that, deprived of His
grace, you would be capable of commit
ting the most heinous crimes. There
fore act prudently, avoid all dangerous
intercourse, watch over your eyes, your
heart, and all your affections ; be very
modest, be circumspect in all your ac
tions, by night as well as by day ; love
holy modesty.
Do not act haughtily towards any
body, but, above all things, distrust
yourself.
At night sprinkle your bed with holy
water; retire to rest with the greatest
modesty; have your crucifix at hand,
and if you are assailed by any bad
thought, kiss the five wounds, and
strengthen yourself by saying : " Behold
the cross of Jesus ! Begone ! infernal
spirits. I command you to do so in the
name of the Holy Trinity, in the name
THE PASSION AND CHASTITY. 90
of Jesus, my Saviour, and of Mary, the
Mother of God."
*
Distrust yourself, for we have seen
the cedars of Libanus fall ; distrust
yourself always. It is necessary to fear,
and to flee the occasions of sin. You
must break off all intercourse with the
person of whom you have spoken to
me ; I see there a secret attachment,
and, under a specious pretext, either
false zeal or the devil is laying a fright
ful snare for you, to cause you to fall
down the precipice. In this kind of
warfare we can conquer only by flight.
*
Prayer, good reading, the frequenta-
tion of the sacraments, with the proper
dispositions, and particularly the flight
of idleness—these are, believe me, the
means of sanctifying yourself.
100 THE PASSION AND OBEDIENCE.
She JJossion onb ©bebiettce.
tH ! my beloved friends, practise,

above all things, true and per
fect charity ; let it so unite
your hearts that you may have only
one heart and one will in God. Place
yourselves entirely at the disposal of
your superiors, that they may do with
you what they will when they command
nothing contrary to the law of God, or
to the rules or constitutions, to which
you must endeavor to remain always
faithtul.
Jesus, as you know, became obedient
unto death, and the death of the cross.
You must also die, burying your ow
will and judgment.
*
Renounce your own opinions, your
THE PASSION AND OBEDIENCE. 101
own inclinations, all self-will ; abandon
yourselves, like dead men, to the will of
your superiors. So long as you do not
give yourselves, like corpses, into the
hands of obedience, you can never taste
the sweetness of the service of God.
Be as eager to break your own will
as the thirsty stag is to drink of the re
freshing waters.
Consider that day lost in which you
do not sacrifice your own will by sub
mitting it to that of another.
Frequently offer your will to God as
a holocaust, and perfect contentment
will be your reward. The more obedient
you are, the more tranquil and indif
ferent you will be as to your employ
ment. Holy obedience will be your true
spouse, and . you will love it in Jesus,
that great King of obedient souls.
Thus you will render yourselves more
capable to serve the Church and our
Congregation by means of your pray
103 THE PASSION AND OBEDIENCE.
ers. Jesus answers the prayer of obe
dient souls.
Our sweetest Jesus allowed Himself

to be clothed and stripped, as it pleased
His executioners ; they bound Him and
unbound Him, pushed Him from one
side to the other, and the innocent
Lamb submitted to all.
O sweet submission of Jesus, my
sovereign God !
*
Continue to prepare yourself for
everything as a meek lamb. Love to
see your plans, though good, frus
trated ; a time will come when God
will permit you fully to execute
them.
•
Well, how goes it with you ? Your
heart would fain wing its flight to
heaven, is it not so ? But patience ;
THE PASSION AND OBEDIENCE. 103
you must wait till your divine Spouse
give you permission.
I learn that you suffer from fever.
I think that you would be obedient
even unto death, and you know well
that you have not yet permission to
leave your prison to go to your home.
The poor father whom God has
given you for your director would
desire, if such were the good pleasure
of God, to be near you, to wish your
soul a safe journey to heaven. And
how could you leave me now, when
I need you most ? Let the work of
the Congregation be accomplished, and
afterwards I will allow you to go in
peace. You laugh at my folly ? I hope
that the Divine Goodness will compas
sionately hear this foolish language.i
1 The religious to whom our saint thus

wrote miraculously recovered his health.
104 THE PASSION AND MORTIFICATION.
She passion cmb Mortification.
wish that I always had at hand a

weeding tool to root up and en
tirely destroy the weed which
continually springs up in my garden.
You understand me ; I mean that I
endeavor to strip my soul of all that is
not God.
*
St. Ignatius often said : " Ignatius,
overcome thyself ; Ignatius, overcome
thyself."
Oh, what important advice ! What
a great point of perfection !
*
While the body is occupied at its
labor, the soul can accomplish hers
by thinking of God and loving Him.
Thus, while we eat we can make some
THE PA6SION AND MORTIFICATION.
acts of the love of God, and so practise
mortification ; we may rise above all
worldly interests, and escape the «risk
of becoming attached to created joys.
*
Shall we, in the spirit of mortification,
abstain from drinking water ? Yes, for
the love of Jesus, Who was crucified and
tormented with thirst on the cross, let
us make this sacrifice.
*
I
St. Gregory the Great nourished
himself with a dish of vegetables, as I
have seen in an old engraving, in which
his mother, St. Sylvia, is also repre
sented ; and in our times there is so
much delicacy that we fear to impose
upon ourselves even some moderate
penances. St. Gregory, of a noble
family, young, and of a delicate consti
tution, learned at the school of pieus
monks to content himself with a dish
106 THE PASSION AND MORTIFICATION.
of vegetables sent him every day, as an
alms, by his mother.
(fne such example ought to cover us
with confusion.
i'DK PASSION AND HUMILITY.
She passion ant) ^nmilitg.
hen God bestows His favors on

you, keep your secret to your
self, according to the advice
of the prophet Isaias: " My secret to
myself, my secret to myself" (Isaias
xxiv. i6), and seize every occasion to
humble yourself.
*
God reveals His sublime secrets only
to those who are humble of heart.
Therefore entertain a sincere contempt
of yourself; let it be your greatest de
sire to be regarded as an object worthy
of contempt.
*
Arrived at this point of humility,
abandon yourself to God, and He will
illumine your soul with rays of divine
108 THE PASSION AND HUMILITY.
light and cause you to lead a life of
divine love—a holy life. These are
some of the sublime effects which the
Divine Majesty works in souls that are
truly humble and render to God all the
glory of His gifts. Read these senti
ments attentively, but with a simple
and open heart, after the example of
the mother-pearl, which, having received
the dew of heaven, closes itself and
sinks to the bottom of the sea, there to
form the precious pearl.
Humble yourself, resign yourself, and

abandon yourself to God with entire
confidence, always keeping in view
your nothingness.
*
Act justly : keep what is your own—
namely, your misery and frailty, capable
of leading you to the commission of
every crime ; and leave to God that
THE PASSION AND HUMILITY. 109
which belongs to Him, that is, every
good.
*
We must fear that terrible beast, self-
love; it is a serpent with seven heads
which intrudes itself everywhere. There
is nothing which frightens me more
and puts me more on my guard against
the impulses of my heart, lest they be
prompted by it.
*
Ah ! when shall we perfectly imitate
our divine Redeemer, Who humbled
Himself so much ?
When shall we be sufficiently humble
to glory in being the reproach of men,
and the outcast of the people ? (Ps.
xxi. 7.)
When shall it be our greatest pain to
be esteemed and honored ? Ah! when ?
In your charity beg of God to grant
r.ie this grace.
*
The deeper our humility, the higher
will be our place in heaven. . As Luci
fer wished to raise himself to the highest
place in heaven, and in punishment of
his pride was cast into the depths of
hell, so the soul that humbles herself
most profoundly causes Satan to
tremble and be confounded, and God
exalts her to the glory of paradise.
*
Know that one grain of pride suffices
to overthrow a mountain of holiness.
Be humble, then, and endeavor to know
yourself.
*
Humility and self-contempt are safe
barriers against illusions.
*
When we see that prayer produces
effects and desires befitting our state
in life, there is no illusion to fear, pro
vided that there results a fuller con
THE PASSION AND HUMILITY. Ill
sciousness of our indigence, helplessness,
and ignorance.
Nothingness and Infinity: these two
words comprise sublime perfection.
*
The grace of the Holy Ghost be ever
with you. Amen.
i. I rejoice on account of the inte
rior and exterior sufferings which you
have to bear ; I rejoice that you love
them. You begin to be a disciple of
Christ. It is true that yours are light
crosses, and you ought to humble your
self by the consideration that they are
nothing compared to those of the ser
vants of God, and much less still when
weighed in the balance of your Saviour's
cross.
2. The prayer which humbles the
soul, inflames her with love, and leads
her to the practice of virtue, is not sus
ceptible of illusion.
3. Fly, as a pest, that self-satisfaction
which begets vanity and inspires you
with an esteem of yourself ; it comes
from the devil.
Thank the Lord that you have the
grace to recognize and reject it.
Humility of heart, self-contempt, re
course to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the impregnable fortress to which we
should ever fly for help—rthese are the
chief means of guarding against illusion.
4. Those sentiments which enlighten
your mind and inflame your will ought,
after what you have told me, to be sus
pected if they occasion you one par
ticle of self-complacency. You should,
therefore, banish those imaginations
and place yourself in the presence of
God, endeavoring with a lively faith
to conceive a high idea of the Divine
Majesty, that you may the more effect
ually humble yourself before Him. If
the, devil assail you, think of your sins
and miseries ; do not permit yourself to
go further, but reflect on your own
nothingness : you will thus baffle the
ruses of the demon. Be faithful to this
advice.
St. Francis Borgia, before applying
himself to the sublime prayer of con
templation, was wont to spend two hours
in meditating on his nothingness, etc.
True consolations and divine lights
are always accompanied by a deep hu
mility and such a knowledge of self and
of God that we put ourselves under
the feet of all. Moreover, they impart
sometimes, though not always, clear
understanding of heavenly things, along
with peace, joy, the love of virtue, and
a longing for grace.
Let us keep ourselves humble until

God Himself will raise us up. Oh,
when God wishes to raise up a soul,
what gentle violence He uses ! I say
gentle, but it is so strong that the soul
cannot resist it.
So let us remain, at first, in the pres
ence of God in pure faith, with a deep
sense of our nothingness, our sins and
miseries ; afterwards let us leave free
to the soul the attractions of the Holy
Ghost.
I may add that, though you think
that you are rejoicing in your trials, you
should not make any account of this
disposition, because the devil could
thereby easily fill you with vanity. It
is better to fear and to distrust one's self,
having in view only the will of God.
The world is full of snares ; only
humble souls can escape them. Do not
trust yourself even though your prayer
seems to produce good effects.
Be not judge in your own case, but
distrust yourself, and adore the Father
ot lights in spirit and in truth. It is
written : Happy the man who always
fears !
To do well and to feel that we do
nothing well is a sign of deep humility.
He is truly humble of heart who
knows himself thoroughly and who
knows God. May the Lord grant this
grace to all men !
*
He shall be the greatest who will
make himself the least. He that
humbles himself the most profoundly
shall be the most exalted ; he shall
have, the more easily, access to that
wine-cellar, that royal hall, whence
opens that secret sanctuary in which
the soul communes face to face with
her divine Spouse.
*
If any dust of imperfection cling to
your heart, be not troubled, but con
sume it immediately in the fire of di
vine love, and, sorrowfully asking for
giveness, continue to live in peace.
*
From humility of heart proceed se
renity of mind, gentleness of conduct,
interior peace, and every good.
*
Imagine yourself a great nobleman,
who, while at table with his friends,
hears a loud knock at the door. He
sends a servant to see who knocks, and
learning that it is a beggar, grows angry
at the beggar's impertinence, and dis
misses him without an alms.
A little later another beggar knocks,
but very humbly and modestly. The
master then says to his servants : Let
charity be given to this poor man who
so humbly asks it.
A third knocks, but so softly as to be
scarcely heard. The master gives him »
good sum of money.
Finally a poor leper comes, who has
not the boldness to knock, and who
throws himself on the ground near the
door, and waits for the master to per
ceive him. The master, going out for
a walk, observes the poor leper. " What
are you doing here ?" he inquires ;
" why do you not ask charity ?"
" Ah ! sir," replies the mendicant,.
" you are a great and good nobleman,
and I am a poor and ragged man, cov
ered with leprosy. I dare not even open
my mouth." At these words the noble
man summons his steward, and says to
him : " See that this poor man is cared
for and clothed, and supply him with a
generous annuity for the rest of his
days."
It is thus that Our Lord acts towards
us. The more we humble ourselves in
His divine presence, the more will H**
enrich us with His graces.
When we experience dryness, desols
tion, abandonment in prayer, we must
greatly humble ourselves before God,
acknowledging our demerits, imploring
the aid of His grace, and suffering in
humble resignation whatever affliction
He may be pleased to send us.
*
The most simple means to be always
favored with new gifts and graces, and
to love God more and more, is to look
with the eye of faith into the abyss
of our nothingness, and, in the fear
which this sight will inspire, to fly into
the interior of the desert, in the abyss
of the Divinity, wherein we let our
nothingness disappear and passively re
ceive divine inspirations.
Abandon yourself wholly to God ; let
the Divine Majesty accomplish this
work in the secret of your soul. In this
school of divine wisdom he is the most
learned who becomes the most ignorant.
In this school we understand without
understanding, so to speak, for I cannot
express myself. O holy ignorance, which
causes all the wisdom and greatness of
the world to vanish, and makes us learn,
in the school of the Holy Spirit, the
science and wisdom of the saints !
120 THE PASSION AND THB HOLY WILL OF GOD.
&lj£ passion ana tlje Ijolg fctHll

of (S5ob.
e resigned to the will of God in
all things ; make frequent acts
of submission ; regard with the
eye of faith all interior and exterior
troubles as coming from God ; do not
think of the future—that is, of its mis
fortunes, its trials, and other occur
rences which the imagination may
conjure up, but dispel them in the will
of God.
To continue my spiritual prescription:
grind all your sufferings in the mill of
patience and silence ; knead them with
the balm of Our Saviour's Passion into a
little pill ; swallow it with faith and love,
and let the heat of charity digest it.
*
THE PASSION AND THE HOLY WILL OF GOD. 121
Lord, dispose of me as Thou wiliest ;
let me be tormented as much as Thou
pleasest ; I will never, on any account,
separate myself from Thee. Do with
me according to Thy good pleasure ; I
wish to draw nearer and nearer to
Thee.
*
Lord, Thou fliest from me, but I will
suffer this trial as long as it is Thy good
pleasure. I will always be Thine; al
though Thou wilt fly from me, I will yet
follow Thee.
*
In all your afflictions and interior
desolations make frequent acts of total
abandonment to the will of God. Re
cite the chaplet which St. Gertrude
composed of these words only : Fiat
voluntas tua—" May Thy will be done."
At other times say, with sentiments of
perfect conformity to the divine will,
122 THE PASSION AND THE HOLY WILL OF GOD.
"Thou art just, O Lord ! and all Thy
judgments are just, and all Thy ways
are mercy, and truth, and judgment."
(Tobias iii. 2.)
*
One day the Lord let me see a huge
bundle of crosses. At the same time
He inspired me interiorly to plunge my
own will, as a drop of water, into the
immense ocean of the most amiable
will of God. I did so, and in the twink
ling of an eye all the crosses disap
peared.
*
One of the clearest proofs that we
love God is to seek only His good
pleasure, to desire God alone : Dilectus
meus mihi et ego Mi—" My Beloved to
me, and I to Him " (Cant. ii. i6), and
to do His will as soon as we know it.
*
As the wax which we place near the
fire assumes any form we wish to give
it, so the loving soul ought to obey as
soon as her Beloved has spoken.
May the will of God be our food, our

centre, our repose; therein we shall
enjoy a peaceful sleep, which nothing
can disturb.
*
May the will of God be done, may
the Lord be forever blessed. I wish
neither more nor less than the will and
the good pleasure of God, whether in
time or in eternity; I can will only that
which my God wills.
*
In all annoying occurrences say,
" May the holy and amiable will of God
be done," or else, in the words of the
Gospel, " I am come down from
heaven, not to do My own will, but the
will of Him that sent Me " (John vi.
134 THE PASSION AND THE HOLY WILL OF GOD.
38.) " My meat is to do the will of
Him that sent Me." (John iv. 34.)
*
He that resists the will of God can
have neither rest nor peace. " Who
hath resisted Him and hath had
peace ? " (Job ix. 4.)
In the trials that God sends us we
must bow our head in submission,
because, if He intended to give us one
stroke, and we raise our head in rebel
lion, He will give us ten of them ;
whereas, if He designed to give us ten
strokes, and we bow our head in sub
mission, He will scarcely inflict one.
*
Never consider the instrument of
your trials ; try to realize that Jesus
presents them to you with His own
hand.
*
If, on going to the garden to pluck
some fruits, you were surprised by a
heavy rain, what would you do ? You
would seek shelter under the shed,
would you not ? So when sorrow,
bitterness, tribulation, rain down upon
you, you must seek a refuge in the safe
asylum of the will of God, and you
shall not be troubled.
When shall we be dead to all things

that we may live for God? Ah! yes,
when will that time arrive ? O precious
death! more desirable than life; death
which, through love, transforms us into
God !
St. John Chrysostom said: Silentium,
quod lutem prabet figulo, idem ipse prabe
conditori tuo. Oh, what a sentence!
He would say, " As the clay is silent in
'the hands of the potter, so do you be
silent in the hands of your Creator."
The clay remains silent whether the
126 THK PASSION AND THE HOLY WILL OF GOD.
potter forms it into a vessel of honor or
of ignominy, whether he breaks it or
flings it among the rubbish ; it is con
tent to be cast aside or to be placed in
an art gallery. Impress this lesson on
your memory.
*
Even the holiest desires, whether
they refer to the salvation of souls or
the needs of the Church, which are
very great, should be consumed in the
fire of the love of God, whence they
proceed, and await God's time for their
fulfilment. Meanwhile cultivate one
only desire, the most perfect of all ; that
is, to please God more and more, and
to nourish yourself with His will.
Sustain yourself with the holy will of

God ; drink of the chalice of Jesus
with closed eyes, caring not what its
contents may be ; it suffices to know
THE PASSION AND THE HOLY "WILL OF GOD. 127
that this chalice is offered to you by
the sweet Jesus.
*
Say frequently and from your heart,
" O holy will of God, I love thee ; the
food of my Jesus was to do the will of
the eternal Father ; it shall be my food
also ever to do His will."
Do not let the devil frighten you.
Keep yourself hidden in God, and noth
ing can hurt you.
Never neglect prayer. Be strong
and constant. Courage ! God wishes
to make a saint of you. May Jesus
bless you !
*
The divine will is a balm which heals
every wound. We should caress it and
love it in adversity as well as in pros
perity.
We ought to imitate the gardeners
and the vine-dressers ; when a storm
breaks out they retire to the shed, and
128 THE FASSION AND THE HOLY WILL OF <JOD.
remain there until the storm has passed.
So, in the midst of the tempests with
which we are threatened on account of
our sins and those of the world, we
should retire under the golden tent of
the divine will, rejoicing that the good
pleasure of the Sovereign Master is be
ing accomplished in all things.
«
I wish neither life nor death, but only
that which God wills.
*
Offer to the eternal Father the pre
cious blood of His only Son in propi
tiation for my ingratitude, and to ob
tain for me the grace to do His will. If
this work be not for His glory, may He
bring it to naught, and grant me time
and an asylum, in order to do penance
for and weep over my sins.
THE PASSION AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD. 129
She fljassion atib (Eonfibence in©ob.
every holy work arm yourself

[[ with confidence in God ; let no
obstacles frighten you. God will
enable you to do wonders. Be, then,
generous and courageous. Put your
shoulder to the wheel with humility
and purity of intention, having in view
only the glory of God. Thank Him
for having chosen you as an instrument
of His glory, and, humbling yourself
in His presence, cry out, " I am as
nothing before Thee." (Ps. xxxviii. 6.)
Have great diffidence of yourself.

"Without Me," your Saviour tells you,
"you can do nothing." (John xv. 5.)
And the apostle St. James : " Every
130 THE PASSION AND CONFIDENCE IN OOD.
perfect gift is from above." (James
i. i7.)
*
Beginners in the service of God
sometimes lose confidence when they
fall into any fault. When you feel so
unworthy a sentiment rising within you,
you must lift your heart to God and
consider that all your faults, compared
with divine goodness, are less than a
bit of oakum thrown into a sea of fire.
*
Suppose that the whole horizon, as
far as you can see from this mountain,
were a sea of fire; if we cast into it a
bit of oakum, it will disappear in an in
stant. So, when you have committed
a fault, humble yourself before God,
and cast your fault into the infinite
ocean of charity, and at once it will
be effaced from your soul ; at the same
time all distrust will disappear.
Where is the father who, holding a
beloved son in his arms, would let him
fall to the earth ? And if an earthly
father would not act thus, much less
would a God of infinite love. We must
have courage in His service.
*
Renew your confidence by a glance
at the cross. See that precious blood,
those mortal wounds, those hands
which have made heaven and earth
are still outstretched to poor, repentant
sinners who humbly sigh for the em
brace of Jesus.
If any one thought to sweeten the

vast waters of the sea with one drop of
fresh water, would he not be justly re
garded as a fool ? So also the man
who thinks or hopes to do any good
without the help of God grievously de
ceives himself. If he claims any good
132 THE PASSION AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
as his own, God will not fail to humble
and confound him ; such a man could
never become the Lord's instrument,
nor accomplish great things for His
glory. .
*
Science without true humility only
inflates ; but humility, joined to prayer
and confidence in God and the neces
sary fund of knowledge, moves God, so
to speak, to work wonders for the con
version of souls ; the conversion of
sinners is a work all divine.
*
" Every plant that My heavenly Father
hath not planted shall be rooted up."
(Matt. xv. i3.)
I have never worried about our tem

poral affairs, and I have seen by experi
ence that God has always provided for
us. When we were two, Providence
provided enough for two ; for four
when we were four ; and when our num
ber increased the needs of all were sup
plied, thus verifying the divine prom
ise : " Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and His justice, and all these things
shall be added unto you." (Matt. vi.
33.) " Be not solicitous for your life,
what you shall eat, nor for your body,
what you shall put on." (Matt. vi. 25.)
*
The vessel is launched on the sea,
without sail or oar, but she is guided by
the captain, who will conduct her safely
to port. She is battered by wind and
tempest, but this displays only the bet
ter the capability and wisdom of her
captain. May Jesus Christ ever reign
in our hearts, Who hath given us the
strength to suffer all things for His
love.
134 THE PASSION AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
In the works of God progress is really
the greatest when obstacles seem to
crowd thick and fast.
Pray for us that Our Lord may ena
ble us to triumph over our enemies so
terribly arrayed against us.
*
Self-contempt and perfect union with
the divine will : these are the main
points of the Christian life.
THE PASSION AND SUFFERINGS, 185
®fje |}aesion anb Snfferings.
ne day the Lord caused me to

hear these words at the foot of
the tabernacle : " My son, he
who embraces Me embraces thorns."
Oh, what a grace ! Oh, what a gift !
*
Through the divine operation which
the Infinite Goodness has effected in
your soul you call that sweet which is
truly very sweet ; but there will come a
time when you will take your nourish
ment on the cross, feeding only on that
which was your Saviour's food.
Nourish your soul generously, and
sleep well, because this kind of food
requires a prolonged sleep in interior
solitude.
186 THE PASSION AND SUFFERINGS.
Meditation on Jesus Christ crucified
is a precious balm which sweetens all
pains.
*
What an honor God confers on us,
when He calls us to travel the same road
as His divine Son !
*
Make great account of your precious
trials, both interior and exterior ; it is
thus that the garden of Jesus is adorned
with flowers, that is, with acts of virtue".
*
The moi 2 deeply the cross penetrates,
the better ; the more deprived suffering
is of consolation the purer it will be ;
the more creatures oppose us, the more
closely shall we be united to God.
In the sweetness and delight of the

soul there is always danger of the devil
playing a wicked trick on us.
THE PASSION AND SUFFERINGS. 137
He who has not suffered and over
come some fierce temptation is un
worthy of divine contemplation.
Adversities teach us and aid' us to

hold the just balance.
In consolations a child may be brave,

but it is in serious tribulations that we
distinguish the strong from the effem
inate soul.
*
Believe me, afflictions, fears, desola
tions, dryness, abandonment, tempta
tions, and other persecutions make an
excellent broom, which sweeps from
your soul all the dust of hidden im
perfections.
*
To labor, to suffer, to be silent, to
complain not, to bear no resentment—
these are the maxims of the saints, the
maxims of a high perfection.
*
f Have you ever noticed rocks in the
sea, beaten by the tempest ? A furious
wave dashes against the rock, another
and yet another does likewise, yet the
I rock is unmoved. But look at it after
i the storm has subsided, and you will see
that the flood has but served to wash
and purify it of the defilement it had
contracted during the calm.
Hereafter I wish you to be as a rock.
A wave dashes against you ? Silence !
It assails you ten, a hundred, a thou
sand times ? Silence ! Say, at most, in
the midst of the storm, " My Father,
my Father, I am all Thine ! O dear,
. O sweet will of God, I adore Thee !"
*
The statue must be chiselled with
THE PASSION AHD SUFFERINGS. 139
very sharp tools before it is fit to be
placed in the grand gallery.
The holy gospel tells us that unless

the grain of wheat, falling into the
ground, die, itself remaineth alone, and
does not bear fruit. The poor grain
thus sown, how much must it not
suffer to die and fructify ! It must
endure rain, snow, wind, and sun. The
soul is a seed that God sows in the
field of holy Church ; to fructify, it
must die by dint of pain, contradiction,
and persecution.
All the little trials of body and mind

are the first steps of that sublime and
holy ladder which is mounted by great
and generous souls. Step by step they
climb to the top, on which is found
pure suffering devoid of all heavenly
and earthly consolation.
If they be faithful and seek ho satis
faction in creatures, they pass from pure
suffering to the pure love of God. But
the fortunate souls who succeed thus
far are very few.
Ah ! picture a soul who has been fa
vored with heavenly consolations finding
herself afterwards long despoiled of all
happiness. Imagine her, arrived at the
point of believing herself forsaken by
God, believing that God has no longer
any regard for her, that He is incensed
at her. The state of that soul is such
that she sees evil in all she does. Ah !
I cannot express myself as I would.
Let it suffice for you to know that, in
this state, the soul almost suffers the
torments of hell—atrial surpassing every
other. But if the soul will faithfully
brave it, oh, what treasures she gains !
The tempest will finally cease, and the
soul will receive the sweet embraces of
Jesus, her true friend. God then treats
her as His spouse ; there is then con
tracted between God and this favored
soul a holy alliance of love.
Oh, what treasure ! As for you, you
are not yet on the first step of that
golden ladder. However, I have written
to you in this vein that you may not
be frightened when God will be pleased
to require of you some degree of pure
suffering without consolation ; then,
more than ever, be faithful to God,
and do not abandon your ordinary
exercises.
Sufferings are the richest presents

that the Divine Majesty bestows on
you.
God wills that, like precious stones,
you be firmly set in the golden ring of
charity. He wills that you be so many
victims, so many holocausts, sacrificed
to the glory of the Most High in the
sacred fire of suffering. He wills that
142 THE PASSION AND SUFFERINGS
through this sacrifice you may contin
ually diffuse the good odor of virtues.
*
The soul that God would draw by
means of prayer to a very close union
with Himself ought, even in prayer, to
pass by the way of suffering, of suffer
ing divested of all consolation, the
soul, in a certain sense, knowing not
where she is ; nevertheless, she under
stands, by the light infused into her
from above, that she is always in the
arms of her heavenly Spouse, sustained
with the milk of His divine love.
•
I wish that all men could understand
the great favor that God grants them
when, in His goodness, He sends them
suffering, and especially suffering de
void of all consolation ; for then the
soul, like gold which is purified in the
fiery crucible, is cleansed, made beauti
ful, detached from earthly things, and
united to the Sovereign Good, without
even being conscious of it.
*
How happy you will be if you are
faithful in combating and overcoming
your natural inclinations, and do not
allow yourself to be overcome by them,
fixing your gaze on the face of Jesus,
Who, as a special favor, invites you to
follow Him !
J 44 THE PASSION AND THE TRIALS OF THE SOUL.
®he passion anb the trials of

the Sonl.
emember that true holiness is ac

companied by pains and tribu
lations from within and without,
by attacks of visible and invisible ene
mies, by trials of body and mind, by
desolations and prolonged aridities ;
"and all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim.
iii. i2) —that is to say, all sorts of trials
from demons, from men, and from our
rebellious flesh.
*
Be generous, and remember that you
ought to walk in the footsteps of your
Redeemer.
*
We must not serve God for the sake
THE PASSION AND THE TRIALS OF THE SOUL. 145
of His consolations, but because He is
worthy of being served.
God usually deprives His servants,
for a time, of all consolation, that they
may learn to serve Him through pure
love, and become truly faithful ser
vants. He deprives them of spiritual
delights, even on the most solemn occa
sions, to test their faith and fidelity.
Sursum corda, then; let us lift up our
hearts and generously serve our great
God and Our Lord Jesus in faith and
pure love. Amen.
«
My trials are great ! However, " al
though God should kill me, I will trust
in Him." (Job xiii. i5.) What ought
a poor shipwrecked person do when in
the midst of furious billows and on the
point of being engulfed ? I have no
other resource left but to turn my eyes
to the Lord.
I find myself threatened by new
146 THK PASSION AND THE TRIALS OF THE SOUL.
combats. ... Storms succeed each
other, darkness increases, fears do not
vanish, demons harass me, men slander
me, combats within, fears without, dark
ness, coldness, tepidity, desolation.
What can one do in the midst of so
many dangers ? Ah ! death is more de
sirable than life. Yes, if such is the
will of God, may the door of a blessed
eternity open to me ! I know not which
way to turn ; however, I have faith and
confidence that God will accomplish
His work in a wonderful way.
Everybody is against us. I rejoice in

this, for God will be more favorable to
us. . . . If we be faithful, God will
not fail us.
*
One day, when the weather was ex
tremely cold, I wished to make a fire.
I went to the woods to pick up some
dry branches, which had been exposed
to the air for a long time. In a moment
I had a big fire. Why ? Because for a
long time the wood had been exposed
to the cold, the frost, the wind, and the
sun, and had thus lost its dampness. So-
it is with us : if we wish our hearts to
become inflamed with divine love, we
must permit ourselves to be purified by
suffering, humbly and resignedly, temp
tations, trials, persecutions, tribulations.
Oh ! being then well cleansed, divine
love will possess us.
*
How happy is the soul who detaches
herself from all pleasure, from all sen
timent, from all self-opinionatedness !
You will realize this happiness if you
put all your satisfaction in the cross of
Jesus; that is, if you die on the cross of
your Saviour to all that is not God.
As for the aversion that people ex
press for you, their mockeries, their de
148 THE PASSION AND THE TRIALS OF THE SOUL.
risions, and so forth, you should receive
them with gratitude to God, for as oil
is consumed by the flame, so ought
charity consume its victim.
If you desire an efficacious remedy

for trouble and inquietude of soul, in
voke the holy name of Jesus.
One time I was stopping near the
sea, engaged at a mission. In compli
ance with their request, I joined the
fishermen in a fishing expedition. As
the sea was very rough, they threw
into it, from time to time, some drops
of oil, and the waters became calm im
mediately, so that they had no trouble
in catching the fish. When our mind
is agitated as the sea during a storm,
let us restore its calm by invoking the
name of Jesus, of Whom it is said in
the Canticle of Canticles " Thy name is
as oil poured out." (Cant. i. 2.)
THE PASSION AND THK TRIALS OF THE SOUL. 149
Your soul needs a brief winter. The
winter purifies the air and the earth of
foul vapors ; it even invigorates the
human body. If it strips the trees of
their leaves, it is only to the end that
they take deeper roots. The spring
comes afterwards, and clothes them
again with verdure and blossoms.
Each degree of prayer presupposes a
purification.
Be faithful in all your exercises of
piety and virtue ; be always resigned ;
be satisfied, in the superior part of your
soul, to taste, without relish, the con
tentment of doing God's will. Thus
after the winter the spring will come,
with its flowers, and you will hear the
voice of the turtle in this land. (Cant,
ii. i2.)
*
In all your trials, arm yourself with
faith, confidence in God, and deep
humility of heart. Reiterate your com
mands to Satan; order him, in the name
of Jesus Christ, to depart and betake
himself to the place that God, on ac
count of his pride, has assigned for him.
Fear nothing.
*
Temptations are excellent signs; and
the pain they occasion you is as a fire
which will purify you and prepare you
better and better for union with God.
*
When you feel an impulse of passion
or anger rising within yourself, then is
the moment for silence. Jesus was si
lent in the midst of His trials. O
sacred silence, how rich thou art in vir
tues ! O holy silence! thou art the gold
en key which unlocks the grand treas
ury of virtues !
God created the fish dumb because

they are to live in the waters. By this
He teaches us that he who lives amid
the tempests of this world ought to be
mute, as if he had no tongue, never
complaining or justifying himself.
God, in permitting you to have this

trial, wishes you to die mystically to all
but Himself. He wishes you to con
sider yourself as dead ; to have, as it
were, neither tongue, nor eyes, nor ears.
As you crush under your foot the crawl
ing worm, so let yourself be trampled
upon by everybody ; let yourself be the
despised and the outcast of the people,
as if you were dead and buried.
*
I learn with joy that your confessor
treats you rigorously, that he is hard
and severe. Oh, what an excellent
friend he is to you ! It is now that
God will put the last touch to the
statue in order to embellish it and ren
der it worthy of heaven; therefore He
permits him, who ought to encourage
you, to use the finest and sharpest tools.
Oh, what a noble work ! Beg God not
to deprive you of that instrument until
the work that He wishes to effect in you
be accomplished. Do not be troubled
by the annoyances and fears that your
confessor occasions you. Listen to him
with deep humility, simplicity, and si
lence.
When he dismisses you, retire in
peace and at once send up some tender
sighs to God : " O Father ! O my good
Father ! " Tell Him of the trouble, the
anguish, and the inquietude that your
confessor's words give you. Immedi
ately your soul will be sweetly drawn into
the depths of that divine solitude where
the soul is absorbed in God. Your an
guish, your fears, your scruples, will be
consumed in the furnace of divine love.
Repose there, and if your divine Spouse
THE PASSION AND THE TRIALS OF THE SOUL. 1*53
invite you to sleep, sleep in peace, and
do not awaken without His permission.
This holy sleep is a heritage which our
heavenly Father gives to His well-loved
children : it is a sleep of faith and love
wherein we learn the science of the
saints, and during which the bitterness
of adversities is dissipated.
You do wrong to complain of your

crosses and sufferings. Believe me, you
know not what it is to suffer.
God preserve you from suffering even
one day what has been endured by a
certain soul, whose name I must not
disclose !
In my opinion, you ought not lay so
much stress on your little trials, your
spiritual darkness and dryness. When
we truly and sincerely love God, we re
gard as little that which we suffer for
our divine Lover.
If you believe that you suffer much,
it is an evidence that you have very
little love for your Saviour.
*
The proof that we love is to suffer
much for the Beloved, and to esteem
all we suffer as nothing.
*
I exhort you to hide your treasure as
well as you can. You understand of
what treasure I speak ; it is your pre
cious sufferings.
The pearl is formed in the shell;
but the shell, which has received the
dew of heave n, closes itself and sinks
to the bottom of the sea, where it en
genders the precious pearl. Under
stand me well. The pearl of genuine
virtue is engendered in the depths of
the sea of suffering and humility.
Thence we pass into the immense
ocean of uncreated love and allow our
selves to be swallowed up in its waters.
Put in practice these precious words :
suffer, be. silent. By doing so, you will
become in a short time holy and per
fect.
Souls who aspire to a sublime union

with God by contemplation usually
suffer interior purgations in one way or
another.
*
God's ways are incomprehensible.
He uses very sharp files, which pene
trate the heart and remove the rust.
His files are all spiritual.
*
There are some trials which are more
bitter, so to say, than hell itself. These
trials, being pure, devoid of all interior
and exterior consolation, prepare the
soul admirably for union with God.
When God permits a soul to be in this
state of purgation, it is a sign that she
is making progress. She must, how-^
ever, observe whether she has a secret
esteem of her state—this would be per
nicious—see whether her prayer leave
her fully conscious of her own nothing
ness, and lead her to extol the divine
mercy.
*
God sends such purgations to you,
directors of consciences, that you may
acquire the science of the saints and
the art of directing souls. You will
suffer also in another way. Love will be
your executioner. Let it do its work;
it knows how. In this martyrdom we
have need of extraordinary grace and
strength ; but God will bestow it.
Without this divine help it would be
impossible to bear up.
This repugnance which you feel for

riches is an excellent sign. God thus
proves your fidelity, so that at each
moment you may acquire new joys
and new pearls for the embellishment
of your crown.
*
Fancy a sculptor who sends for a
piece of wood which he wishes to form
into a fine statue. The wood-choppers
carry to his shop a rough and shape
less log. The sculptor begins to smooth
it down, using first the hatchet, then
the saw, afterwards the plane, and
finally the chisel. What does the wood
do ? Does it make any resistance ?
No, it allows itself to be worked upon
until it becomes a beautiful statue.
Thus acts the Divine Artist. With a
view of freeing the soul from her im
perfections and, as it were, of polishing
her, He permits the demons to torment
her by temptations, and then He tries
her by means of aridities and desola
tions. If she bears these trials with
patience and Jonganimity, she perfects
herself and becomes a very beautiful
statue, worthy of a place in the art
gallery of heaven.
THE PASSION AND SICKNESS. 159
(Elje passion anir Sickness.
fiCKNeSs is a great grace of God; it

teaches us what we are ; in it we
recognize the patient, humble,
and mortified man. When sickness
weakens and mortifies the body, the
soul is better disposed to raise herself
up to God.
*
As regards your bodily health, obey
the orders of the physician. Tell him
sincerely what you suffer, in modest,
clear, and concise language ; after hav
ing said all that is necessary, be silent
and let him act. Do not refuse reme
dies, but take them in the loving chal
ice of Jesus, with a pleasant counte
nance.
Be grateful to the person who nurses
160 THE PASSION AND SICKNESS.
fou ; take whatever she offers you. In
brief, act as a child in the arms of its
mother. Remain in your bed as on the
cross. Jesus prayed for three hours on
the cross, and His was a truly crucified
prayer, with no comfort from within or
without.
O God ! what a grand lesson ! Beg
God to imprint it on your heart. Oh,
what a subject for meditation !
There could not be a surer sign of

God's love for you than this pain which
He has sent you. Adore the divine will-
You were in good health when you
were in the world, but you were not then
as dear to God as you* are now. He
loves you as a daughter, as a cherished
spouse : this is why He treats you so
generously.
Long illnesses are the greatest favors
that God confers on souls whom He
THE PASSION AND SICKNESS. 161
loves most. . . . Repose peacefully
in the arms of your heavenly Spouse,
Who loves you much ; hold yourself on
the cross of sickness as tranquilly and
silently as is possible. If the cause of
your illness be the wound of divine love
which embalms yo,ur soul, it is well if
you die under such a stroke: yours will
be a death more precious than life.
*
The best way to acquire that peace
which is born of the love of God, the
inexhaustible Source of all virtues, is to
accept all tribulations, whether spiritual
or temporal, as coming directly from
the paternal hand of God ; to look upon
all unpleasant events as very costly
gifts presented to us by our heavenlj
Father; to repeat often the sacred word*
of Our Saviour : " Yea Father, for »
hath it seemed good in Thy sight.'
(Matt. xi. 26.)
162 TUB PASSION AND SICKNESS.
From all eternity the Lord has judged
it fitting, and willed it, that you should
surfer those bodily ailments, those as
saults of Satan, and those persecutions
from men. Look upon them with the
eye of faith, and adore the good pleas
ure of God by pious ejaculations.
•
Beholding with the eye of faith bit
terness, persecutions, and sufferings of
soul or body—beholding them, I say,
with the eye of faith, as so many jewels
sent us by divine love, they are no
longer bitter, but become most sweet
and pleasing.
*
Sickness is a good discipline and a
rough hair-cloth. Oh, how pleasing to
God are the disciplines which He sends
us !
THE PASSION AND INTERIOR SOLITUDE. 168
®he |Jtt00ion onb Interior Solitnbe.
ffi^s xamine yourself well, in order to

JVrJj ascertain whether God alone
lives in you. By self-examina
tion you will know whether you perform
all your actions for the love of God,
and unite them to those of Our Lord
Jesus Christi Who is our way, our truth,
and our life.
Truly, you are dead, and your life is
hidden in God with Christ. Since you
are dead to everything that is not God,
keep yourself perfectly detached from
every creature. God loves childlike
souls. He teaches them that wisdorn
which He has concealed from the wise
and prudent of the world. (Matt. xi. 25.)
Never stray away from the sacred
wounds of Jesus. Let the sufferings of
164 THE PASSION AND INTERIOR SOLITUDE.
your Divine Redeemer be deeply im
pressed on your heart, and be assured
that He, the Good Shepherd, will con
duct you as a cherished lamb to His
divine fold. And what is the fold of
this amiable Shepherd ? It is the bosom
of His heavenly Father.
*
'X' If you wish to preserve or acquire the
gift of prayer, keep yourself recollected
by making, even in the midst of your
occupations, frequent aspirations to God.
Watch over all your senses, and par
ticularly over your eyes. By guarding
the eyes, interior recollection may be
acquired; for when we are at the win
dow, or at the door, we may see what is
going on outside, but not what is pass
ing within; whereas, if we direct our
attention to the interior of the house,
we know nothing of what is passing
without.
*
When you find yourself lost in inte
rior solitude, and when you would rest
more peacefully on the bosom of your
heavenly Father, lament as a child and
tell Him of the demon's wickedness
towards you. He knows it already, but
He wishes you to complain with the
simplicity of a child. Tell Him, but
with deep humility, not to allow the de
mon to molest you any longer.
When the soul finds herself in the

sacred silence of faith and love, and
feels an interior impulse to pray for the
wants of the Church, or of the world,
for some special or general intention,
she should do so immediately ; but this
interior movement ceasing, she ought to
repose again in God. If this repose
transform itself into the sleep of love
and faith, so much the better. The Di
vine Goodness, I hope, will make you
166 THE PASSION AND INTERIOR SOLITUDE.
understand this language if you be very
humble and retain a full sense of your
nothingness.
*
Fly from the world, and commence
by trampling under your feet all human
respect. Do not blush to be a servant
of Christ. Regard this world with the
same horror that the sight of a criminal
suspended from a gibbet would awaken
in you. Know that the atmosphere of
the world is polluted with the foul odor
of thousands of sins that are constantly
committed, and which can be washed
away only by tears of blood.
*
Why should we be attached to this
world, where we can breathe only air
poisoned by so many crimes ?
I beg you to close to creatures the
door of your heart, and to keep yourself
shut up in the interior of your soul, that
you may commune peacefully with
your Beloved.
We should hold only so much inter
course with creatures as charity and
social etiquette demand, and no more.
*
The oratory and the cell constitute
the earthly paradise of the true servants
-if God.
You should find your delight only in

three places—namely, in the oratory, in
the cell, and in the interior temple of
your soul, which is the principal one.
*
Parlors are the ruin of monasteries.
*
The moment has come for you to
keep yourself in interior solitude, and
to repose peacefully on the bosom of
God. There you will learn to become
a saint.
168 THE PASSION AND PERFECT DETACHMENT.
(Jhe JJassion anir perfect JDetaclj-

ment.
\1§vO not fail to practise true poverty

of spirit, by living in complete
'detachment from all sensible
consolation, interior as well as exterior,
so as not to fall into the vice of spirit
ual gluttony.
*
We must become detached from self-
gratification, our own opinions and sen
timents, that we may escape the dan
gers of a spiritual curiosity, and prac
tise true poverty of spirit.
*
You should not pay so much atten

tion to or dwell on certain gifts, but
THE PASSION AND PERFECT DETACHMENT. 169
rather go to the Divine Source whence
they proceed.
*
Pay no attention to sensible consola
tions ; make of them a sacrifice to God,
and never set your heart on them.
*
The trees which are planted on the
river's bank absorb the moisture with
out changing their place ; so, when the
soul receives the impress of divine fa
vors, she ought to remain immovably
fixed in God, the Supreme Giver, be
cause there is great danger of illusion
in dwelling on the gifts and the sweet
ness thereof.
*
The gifts of God leave in the humble
soul a deep knowledge of her own in
sufficiency, a love of contempt, a fervor
in the practice of virtue ; they move her
to keep her secret from all creatures
170 THE PASSION AND PERFECT DETACHMENT.
except the spiritual father whom God
gives her as her director.
*
The soul should not dwell on the
gifts, but on the Giver.
*
When we go into the garden, it is not
to gather the leaves, but the fruits ; so
in the sacred garden of prayer we ought
not to amuse ourselves with the leaves
of sentiment and sensible consolation,
but rather reap the fruits of the virtues
of Jesus.
*
If you desire God to work wonders
in your soul, you ought to keep yourself
as much as is possible detached from all
created things, in true poverty of spirit,
and in perfect interior solitude. O sa
cred desert in which the soul learns the
science of the saints, like Moses in the
solitude of Mount Horeb !
THE PASSION AND THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 171
(The JJaesion onb t1je Socreb fljeart

of Jesns.
hT>^ET your heart consume itself more
iySi and more in the sanctuary of
the Heart of Jesus, and let the
ashes of the victim fall into the bound
less ocean of divine charity.
*
The moment has come when you
should more than ever die to all that is
not God, that you may the more lovingly
commune with Him alone. Let your
life be as hidden as possible. Lock your
self up in the great sanctuary of the
divine Heart, for there the soul is nour
ished by her divine Spouse with that
wine which strengthens, vivifies, inflames
the soul, and causes Jher to take flight
to the contemplation of the supreme
Monarch ; it is in that sanctuary that
172 THE PASSION AND THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS.
the soul learns the science of the saints,
which is taught only to the humble.
*
In the Heart of Jesus be constantly
recollected ; it is not necessary that you
should feel and taste* the divine pres
ence, but it is all-important that you
keep yourself in that presence by pure
faith, devoid of all self-satisfaction.
*
When you attain true humility of
heart and self-contempt ask leave of
Jesus to enter His divine Heart, and
you will at once obtain it. Place your
self as a victim on that altar, where the
fire of divine love is ever burning. Let
this sacred flame burn you to the mar
row of your bones; then, if the breath of
the Holy Spirit raise you to the con
templation of the divine mysteries,
leave to your soul the liberty of losing
THE PASSION AND THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 173
herself in this holy contemplation. Oh,
how pleasing to God is this practice !
*
O Jesus, my Sovereign Good, when
Thou wert scourged, what were the sen
timents of Thy most holy Heart ! O
dear Spouse of my soul, how greatly
did the sight of my sins and my ingrati
tude afflict Thee ! 0 my Love ! would
that I could die for Thee !
174 THE PASSION AND PEACE OF HEAET„
She Ipossion onb peace of feart.

est tranquilly in the loving Heart
of our dear Saviour ; do not lose
peace, even though the world
turn upside down.
*
One of the best proofs that we ad
vance in virtue is to be at peace amid
the attacks and the contradictions of
creatures. Be firm on this point, and de
spise all the assaults of hell. More than
ever show your fidelity to God by re
posing on the cross with equanimity of
spirit, and even exteriorly be calm and
serene, without murmur or complaint.
Drink of the chalice which Jesus Him
self offers you ; if it be bitter to the
palate, it is sweet to the heart.
*
Nothing but sin can separate us from
THE PASSION AND PEACE OF HEART. 1*5
God. You do not wish to sin ; there
fore preserve your heart in peace, and
have it constantly turned towards
heaven.
*
Keep interior peace at every cost ;
pay no attention to fears or scruples.
Experience will teach you that those
vain fears of sin, etc., which I call ver
itable follies, ought to disappear in the
fire of love.
I beg of you to appreciate the great
faVor which is accorded you in being
always of a contrite and humble heart.
Make of your fears and other silly

scruples a bundle, and throw it into the
fire of divine charity, which will at
once consume it ; then keep yourself in
interior solitude, and rest on the bosom
of your heavenly Father.
*
176 THE PASSION AND PEACE OF HEART.
Be very careful to retain peace of
heart, because Satan casts his lines in
troubled waters.
*
The notion that you commit sin in
everything you do is a wicked sugges
tion of the devil; it is not true.
Humble yourself before God ; lose
yourself in the very depths of that
sacred desert of which I have spoken
to you ; be absorbed by the Sovereign
Good, consumed by the sacred fire of
love. Believe me, this divine fire will
dissipate all the dust and mist of scru
ples, and your soul will become purer
and more beautiful in the eyes of your
heavenly Spouse.
Keep yourself in a silence of faith and
love, as a victim offered to the glory of
God, and courageously despise scruples.
The merciful visits with which your
Saviour favors you are not liable to illu
sion ; they cause you to know how
THE PASSION AND PEACE OF HEART. 177
much He loves you, and that your scru
ples are an artifice of the demon.
*
When you are annoyed by scruples,
say : " Yes, my Jesus, yes, I firmly
trust that Thou hast pardoned me. My
confessions have been well made, since
my spiritual father has told me so. I
believe Thy minister, and not the devil,
who seeks to ruin me and to deprive me
of peace of heart. So, my soul, courage !
God has pardoned thee ; trust in Him.
0 my God, my Father ! I hope in Thee,
1 love Thee. Infernal spirit, begone
from me ! No more scruples, no more
doubts, no more fears ! May the love
of my Jesus live in me ! May the love
of Jesus reign forever !"
178 THE PASSION AND IIXUSi0NS.
Klje passion anb Illnsions.
here are people who fancy they

have visions. Such fancies are
dangerous, for through them the
devil seeks to deceive ; he does not pro
ceed hurriedly, but quietly, the better to
ensnare poor, foolish heads.
Those visions, elevations, and lights
are seldom genuine. Hence, says a great
saint, " it is ahvays best to reject them,
to distrust them, particularly in the
case of women, whose imagination is
most vivid." In acting thus, we act
well, because, if they come from God,
they will not fail to produce their effect,
even though we ignore them ; and if they
come from the devil, which is more
probable, we guard ourselves, in reject
ing them, against illusion.
*
THE PASSION AND ILLUSIONS. 179
Those locutions are very dangerous,
and I cannot approve of them. I shall
tell you the reason, founded on the
little experience which God has given
me. What necessity is there that God
should reveal to a novice that He desires
from the novices more fervor in their
Communions ? Is it, perchance, that
their master, with the aid of the lights
that God has given him for his office,
does not know it himself ? And again :
does he not know that God is greatly
offended chiefly by sacrileges ? You
see that this locution is not necessary.
God makes revelations only in view of
His glory and the needs of holy Church ;
and as we can learn these things from
holy books, from the experience God
gives us, and, principally, by the light
He gives those that hold offices, there
is no reason for desiring to learn by
locutions.
180 THE PASSION AND ILLUSIONS.
When God speaks to souls by lights
or impressions, in an angelic manner,
without articulated words, His commun
ications are sublime, being purely intel
lectual. In this case God speaks with
great majesty, and His word produces
wonderful effects.
When locutions are accompanied by
interior articulated words, and they are
spoken by God, or, as is more usually the
case, by an angel speaking in the name
of his sovereign Master, then also the
words are sublime and majestic ; they
make a marvellous impression, and raise
the soul to God.
Of a hundred, and perhaps a thousand,
of these articulated locutions, there is
hardly one genuine. It is difficult, even
for spiritual masters, to discern the true
from the false, those of the Spirit of
truth from those of the devil, who
knows so well how to feign effects like
in appearance to those of the Spirit oi
THE PASSION AND ILLUSIONS. 181
God. Therefore it is best to enjoin on
him who has them to drive them away,
to humble himself before God, and to
protest that faith, with the Scriptures
and the advice of his spiritual father,
who speaks in God's name, are sufficient
for him. Thus he glorifies God in dis
trusting himself, in humbling himself,
in esteeming himself unworthy of such
favors, and is thereby freed from illu
sion.
*
The gifts of God produce a profound
knowledge of His infinite majesty, a
deep sense of our own nothingness, a
sincere detachment from all created
things, a great love for the cross and
sufferings, a particular inclination for
prayer, and an exact obedience in every
thing that is not sin.
On the contrary, if locutions proceed
from the devil, they seem at first to in
spire devotion, but the sentiment does
182 THE PASSION AND ILLUSIONS.
not last : they give rise to a secret pre
sumption and self-esteem ; they are fol
lowed sooner or later by inquietude of
mind and the awakening of the passions.
THE PRACTICES OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 188
fJassiDtt ana tije practices of a

Christian Cife.
JTj, am going to give you some spiritual

pj[ advice, that you may advance,
every day, in the love of God.
In the first place, observe with per
fect exactitude the holy law of God.
Have a filial fear of God, so worthy of
love, Who has created and redeemed us.
Know that the more tenderly a son
loves his father, the more he fears to
offend him. This holy fear will be
a curb which will prevent you from
committing sin. Love God with an
ardent love ; place in Him a childlike
confidence ; let all your words, all your
actions, your pains, your sighs, and your
tears, be a holocaust offered to His holy
love.
184 THE PASSION AHD
To preserve this love, frequent the
sacraments. Do not approach the altar
but to inflame your soul more and more
with divine love.
I say nothing to you of preparation ;
you will do your best, I think ; remem
ber that to receive Holy Communion
is to perform the holiest action.
Often go to the church to adore
the Blessed Sacrament, and visit with
fervent piety the altar of the Blessed
Virgin.
Do not pass one day without de
voting a half hour, or at least a quarter
of an hour, to meditation on the sor
rowful Passion of your Saviour. Have
a continual remembrance of the agonies
of your crucified Love, and know that
the greatest saints, who now, in heaven,
triumph in holy love, arrived at perfec
tion in this way.
Cultivate a tender devotion to the
dolors of Mary, to her Immaculate
Conception, to your guardian angel,
to your patron saints, and the holy
apostles.
Often say ejacul'atory prayers, but
always with your whole heart. I will
point out some to you : " Ah ! my
God, would that I never offended Thee !
Ah ! my Sovereign Good, wound, wound
my heart with Thy holy love ! He that
loves Thee not, O my God ! knows Thee
not ! When will my soul be filled with
Thy divine charity !"
*
In your pains and trials say : " May
Thy holy will be done, O my God !
Welcome, ye afflictions ! Beloved suf
ferings, I press you to my heart ! Ah !
dear hand of my God, I bless Thee !
Blessed be the holy rod that strikes me
with so much love ! Ah ! tender Father,
it is good for me to be humbled !"
You can make these ejaculations
186 THE PASSION AND
while walking or working, and even
when in company with others ; for
though you be externally engaged with
others, your heart is free, and through
your heart you can benefit your soul,
even in the midst of the most serious
occupations.
Every day read a pious book, and
avoid bad company as you would
Satan. Obey with the greatest exact
itude. Obedience is a celestial pearl.
Jesus Himself, through obedience, laid
down His most holy life on the hard
wood of the cross. Charitably com
passionate the poor. Be just to all.
Humble yourself before everybody, for
the love of God.
Finally, I pray you, remember always
the holy commandment of love that
Christ gave to His disciples before go
ing to death : " A new commandment
I give unto you : That you love one an
other, as I have loved you, that you
also love one another." (John xiii. 34.)
Ah, what sweet language ! Remember
that you will never please God if you
do not love one another. Let there
never be any dissension among you,
and if an angry word should escape
you, become gentle immediately, be
silent, and do not allow anger to con
trol your heart.
I place you in the sacred wounds of
Jesus, under the protection of Our Lady
of Sorrows ; yes, I place you there. I
implore the holy Virgin to bathe your
heart in her sorrowful tears, that she
may impress on it a continual remem
brance of the dolorous Passion of her
Son, and of her own dolors. I implore
her to obtain for you perseverance in
divine love, and strength and resigna
tion in suffering. Take, then, for your
glorious protectress, Our Lady of Sor
rows, and never cease to meditate on
the Passion of Christ. May God, in
188 THE PRACTICES OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE.
His mercy, bless you ! Ask Him to
bless me also. Deo Gratias et Maria
semper Virgini !
THE PASSION AND THE RULE OF LIFE. 189
Che JJossion anir the ftnle of £ife.
i. In the morning, immediately after

rising, make about a quarter of an hour's
mental prayer, and then a spiritual
Communion.
2. Hear Mass, or should you be pre
vented, bear the disappointment with
patience.
3. Work until dinner in holy silence,
having your mind united to God ; when
spoken to, however, reply with sweet
ness, good grace, and charity.
4. A half hour before dinner read a
little, and, if you can, remain recollected
before your crucifix for about fifteen
minutes.
5. Dine in peace, observing a prudent
mortification.
6. After dinner take some recreation
190 THE PASSION AND THE RULE OF UFE.
in company with others, always full of
charity and amiability.
7. Work until five o'clock or a little
later, the mind being always united to
God ; then prepare for mental prayer
and apply yourself to it for an hour.
8. Have supper, then a little recrea
tion, retire, examine your conscience,
do some spiritual reading, say your
night-prayer, and go to bed.
I recommend to you the presence of
God, the Source of all good. May God
give you His blessing ! i
i St. Paul of the Cross marked out this rule

of life for a young person of good family. Its
suavity, discretion, liberty of spirit, and, at
the same time, its austerity, all point to the
school of St. Francis de Sales.
SUMMARY OP CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 191
Snmmarg of (Eljristian perfection.
I. Passion of Jesus Christ.
tHE Passion of Our Lord Jesus \

Christ is the shortest way to
perfection.
The life of Christ was but a continu
ous cross.
God confers a great honor on us
when He calls us to walk the same
path as His only Son.
If you correspond to the designs of
God, He will make a saint of you.
Be generous, and remember that we
ought to walk in the footsteps of Jesus
crucified.
The servant of God who is not cru
cified with Jesus Christ, what is he ?
He is unworthy of divine oontempla
192 SUMMARY OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION.
tion who has not fought and conquered
some great temptation.
God has suffered much for me ; ought
I not suffer something for Him ?
II. The Eucharist.
Holy Communion is the most effi-
. cacious means of uniting the soul to
God.
The best preparation for the divine
banquet is to keep ourselves well puri
fied, and to watch over our tongue,
which is the first member that touches
the sacred Host.
On the day that we receive Holy
Communion we should endeavor to
keep our hearts as living tabernacles of
our eucharistic Jesus, and then visit
Him often with acts of adoration, love,
and gratitude ; this is what divine love
will teach us.
When a prince sends one of his min
isters to a distant country, he provides
SUMMARY OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 103
him with all that is necessary for safely
reaching his destination : the Lord, my
God and my Father, has given me, as
my viaticum, His only Son.
III. Prayer.
Prayer is the sure way that leads to
holiness.
Alas ! we easily enter on the road to
perdition when we neglect prayer. The
prayer which humbles the soul, which
inflames her with love and excites her
to the practice of virtue, is never sub
ject to illusion.
In prayer the soul is united to God
through love.
He who, on account of the duties of
his state of life, cannot devote much
time to prayer, need not be troubled ;
the exact fulfilmen-t of his duties, with
a pure intention, having only God in
view, is an excellent prayer.
IV. The Presence of God.

By habitually thinking of the pres
ence of God, we succeed in praying
twenty-four hours a day.
The continual remembrance of the
presence of God engenders in the soul
a divine state.
V. Sin.
How can we sin with the cross of
Jesus before our eyes !
VI. Faith.
Walk in faith.
The true way of holiness is the way
of faith. He who walks in pure faith
abandons himself into the hands of God,
as a child in its mother's arms.
VII. Hope.
Hope is obligatory. I must, then, hope
for my salvation.
When our sins frighten us, and we
fear lest we should be damned, let us
think of the merits of Jesus crucified,
and hope will reanimate our spirit.
Let us firmly trust that, through the
infinite merits of Christ's Passion and
the dolors of Mary, we shall forever
sing the mercies of the Most High.
VIII. Charity towards God.
The love of God is a jealous love.
One atom of irregular affection for
creatures suffices to ruin everything.
He who would become a great saint
must labor that God alone may live in
him. He will have attained this end
when he performs all his actions for the
love of God, in union with those of
Christ, Who is our way, our truth, and
our life. The heart of the true servant
of God ought to be an altar whereon is
daily offered the gold of charity, the
incense of continual and humble prayer,
and the myrrh of incessant mortifica
tion.
In hell, never to see God, ever to

be deprived of God\! Oh, what a
dreadful necessity to hate Him eternal
ly Who has loved us from all eternity ! _
Ever keep the fire of charity burning
on the altar of your heart.
IX. Charity towards Our Neigh

bor.
He who considers, in the light of faith
and in the Heart of our divine Redeem
er, the priceless value of souls, spares
neither labor, nor suffering, nor perils,
to aid and succor them in their spirit
ual needs.
Let your heart be full of compassion
for the poor, and lovingly assist them,
because the name of Jesus is engraven
on their countenance.
When you have not the means of
helping your neighbor, recommend him
fervently to God, Whose sovereign do
minion holds all creatures in His hand.
Counsels gently given heal every
wound, but given with asperity only
serve to aggravate it tenfold.
•
Be gentle in your actions; speak with
a peaceful mind and in a calm tone,
and you will succeed better.
Poverty is good, but charity is better.
X. Poverty.
Poverty, so much abhorred by the
world, is a precious pearl, and in the
sight of God contains all wealth.
Oh, what happiness we find in a com
munity life ! A precious treasure is
enclosed in a community life.
My crucified Jesus, I protest that I
desire not the things of the earth ; for
Thou alone sufficest for me, Thou alone,
my God and my All !
XI. Chastity.
In order to preserve holy purity it is
necessary to love it much, to distrust
one's self, to be cautious with all—in a
word, it is necessary to fear and to fly.
To him who loves holy purity con
versations with persons of the opposite
sex always appear long and fatiguing,
however short they be.
Prayer, pious reading, the frequenta-
tion of the sacraments, and, especially,
the shunning of idleness, are the guar
dians of holy purity.
He who does not mortify his palate
will neither know how to mortify his
flesh.
How pure and stainless should be
the heart on which is written the most
holy name of Jesus !
XII. Obedience.
When there is question of obeying,
we must bow our head. Let us put our
selves so entirely into the hands of our
superiors that they can do with us what
they will, provided they enjoin nothing
opposed to the divine law. Unless we
act thus, we can never taste the sweet
ness of God's service.
Long, as the stag panting for the
waters, to have your will broken, and
regard that day as lost on which you
have not subjected your will to that of
another.
The more obedient you are, the more
tranquil and indifferent will you be as
to employments that may be assigned to
you.
He who is truly obedient will be bet
ter disposed and more capable to aid,
by his prayers, holy Church and the
religious order to which he may belong ;
200 SUMMARY" OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION,
for Jesus hears the prayer of those
who are obedient.
XIII. Humility.
The least grain of pride is sufficient
to overturn a mountain of holiness ;
allow yourself, therefore, to be pene
trated by a deep sense of your own
misery. Be dead to all that is not God ;
keep yourself detached from every creat
ure, in perfect interior solitude. All
this will be easy to you if you make
yourself little, for God loves child
like souls, and teaches them that ex
alted wisdom which is hidden from the
wise of this world.
XIV. The Will of God.

Let us desire nothing so much as the
good pleasure of God.
As soon as we know the will of God,
we ought without delay to follow it.
When our pious undertakings meet
with little success, let us not be troub
led ; when God wills anything to be
done for His glory He will not fail to
urge on the work until it is accom
plished.
XV. Confidence in God.
^ If our salvation depended only on
ourselves, we should have much to fear ;
but as it is in the hands of God, we
can tranquilly repose in Him.
He that rises after his falls, with
confidence in God and profound humil
ity of heart, will become, in God's
hands, a proper instrument for the ac
complishment of great things ; but he
who acts otherwise can never do any
good.
Let us never despair of the divine
help ; we would thereby do a serious
injustice to the Father of mercies.
We must watch over ourselves. We
must have the most filial confidence in
Our Saviour, in our blessed Mother, in
the angels and saints ; but as for men,
we must avoid them : this is the advice
of the angel to St. Arsenius. Have
courage ; be assured that God will never
abandon you, but will always assist you
and give you what is needful.
Look at St. Teresa : obstacles served
only to inflame her ardor in the es
tablishment of her monasteries ; oppo
sition was to her a presage of the glory
that works thus combated give to
God.
XVI. Love of Sufferings.
The soul is a seed which God sows
in the field of the Church ; to produce
fruits, it must die under the strokes of
pains, sorrows, contradictions, and per
secutions.
*
The greater our cross, the greater is
BCMMARY OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 203
our gain; the more deprived suffering
is of consolation, the purer is it ; the
more creatures are against us, the more
closely united are we to God.
*
He who truly loves God regards as
little what he suffers for God's sake.
*
In your trials, have recourse to Mary,
and she will remedy them.
*
Do you know why God subjects you
to so many miseries ? That He may
bestow on you the riches of heaven.
*
Suffering is brief ; joy will be eternal.
*
Let us fear more to be deprived of
sufferings than a miser fears to lose his
treasures.
Sufferings are the pearls of Jesus
crucified.
*
It happens sometimes that the light
ning rends a mountain and discloses
therein a mine of gold. So, also, the
thunderbolts of adversity discover a
gold-mine in certain souls.
XVII. Detachment from Self.

Happy the soul that is detached from
self-satisfaction, from her own will,
from her own sentiments !
*
Self-love is a dragon of seven heads ;
it seeks to insert them, everywhere ;
hence we must always fear it, and guard
ourselves against it.
Esteem what belongs to another, and
despise what belongs to yourself.
*
We must persuade ourselves that we
SUMMARY OF CHRISTUM PERFECTION. 205
are nothing, that we can do nothing,
that we know nothing.
*
To have nothing, to be able to do
nothing, to know nothing ! and God will
cause to spring from this nothingness
the work of His greatest glory.
XVIII. Death.
Whenever death inspires me with fear,
I dissipate it immediately in the Pas
sion of my Redeemer.
*
In reality, to die is sweet, rather than
bitter. Death is but the privation of
life, which is taken from us by the
same God Who gave it.
*
I accept death willingly. He who is
guilty of high treason should die ; I am
guilty, therefore it is just that I die.
After a momentary suffering, divine
mercy reserves for you endless joy.
*
Tell me : what would you fain have
done were you to die now ? Would you
have lived in luxury, which usually
leads to grievous sins, and be cast into
hell, or would you rather have led a
poor life, and wing your flight to
heaven ?
APPENDIX.
ftlethoii of ftleoitating.
Preparation.
etire, if possible, to some place
where you can pray in silence
and recollection.
Kneel down and recollect yourself
in the presence of God ; adore His in
finite majesty ; humble yourself before
Him ; beg pardon for your sins ; im
plore His grace, saying some prayer
like the following :
" Grant me, O Lord, through Thy
bitter Passion and death, the grace to
know and love Thy infinite goodness ;
to thank Thee and compassionate Thee
207
808 METHOD OF MEDITATING.
for Thy sufferings in my behalf. Awaken
in me a lively sorrow for my sins and
help me for the future to do Thy holy
will."
You may also invoke the assistance
of Mary, of your patron saint, and other
saints to whom you have a special de
votion.
Body of the Meditation.
Now read or recall to mind some
part of the Passion on which you wish
to meditate, such as the agony of Our
Lord in the garden, the crowning with
thorns, the scourging, or the crucifixion.
Consider, then, Our Lord's sufferings,
comprising them under the following
simple questions :
i. Who is it that suffers ?
2. What does He suffer ?
3. Why does He suffer?
4. How does He suffer ?
Dwell for some time on each one of
METHOD OF MEDITATING. 309
these points. Consider : First, as to
who it is that suffers ; that He is God
—Lord of all, Creator of all, God in
carnate, Redeemer, infinitely perfect,
good, kind, just, loving, etc. Make
some acts of adoration, love, venera
tion, etc.
Secondly, as to what He suffers ;
consider the cruelty, shamefulness,
length, excess of suffering, etc., and
make repeated acts of regret, sorrow,
compassion, etc.
Thirdly, as to why He suffers ; re
flect that it is not for His own sake,
but for men, His creatures, for sinners
especially, and therefore for you in
particular.
Consider, then, your littleness, un-
worthiness, guilt, ingratitude, etc., and
humble yourself before God, and thank
Him for His infinite love, etc.
Moreover, consider that He also
suffered to give you an example of
210 METHOD OF MEDITATING.
virtue, to teach you the malice of sin,
to withdraw you from vice, etc. ; and
then recall to mind the special vices or
faults to which you are subject ; beg
pardon of God and resolve to amend ;
adopt some special means, etc.
Fourthly, consider how, or in what
manner, Jesus suffers. Reflect on the
special virtues of which He gives you
an example : His meekness, silence,
obedience, patience, etc. ; and see how
you can imitate Him, or receive en
couragement from Him.
Conclusion.
Conclude your pious reflections by
resolving to practise some particular
virtue, or to avoid some habitual fault,
for the sake of your suffering Lord, in
imitation of His example ; and thank
Him for the grace and light He has
bestowed upon you. Pray earnestly for
METHOD OF MEDITATING.
His constant assistance in trials and
temptations ; beg Our Lord for any
spiritual or temporal benefit you stand
in need of ; remember also to pray for
all that have a special claim on you,
and finish by devoutly and slowly re
citing an Our Father, Hail Mary, and
Glory be to the Father. Take some
little maxim or devout thought with you
from your meditation, and endeavor to
recall it frequently to mind during the
day.
212 OUTLINES OF SOME MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION.
(©ntlines of Some UOeititations on

the passion.
I. Prayer and Agony of Jesus in

the Garden.
" And being in an agony, He prayed
the longer. And His sweat became as
drops of blood trickling down upon the
ground." (Luke xxii. 43, 44.)
Consider:
i. The natural fear and anguish of
Jesus at the near approach of His Pas
sion—how each of His impending tor
ments rises distinctly before' Him.
Compassionate Him in His agony.
2. His hatred of sin, the clearness
with which He sees its malice and de
formity, the enormous multitude and
OUTLINES OF SOME MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION. 213
wickedness of all the sins of the world
laid upon Him. Reflect that He is the
Son of God, innocence and sanctity
itself, and that He has an infinite
hatred of sin ; hence gather what pain
it caused Him to take them upon
Himself.
3. His infinite love and goodness
towards men, shown by willingly ac
cepting the burden of their sins ; His
submission to His Father's will, His
resignation, earnestness and persever
ance in prayer.
Conceive a tender compassion for
Him, a hatred and detestation of sin,
and grieve for your own sins, so heinous
in the sight of God. Resolve never to
commit sin any more, to pray earnestly
and perseveringly to God for assistance ;
watch and pray, and prepare for temp
tation.
214 OUTLINES OF 60MK MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION.
II. Jesus Betrayed to His Enemies

by Judas.
" Behold a multitude : and he that
was called Judas, one of the twelve,
went before them, and drew "near to
Jesus, for to kiss Him. And Jesus said
to him: Judas, dost thou betray the Son
of man with a kiss ?" (Luke xxii. 47,
48.)
Consider :
i. The pain inflicted on Jesus by the
■ malice and ingratitude of Judas ; His
grief at the treason of so favored a dis
ciple.
2. The gentleness of Jesus, and His
readiness to forgive : He calls His trait
or " Friend." What mercy and compas
sion ! So He addresses you when you
would commit sin ; He endeavors to re
call you by goodness, mercy, etc. How
often have you sinned, notwithstanding !
OUTLINES OF SOME MEDITATIONS OS THE PASSION. 215
3. The obduracy of Judas : he is not
even moved by the loving kindness of
Jesus.
Let Judas be a warning to you ; fear
familiarity with sin, which hardens the
heart and leads to final impenitence.
Condole with Jesus in His grief ; learn
of Him gentleness, kindness, readiness
to forgive, etc.
III. Jesus Insulted and Condemned

by the Chief Priests.
" What think you ? But they answer
ing said : He is guilty of death. Then
did they spit in His face, and buffeted
Him, and others struck His face with
the palms of theirihands." (Matt. xxvi.
66, 67.)
Consider ;
i. The confusion and pain of Jesus to
be thus treated by the ancients and the
priests ; the insults and blows He re
ceives ; how unjustly condemned to
death.
2. The hypocrisy of the Jews ; theii
arrogance, pride, etc.; their impietie?
blasphemies, falsehoods, etc.
3. The silence, forbearance, and pa
tience of Jesus. What an example of
meekness ! He endures this ignominy
in silence to atone for our murmurs
when justly reproved, etc.
Adore the infinite goodness of God
bearing patiently such contempt for
your sake. Make reparation for the in
sults He receives ; grieve for your own
sins, which are infinitely offensive to
God. Pray to be delivered from all
pride, arrogance, hypocrisy, etc.; con
ceive a hatred of blasphemy and pray
to prevent it.
IV. Jesus before Pilate.

" And they brought Him bound, and
delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the
governor. . . . And he had then a noto
rious prisoner, called Barabbas. They
therefore being gathered together, Pilate
said : Whom will you that I release to
you : Barabbas, or Jesus that is called
Christ ? . . . . But they said: Barabbas."
(Matt, xxvii. 2, i6, i7, 2i.)
Consider :
i. The sufferings of Jesus when drag
ged from tribunal to tribunal ; the con
tempt with which Pilate regarded Him ;
the ignominy of Jesus, the innocent
Lamb, in being compared to a robber
and murderer.
2. The injustice of Pilate ; the iniq
uity of the Jews clamoring for Barab
bas. How often have you done the
same, yielding to vile passions, choos
ing sin instead of God !
3. The love of Jesus for our poor
souls enslaved by sin. He willingly
remains bound to deliver us from the
S18 OUTLINES OF SOME MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION.
bondage of sin. We sinners are re
leased, while Jesus dies for us.
Resolve to imitate the love of Je
sus ; to be kind, self-sacrificing, loving
towards others. Conceive a sincere
shame and confusion for wishing to be
esteemed more than others. Often re
flect on the charity of Jesus delivering
Himself to death for you.
V. Jesus Derided By Herod.

" And Herod with his army set Him
at naught, and mocked Him, putting on
Him a white garment." (Luke xxiii. i i.)
Consider :
i. The outrage committed by Herod
on the wisdom, innocence, and holiness
of Jesus.
2. The iniquity of the Jews assisting
at this mockery of their Saviour.
3. The composure, meek and silent
endurance of Jesus. He atones for our
pride, vanity, etc.
Learn, hence, the value of innocence;
regret your foolish esteem of the things
of the world ; henceforth esteem every
thing else vain but the virtue and in
nocence of Jesus. Grieve for the insults
Jesus here suffered ; adore His wisdom,
truth, and sanctity.
VI. Jesus Scourged.

" Then Pilate took Jesus, and scourg
ed Him." (John xix. i.)
Consider :
i. The virginal body of Jesus torn
and mangled by the scourges ; the in
tense pain He endures ; His exhaustion,
loss of blood, etc.; His confusion at
such exposure, etc.
2. The manner in which He bears
this humiliation. What patience, meek
.280 OUTLINES OF SOME MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION.
ness, etc. His charity and mercy tow
ards us : He bears the wounds we
deserve for our sins.
3. The cause of this special suffering :
our many secret sins ; our luxury, soft
ness, pride, and pampering of the body ;
our shameful nakedness before God,
etc.
Compassionate Jesus bearing so many
stripes ; weep for your own offences,
your love of ease, luxury, etc. Resolve
henceforth to check the indulgence of
the flesh by mortification, self-denial,
constancy in prayer, etc.
VII. Jesus Crowned with Thorns.

" And the soldiers platting a crown
of thorns, put it upon His head : and
they put on Him a purple garment."
(John xix. 2.)
Consider :
i. The sacred head of Jesus suffering
OUTLINES OR SOME MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION. 221
the most excruciating torture. What
an agony for Jesus ! Think, how pain
ful would even one thorn be to you.
2. The mockery and insolence of the
soldiers putting on Him a purple gar
ment ; their cruelty ; the malignant
taunts, etc., of the Jews.
3. The submission, meekness, and
patience of Jesus ; how severely He
atones for our sins of thought, for our
wanton complacency in evil, etc.
Grieve for the sufferings inflicted on
Jesus ; adore Him as your Lord ; ad
mire His patience, love, etc. Never
more indulge in sinful thoughts, in
pride, arrogance, and evil desires ; imi
tate the humility, submission, etc., of
Jesus.
VIII. Jesus Carrying His Cross.
" And bearing His own cross He went,

forth to that place' which is called Cal-
222 OUTLINES OF SOME MEDITATIONS ON TBE PASSION.
vary, but in Hebrew Golgotha." (John
xix. i7.)
Consider :
i. The long and painful way ; the
prolonged sufferings and fatigue of
Jesus ; the Pharisees, priests, and the
multitude driving Him on with taunts,
blows, execrations, etc. Such was the
reward He received from men for His
works of love and mercy.
2. The manner in which Jesus ac
cepts His cross—His alacrity, joy, sub
mission, etc. He shows how we are to
follow Him in carrying our cross gladly
and patiently.
3. The comfort He derived amid so
many sufferings from the fidelity of
Mary, His Mother ; the compassion of
the holy women and others who wept
for Him.
Resolve to repent sincerely, and
grieve for your sins ; they laid this heavy
cross on Jesus. Take courage from
His example to bear your own cross
willingly. Your only way to heaven is
by the way of the cross. Deny your
self, take up your cross, and follow
Him.
IX. The Crucifixion of Jesus.

" And they gave Him to drink wine
mingled with myrrh: but He took it
not. And crucifying Him, they divided
His garments." (Mark xv. 23, 24.)
Consider:
i. The contempt and ignominy sur
rounding Jesus ; the cruelty of the
soldiers offering Him such a bitter
drink ; His previous wounds, sufferings,
fatigue, etc.
2. The tender hands and feet of
Jesus pierced by iron nails. What pain
and agony He endures on the hard bed
of the cross ! Compassionate your
Lord. How easy is it to sin. But see
what it cost Jesus to atone for your
sins ; look at His bleeding, mangled
hands and feet.
3. The obedience of Jesus unto the
death of the cross ; His patience and si
lence when stretching out His hands to
be nailed to the cross, a victim for your
sins.
Deplore your sins that drove those
cruel nails into the hands and feet of
Jesus. Learn from Jesus, stretched
bleeding on the cross, what an evil sin
is in the sight of God, since it requires
such an atonement. Thank Him for
all He has suffered for you ; learn to
make some sacrifice for His sake ; aban
don some predominant vice, etc.; never
say that too much is required of you;
in all trials imitate the sublime virtues
of Jesus, His obedience, patience, etc.
OCTLINES OF SOME MESITATIONS ON THE PASSION. 235
X. Agony and Death of Jesus on

the Cross.
" And the sun was darkened: and the
veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
And Jesus, crying with a loud voice,
said : Father, into Thy hands I com
mend my spirit. And saying this, He
gave up the ghost." (Luke xxiii. 45, 46.)
Consider:
i. The prolonged agony of Jesus on
the cross, sustained meekly and pa
tiently for three hours ; the constant in
crease of pain in His wounds ; His
desolation when forsaken by His Fa
ther ; His thirst quenched with vinegar.
2. The insults and mockery heaped
upon Him to the last moment ; the
merciless taunts, curses, and blasphe
mies of the soldiers. What anguish
their sins cause Him !
3. His charity and kindness even to
His enemies ; His last and greatest ex
ample of love and mercy ; His tender
and consoling words to His sorrowing
Mother, John, and the good thief ; His
last cry to His Father. Thus Jesus
dies for you.
Kneel in spirit at the foot of the
cross ; there weep for your sins ; weep
for the long and painful sufferings they
inflicted on Jesus. Weep with Mary,
John, and Magdalen for His death.
Here at last learn to love and never
more to offend so good a Master.
XI. The Burial of Jesus.

" Now there was in the place, where
He was crucified, a garden : and in the
garden a new sepulchre, wherein no man
yet had been laid. There, therefore,
they laid Jesus." (John xix. 4i.)
Consider:
r. The sacred lifeless body of Jesus
aid in a tomb. What a mystery of love
and mercy, that the Son of God should
be thus buried in a strange, lowly tomb,
mourned by His own creatures !
z. The bereavement and desolation
of Mary and the friends of Jesus ; with
Him, the life and light of the world,
their hope seemed dead.
3. The door of the sepulchre is closed.
Jesus is also no longer with us ; He
shall no longer live and speak with us.
What an evil has sin done ! It drove us
from paradise; now it has also deprived
us of Jesus.
Mourn at the sepulchre of Jesus for
your own sins ; here bury yourself with
Jesus ; bury your sins, at least, in true
contrition, that you may rise to a new
life.
XII. The Sorrows of Mary.

" Now there stood by the cross of
Jesus His Mother." (John xix. 25.)
Consider:
i. The tender, loving Mother of Je
sus, overwhelmed with grief at the foot
of the cross; the anguish of her mater
nal heart at the sight of the nails, the
thorns, the wounds and mortal agony of
Jesus, her Son ; her helplessness at the
foot of the cross.
2. Her innocence, love and devotion
to Jesus ; how the tumult and cries of
His enemies around the cross afflict
her ; how cruelly they who crucify her
Son by sin wound her, etc.
3. Her constancy and fidelity ; her
compassion for her Son ; her desire to
suffer with Him, to relieve Him, and
her grief for sin. How sublime are her
resignation and her imitation of the
virtues of Jesus—of His submission,
patience, charity, etc.!
Resolve never to forget the sorrows
of your heavenly Mother. Condole and
sympathize with her sorrowing heart ;
place yourself by. her side at the foot of
the cross, and learn of her to imitate,
love, and serve Jesus ; to hate and grieve
for sin ; to fear the justice of God ; to
set a true value on your soul. Implore
N her intercession in all your necessities.
830 SHORT METHOD OF RECITING THE BEADS
ghort Jttethob of Reciting the Beabs

of tl)e fine iDonnbs of jjeens.
V. Incline unto my aid, O God.

R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
Holy Mother ! pierce me through ;
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.
First Wound—The Left Foot.

My crucified Jesus, I devoutly adore
the painful wound of Thy left foot.
Ah! by the pain which Thou didst en
dure therein, and by the blood which
OF THE FIVE WOUNDS OF JESUS. 231
Thou didst shed from that foot, grant
. me grace to fly the occasions of sin,
and not to walk in the way of iniquity,
which leads to perdition.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost, etc., five times.
One Hail Mary and Holy Mother!
pierce me, etc., as above.
Second Wound—The Right Foot.

the painful wound of Thy right foot.
Thou didst shed from that foot, grant
me grace to walk constantly in the way
of Christian virtue, even to the entrance
of paradise.
Glory be to the Father, etc., five times.
One Hail Mary, and Holy Mother !
etc., as before.
232 SHORT METHOD OF RECITING THE BEADS
Third Wound—The Left Hand.

the painful wound of Thy left hand.
Thou didst shed from that hand, de
liver me from being found at Thy left
hand, with the reprobate, at the Last
Judgment.
One Hail Mary, and Holy Mother!
etc., as before.
Fourth Wound —The Right Hand.

the painful wound of Thy right hand.
Thou didst shed from that hand, bless
my soul, and conduct it to Thy king
dom.
OF THE FIVE WOUNDS OF JKSUS. 283
etc., as before.
Fifth Wound—The Side.

the wound in Thy sacred side. Ah!
by the blood which Thou didst shed
from it, enkindle in my heart the fire
of Thy love, and give me grace to perse
vere in loving Thee for all eternity.
etc., as before.
Short Prayer to the Virgin of

Sorrows.
O afflicted Mother ! O virginal heart,
all buried in the wounds of thy Son !
accept this short memorial of His pains
in union with thy grief. Present to
234 reciti.no the beads of the five wounds.
Jesus this act -of homage, and render
my prayers available by thy interces
sion. Amen.
Three Hail Marys, etc.
CHAPLKT OR BEADS OF THE SEVEN DOLORS. 235
(Etyaplet or Beaba of the Seven

Dolors.
his is a devotion instituted in the

course of the thirteenth century,
in honor of the sorrows of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, endured by her in
compassion for the suffering and death
of her Divine Son. It is practised upon
a chaplet composed of seven times
seven beads, each portion of seven being
divided from the rest by medals repre
senting the seven principal sorrows of
her life. In the use of it a Hail Mary
has to be said on each of the beads
with one Our Father before every seven
Hail Marys ; and at the end of all,
three Hail Marys are to be said, in
honor of the sorrowful tears of Our
Lady.
236 CHAPLET OR BEADS OF THK SEVEN DOLORS.
At the first medal reflect on and
sympathize in the sorrow of our blessed
Lady when she presented her Divine
Child in the Temple, and heard from
the aged Simeon that a sword of grief
should pierce her soul on His account.
Our Father, seven Hail Marys.
At the second medal, reflect on her
sorrow when, to escape the cruelty of
King Herod, she was forced to fly into
Egypt with St. Joseph and her beloved
Child.
At the third medal, reflect on her
grief when, in returning from Jerusalem,
she perceived that she had lost her
dear Jesus, Whom she sought sorrowing
during three days.
At the fourth medal, reflect on her
anguish when, on the road, she beheld
her Divine Son borne down by the
weight of the cross.
CHArLET OR BEADS OF THE SEVEN DOLORS. 237
At the fifth medal, reflect on her un
utterable woe in seeing her beloved Son
die, in untold agony, on tWe cross.
At the sixth medal, reflect on the
sword of sorrow that pierced her tender
heart when the cruel soldier thrust his
lance into the sacred side of her Jesus.
At the seventh medal, reflect on the
sense of loneliness and desolation that
filled this most loving Mother's heart
when Jesus was laid in the sepulchre.
238 THE WAY OF THE CEOSS.
CJje tOag of tfje (tttoas before a

(Irttcifix.
he Way of the Cross makes easy

meditating on the sufferings of
Our Saviour. The Holy See,
wishing to encourage this excellent
method, has granted many indulgences
to those who piously perform it. Since
there may be some who cannot visit a
church in which the Stations of the
Cross are erected, such as the sick or
those who are on the sea, in prisons, or
living among infidels, the Holy See has
granted the same indulgences to these,
provided that they recite, with at least
contrite heart and devotion, before a
crucifix blessed by a priest who has
this special faculty, twenty times the
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to
THE WAY OF THE CKOSS. a3t>
the Father —namely, one Our Father,
etc., for each Station of the Cross, five
in memory of the wounds of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, and one according to the
intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.—
Decree, i6th September, i859.
Moreover, those who, on account of
sickness, are unable to recite the twenty
Our Fathers, etc., can gain the same in
dulgences by reciting an act of contri
tion, or the invocation : " We therefore
beseech Thee to assist Thy servants,
whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy
precious blood."—Pontifical Brief, i8th
December, i877.
It is to be observed that the crucifixes
must be of material not easily broken ;
as also that they thus indulgenced
cannot be sold, or given away, or lent
to any one for the purpose of gaining
the indulgences.
240 PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX.
©iocnlotiono.
y Jesus, mercy.— 100 days' indul

gence each time.
My sweetest Jesus, be not
my Judge, but my Saviour.—50 days
each time.
Jesus, my God, I love Thee above all
things.—50 days each time.
JJragcr before a Crncifi* after ffiom-

mtmion.
ook down upon me, O good and

gentle Jesus, while before Thy
<Jl" face 1 humbly kneel and with
burning soul pray and beseech Thee to
fix deeply in my heart lively sentiments
of faith, hope, and charity, true contri
tion for my sins, and a firm purpose of
amendment ; while I contemplate with
PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX. 341
great love and tender pity Thy five
wounds, pondering over them within me,
and call to mind the words which David
the prophet said of Thee, my Jesus :
" They pierced My hands and My feet,
they numbered all My bones." (Ps. xxi.
n, i8.)
Plenary indulgence if said with a
penitent heart after confession and
Communion. Some time must also be
spent in praying for the intention of His
Holiness.
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Flowers of The Passion

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This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized

by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the

Cijougijts of St. laul of tfje ffiro0S,

Gathered from the Letters of the Saint

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH

NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO :

Copyright, i893, by Benziger Brothers

hese little " Flowers of the Pas

esiring to satisfy the piety of

fthe flaesion anb the tJJag of $er-

Suppose that you had fallen into the

Keep a continual remembrance of

How can you, by love, make your

the furnace of divine love, for the fire

The days of the Passion are days

®he JJossion anb ilje Crncifix.

hen you are alone in your room,

The festival of the cross may be cele

Christ prayed for three hours on the

3CI]C passion ants the £joln

Lord, how sweet is Thy Spirit !

Every day make a visit to the Blessed

My God, the tabernacle is the abode

8Tl)e passion anb Spiritnal Infancg-

UT off the old man with his works,

Let us make ourselves as children

®he passion onb the birjjin iftarrj.

he great heart of the child Mary

I dwell in spirit at the foot of the

The sorrow of Mary is like the Med

O immaculate Virgin, Queen of mar

<JIje JJassion ant JJrager.

Your most important business is the

I would like the subject of your pray

Remember that you ought no longer

SClje fkssion anir ^rager.

" The true adorers shall adore the

You ought to forget yourself in God;

Your prayer ought to be continual.

She passion ana the presence of

ere any one to ask me, no mat

I recommend to you particularly to

®lje passion and Sin.

ow is it possible to offend a God

The greater number of Christians live

Slje passion anb Qtaven.

yROM this valley of tears, turn your

(fflje passion ano Joitlj.

Obscure though faith be, it is the in

Let us always seek God by faith in

STIje passion unit tyoipe.

ope expands the heart, increases

She |)assicm anb (Eljaritg tcroarbs

^~ ought to burn of love for God out

stand of Him in this life is nothing in

1 would fain say much, but in order

In all your actions purify your in

©he passion onb t\)c tove of dDttr

-ou will find the name of Jesus en