Easter, 2020: The Centenary of Death of St. Teresa of the Andes

“Christ is risen!”

Today – Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020 – marks the centenary of the death of an extraordinary little soul: Teresa of the Andes (d. April 12, 1920).

[Further down the page, you will find some selections of her beautiful letters, taken from ‘Letters of Teresa of Jesus of the Andes’.]

A Quick Snapshot of Her Life
Known in the world as Juanita, as a young woman, this social, intelligent, playful, and devout “Child of Mary,” like St. Therese before her (one of her favourite Saints), followed the call to the cloister of Carmel. Inflamed with love for Jesus, the Spouse of Souls, she felt powerfully drawn to a certain little convent that, while poor and humble from a material point of view, was nonetheless a house permeated by the richness of Divine charity.

In any case, it was not comfort she was looking for, but ‘the God of all comfort’ (2 Cor. 1:3), Who “seeks solace from His little creature” (Our Lord to Sr. Benigna Consolata, another inspiration to St. Teresa of the Andes). It was while visiting the aforesaid convent that Our Lord was pleased, on at least one occasion, to manifest Himself from the Tabernacle, not with an expression of sorrow – as was often His wont – but with a joyful countenance. By this, Our Lord would have His daughter know that she had found the paradise of delights to which He was calling her. He was consoled here, and it is here she would flourish.

During her brief time in the cloister, she led a life of great, albeit hidden virtue in the cloister, paying close attention to the inspirations of Divine grace. Our Lord made it known to her that she would die young, and for this reason she must practice great fidelity to the counsels of perfection given to her by our Blessed Mother, but more so to holy obedience, and to the holy Rule handed down by St. Teresa of Avila, her Patron in religion. Obedience was ever her guide. “A host, Eli,” she wrote to a friend, “has no will of her own.” “I want,” she wrote in another letter, “to be a host through the Host.”

Ever spurred on by her desire for God, Who often flooded the soul of His little spouse to the point of ecstasy, she did not always succeed in mortifying herself (in the world she had a weakness for her favourite caramels!), as she lamented on more than one occasion; nevertheless, she knew how to draw profit from all things, knowing well that humility (which cannot be separated from confidence in God) is the key to Charity. Like St. Therese, she knew how to take herself lightly and in the spirit of childlike liberty, without which perfection – that is to say, the flowering of God’s love in the soul – is utterly impossible.

After only 11 months in the convent, Sr. Teresa (affectionately known as “Teresita”) was consumed by love, ending her short life at 7:15pm on Friday, April 12, 1920.

Ora pro nobis!

*************************8

+ SOME SAMPLES OF HER LETTERS

Beautiful Apparitions of Our Lord
“Sometimes He appears to me so filled with beauty and tenderness that I can’t describe it. Believe me, it all causes me dissatisfaction with everything [that is less than God]…”

Real Friendship
“… real friendship consists of perfecting one another and of coming closer to God.”

Apostles of God’s Mercy
“We must, dear Isabel, be apostles of that Heart’s mercy. We must dissolve the wall of coldness with which they keep Him isolated. On the Altar, we must caress and console Him in His mystical agony.”

At the Foot of the Tabernacle
“… let us live forever at the foot of the Tabernacle, be it only in spirit, consoling Our Lord in His agony.”

With the Divine Prisoner
“… I’d like to live till the end of the world, suffering with the Divine Prisoner.”

Mary: Her “Priest”
“I’ve made an agreement with the Most Holy Virgin that she may be my priest who will offer me at every moment for sinners and priests, but bathed in the Blood of the Heart of Jesus.”

God’s Will: Our Only Good
“How shall we become more like Him except by doing His Divine Will? In loving and embracing It, we love and embrace a good that is infinitely pleasing to God; a good that contains within Itself eternal reason…”

Prayer: A Loving Gaze
“My prayer, for the most part, is a kind of gazing at God without using any reasoning… Interiorly, I feel a consuming fire completely consuming me.” (“Love, invade me!” – A Prayer she was fond of)

God Does Not Reject Sinners
“As for what you say about believing that Jesus looks at you in anger and not wanting to pardon you, that is a temptation… Why fear that Jesus will reject you? Would a mother reject a daughter, who, after failing in obedience, goes to beg her forgiveness? No, she would hug her daughter tightly to her heart. Why not believe that Jesus does this to us, His sinful creatures, since He possesses not only the tenderness of a mother, but a tenderness which knows no bounds, for it is infinite.”

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What is the Ultimate Reason for the Incarnation?

Why Was The Word Made Flesh?
To what end did the second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, in all things equal to the Father (cf. Heb. 1:3, Jn. 3:35, Jn. 10:30 etc.), become man (Jn. 1:14)? Was it to call ‘sinners to penance’ (Lk. 5:32)? Was it that we ‘may not remain in darkness’ (Jn. 12:49), but rather that we might see (Lk. 9:39)? Was it to bring us to the ‘Bosom of the Father’ (Jn. 1:18; Ps. 18:6, Vulgate)? Yes: the Word became Flesh for all these reasons. ‘For God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself…’ (2 Cor. 5:19)

But that is not all.

Love Seeks Union
While it is true that God desires ‘all men to be saved’ (1 Tim. 2:4), He does not will that we merely be saved; it is not enough, in an of itself, for a love like His, that we be in a state of sanctifying grace; love seeks union, and the greater the love, the more sublime the union.

More than our reconciliation, then, God desires our sanctification – that is, the most complete reconciliation possible. He wants us to be one with Himself; He wants to consume us in His Word, in the fire of His Love. To adapt a well-known saying of St. Augustine, you might say that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is restless until It rests in us. ‘My son, give me thy heart! … I thirst!’ (Prov. 23:26; Jn. 19:28)

Aim Higher
“I’ll be lucky to get to Purgatory!” some say. But that is not enough. It is in affront to Divine Love to hope for anything less than the greatest intimacy with God (‘Be ye perfect…’ – that is, all His). Why so? Because God, as infinite and undivided Love, has given Himself to us without reserve (cf. Rom. 8:32); He is a ‘jealous God’ (Deut. 4:24), Who created us for one thing: Love. “I alone,” said Our Lord to St. Mechtilde, “can fill the heart of man.” Creatures, He further explained, cannot satisfy us, nor can any number of earthly goods, for they are less than man; they were created for us, not we for them.

To love us: this is His great joy, His solace, His glory. How He thirsts for our love! ‘If thou didst know the gift of God, and Who He is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water’ (Jn. 4:10).

God: Our Common Vocation
Think about it: the God-Man, in Whose Sacred Heart is contained an infinite ocean of love, thirsts for our love! How He longs – He Who ’emptied Himself’ (Phil. 2:7) – to pour Himself out upon us, thereby giving us to share, with Him, in an ineffable communion with the Most Blessed Trinity: As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love. (Jn. 15:9) “[T]he works of grace,” writes Ven. Juan G. Arintero OP, “since they make us enter into the joy of the Lord, into the intimate and secret life of the Divinity, and into friendly and familiar fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, raise us up to a participation in those ineffable communications which are effected ad intra, in the very Bosom of God.” (quoted in ‘Cradle of Redeeming Love’ by John Saward)

What a vocation! ‘I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal VOCATION OF GOD in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 3:14) St. Therese was right: “MY VOCATION IS LOVE!” ‘God is Love.’

This brings us to the answer to our initial question: What is the ultimate reason for the Incarnation? The answer?

The Ultimate Reason for The Incarnation
We will let Our Lord speak:

+ ‘I am come THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, and may have it more abundantly… UNTO THE PRAISE OF THE GLORY OF HIS GRACE.’ (Jn. 10:10; Eph. 1:6)

And what is this Life of which our Saviour speaks? It is His own Life:

+ ‘By this hath the charity of God appeared towards us, because God hath sent His only begotten Son into the world, THAT WE MAY LIVE BY HIM.’ (1 Jn. 4:9)

There is the answer: Our Lord came that we might live ‘THROUGH HIM, AND WITH HIM, AND IN HIM’ for the Father’s glory (cf. Per ipsum of the Mass; Eph. 1:3-10).

This all brings us to the means by which God effects this sublime union: the Adorable Eucharist.

The Sacrament of Love
As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me. (Jn. 6:58)
That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.
And the glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as We also are One: I in them, and Thou in Me; THAT THEY MAY BE MADE PERFECT IN ONE: and the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved Me.’ (Jn. 17:21-23)

“My beloved,” said Our Lord to Sister Catherine Agnes Planche, “I wish you to love Me with the same love that I have eternally for My Father.”

‘For by ONE OBLATION He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.’
– Heb. 10:14

Ven. Louis de Blois: Thoughts on Paradise

Below you will find a compilation of quotes on the topic of Paradise. These have been taken from different works by Ven. Louis de Blois (principally ‘Spiritual Works of Louis of Blois, Abbot of Liesse,’ R & T Washbourne, 1903).

As a preliminary consideration, it will be worthwhile to reflect on a spiritual light given to St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. She learnt that, whereas earthly pleasures, being less than man, enter into him, the joys of Paradise, conversely, are so much greater than man, that he enters into them. Earthly joys, she writes, are like a glass of water; heavenly, like a limitless ocean. St. Thomas concurs with this thought, as do all other theologians, at least implicitly; impelled, as they are, by the inexorable laws of sound philosophy. ‘Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord’ (Mt. 25:21).

THOUGHT ON PARADISE:
Putting Things in Perspective: The Depths of Mary’s Joy
In fact, if all the joys of the world, all peace, all delights and pleasures were gathered into one, they would appear mere bitterness compared with the least joy that the Blessed Virgin possessed.

The Company of Countless Angels and Saints
We shall enjoy for ever the society of Mary, the Mother of God, most beautiful, most sweet, most kind, most lovable, of the holy angels and the other citizens of heaven, and we shall know them all right well as our friends… Each one distinctly and perfectly knows every one of the citizens of heaven, and abounds with every sort of riches, delight and joy… [We shall be blessed to] behold the most Blessed Mother of God, to join the chorus of Angels, to have perpetual fellowship with the holy Patriarchs and Prophets, with the holy Apostles and Martyrs, with the holy Confessors and Virgins: to know all the citizens of heaven, and to rejoice with each of them in their eternal happiness.

‘Better is One Day in Thy Courts Above Thousands…’
Truly, that blessed heavenly country is our only fatherland; where an everlasting day always shineth forth, better far than a thousand days here below.

The Hour of Death: Man’s “Hour”
Happy is the hour, and most desirable the moment, when the heavenly Spouse joyfully meets the holy soul coming forth from the prison of the body with gentle words, and invites it, saying, “Arise, make haste, my love. For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. Flowers have appeared in our land; the vines in flower yield their sweet smell, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land” (Cant. ii. 10, 11, 12). Come forth with joy, most dear daughter: tremble not, nor be afraid; thou art brought out of exile, thou leavest the miseries of the calamitous world. For “nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow, shall be any more” (Apoc. xxi. 4). Henceforth, the corruptible body shall not weigh down the soul: for when thou art admitted into the joy of thy Lord, thou shalt rejoice for ever in the gift of immortality.

No Need for Food and Drink
They who shall possess God will not need corruptible food and drink, for they will be full of God. God will be to them, food and drink, and whatsoever they can desire; they will have all things in Him, with whose vision they will be filled.

Endless Desire, Endless Satisfaction
They will ever see Him, and ever be satisfied; and they will desire ever to see Him, and ever to be satisfied. They will desire without anxiety, and they will have their fill without satiety.

Beauty Incomparable
Thy gates shine with choice pearls; thy streets are paved with the purest gold; thy walls are bright with most precious stories. In thee, delicious gardens and pleasant vales are ever fresh; in thee, perennial flowers and violets continually flourish; in thee, the cinnamon and balsam incessantly breathe forth an ineffable odour of sweetness; in thee, all kinds of beautiful things abound without fading, remain without passing away, exist without corruption, are eternal without change. In thee is a climate temperate and serene, beyond all human conception; in thee, are peace and repose surpassing all imagination; in thee, is eternal day, and one life in all; in thee, is certain security, and secure eternity, and eternal tranquillity, and tranquil happiness, and happy sweetness, and sweet joy: in thee shall the just shine as the sun (Matth. xiii. 43).

Absolutely Nothing is Lacking
No one can seek, or desire, or love anything, which he will not find in thee. That only which is nothing worth, is not in thee. Oh, what an ocean of unalloyed bliss, what a torrent of unmixed joy, what an abyss of purest delight is it to see the God of gods in Sion (Psalm Ixxxiii. 8), to discern that incomprehensible glory of the Most Holy Trinity: clearly to contemplate that surpassing fairness, perfectly to taste that ineffable sweetness, from whence flows out all the beauty and sweetness of created things…

A Land Free of Every Affliction
… there is no infirmity, no corruption, no fear, no thoughts, no anxiety, no grief, no poverty, no affliction, no sorrow or misery (Apoc. xxi. 4). There wilt thou most happily enjoy that supreme and unchangeable Good, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of mortal man (1 Cor. ii. 9).

Like Iron Cast into the Fire
For thou shalt clearly see the glorious Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the One supremely desirable God. Thou will be in God and God will be in thee in a most excellent manner. Being thus united to God, thou wilt perfectly taste the sweetness of His goodness, and wilt be utterly inebriated with the torrent of divine delights (Psal. xxxv. 9). Thou wilt then most fully know and feel, with what immense love He has loved thee from all eternity.

The Lamb is the Lamb Thereof
Filled with unspeakable and incomprehensible joy, thou wilt behold the Human Face of thy Beloved Jesus, which is verily all gracious, glorious, and sweet; for His beauty and fairness far surpass all that can in this life be wished for or desired.

Beauty, Peace, Truth
There, all are adorned with incorruptible beauty, and enjoy an imperturbable peace. There all are ever glorified by the serene light of the Godhead, and obtain full knowledge of the truth.

God Possesses All Perfections Perfectly
Thou needst not fear lest any of those things which please thee here should be absent. For all the beauty, elegance, sweetness, grace, perfection, and excellence that can here be found in all creatures, exist there most exuberantly and superessentially. In short, there is the influx of every good.

33 Forever
We shall all rise again at the age at which the Lord Jesus was when He died for us. The old man of a hundred years and the infant of one night old will be of the same stature. And although the good may now be lame, or blind, or deformed; yet they will then rise again sound, whole, fair, beautiful, and free from every blemish.

The Glory of the Risen Body
The bodies of the elect will then emit a most sweet odour, and will be seven times more brilliant than the sun, since the glory of their souls will penetrate them. They will also be impassible, so that they can suffer no injury. And they will be endowed with such agility that wherever the soul may wish to be, thither it will in a moment transport the body. They will moreover be so subtle that they will penetrate solid and thick substances with less difficulty than the light of the sun penetrates glass.

Justice at Last
Then, indeed, the Saints, who during the winter of this exile, like trees stripped of all adornment, appeared lowly and were esteemed barren, will be clothed with unspeakable glory and beauty, and will flourish like palm-trees for ever and ever.

A 19th Century Benedictine Mystic: Some Anecdotes and Sayings (Pt. 1)

“One sigh of love is of more value than the whole world…”

SOME ANECDOTES FROM THE LIFE OF FR. PAUL OF MOLL (d. Feb 24, 1896)

Reader of Souls
In the confessional, Father Paul said to a servant girl from Thielt at the very beginning, ‘I know everything that you are going to confess, but, nevertheless, you have to tell it yourself.’

‘… shew thyself to the priest.’ (Mt. 8:4)

God Greatly Rewards Every Act of Love
Very early one morning, Father Paul, seeing a peasant who had come a long distance through a terrific snowstorm, to hear Mass in the church at Steenbrugge, said to him: ‘If you could see the immense merits which your courage has procured for you, you would be astonished, and you might yet increase them in a measure incredible, by saying: All for the love of Jesus.’

The Priest Acts ‘in persona Christi‘
As an ecstatic was making her confession to Father Paul, he interrupted her, saying, ‘Do you not see our Lord?’
‘No.’
‘But I see Him: He is at your side.’

The Power of a Just Soul’s Prayer
About the year 1888, Father Paul said to a person at Watervliet that God had decided to punish the whole world with terrible chastisements; but that finally He had spared mankind, in answer to the prayers and penances of one single religious. Father Paul did not tell the name of this religious.’

[The same is said of St. Vincent Ferrer.]

An Affectionate Blessing from the Mother of God
“One evening, in 1895, after our spiritual exercises, I was walking through the cloister in the abbey, reciting, according to my custom, three Hail Marys in honor of Our Lady to obtain her maternal blessing, when all at once I saw this good Mother clothed in a robe of dazzling white. She approached and made a little cross with her thumb on my forehead. The emotion which I felt is indescribable, and if the apparition had lasted two minutes longer, Father Paul would be no more of this world; for I would not have been able to support this brilliancy any longer.” – Fr. Paul of Moll, speaking to a person of Thielt (after which the saintly priest “fell into an ecstasy which lasted about five minutes.”)

SOME SAYINGS OF FR. PAUL OF MOLL

Mary: Living Tabernacle the Word
“From the time of the Ascension of Our Lord, the most Blessed Virgin communicated every day, and by a special privilege, the Host remained intact within her up to the moment of the next Communion, so that Mary always guarded, in her interior, the Humanity and Divinity of Jesus Christ, and thus was able to keep up a continual conversation with her Divine Son.”

[These words agree with the revelations of St. Veronica Giuliani and Bl. Mary Magdalen Martinengo]

The Body of St. Joseph
“In an ecstasy, a saint has seen the body of St. Joseph preserved intact in a tomb, the site of which is yet unknown. The more the glorious Spouse of the most Blessed Virgin is honored, the sooner will the finding of his body take place, which will be a day of great joy for the Church.”

Saints are Always in the Making
“At the time when the Church is most persecuted, God raises up in the world the greatest number of saints.”

The Three Masses of Christmas
“During the consecration of the three Masses on Christmas I obtain everything I asked for.”

SOME EXCERPTS FROM THE LETTERS OF FR. PAUL OF MOLL

God is Infinitely Lovable
“God being infinite love, we can always love Him more and more.”

God is Not Outdone in Generosity
“He pays us back in tenfold love, the love which we have for Him.”

Humility: The Key to True Greatness
“Humility renders men great in the eyes of God.”

Do All for the Love and Glory of God
“Before eating, sleeping, opening or closing a door, or any other action, always have the intention of doing all for the love of Jesus. In this way you will continually reap a rich harvest for Heaven.”

‘Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God.’ (1 Cor. 10:31)

Source: ‘Father Paul of Moll: A Flemish Benedictine and Wonderworker of the Nineteenth Century, 1824 – 1896,’ by Edward Van Speybrouck (2nd ed., Benedictine Convent, Clyde, MO, 1914)

A Eucharistic Vision of Vénérable Mère Marie-Thérèse du Cœur de Jésus

Whenever the Venerable Esprite de Jesus used to repeat the Holy Name of Jesus, she seemed to hear an interior Voice, which said to her:

“I am always looking at you.”

On one occasion, upon hearing these Divine words, she asked where her dear Lord was. The reply?

“I am in your heart, My love.”

Are we not living tabernacles? Were we not created for love? Did Jesus not promise to abide with us and to make His home in us? How else did Bl. Alexandrina live on the Eucharist alone for years and years? How else are sinners fashioned into saints (a greater work than creation itself)? How else could St. Anthony Mary Claret have received the grace of having Jesus dwelling perpetually in his heart?

The end of such considerations is to direct us to one place: the Tabernacle.

Theodolinde’s Vision

“On the night of 29th to the 30th June, the last of the octave and the eve of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Theodolinde’s [Théodelinde Bourcin-Dubouché, d. 1863] time for adoration was from one to three in the morning — this was God’s hour.

She had scarcely knelt down, when she was seized by a grace which became usual to her; she seemed to be sensibly touched by the divine love, as if a sharp ray had emerged from the Host and reached her heart; so strong was the impression that she received that she felt as if she were dragged out of herself.

“The Eucharistic veils disappeared; … I saw Our Lord as if seated on a throne; a channel of gold seemed to connect His Heart with mine, and to cause a life to flow into my being from which I should have died had He not supported me; and I heard — though there were no words — what I shall now tell:

‘I wish for adoration and reparation in order to appease My Father’s justice, but all these associations are not sufficient.

A religious consecration is needed . . . there must be souls always before Me so that they may receive My Life.

… I will place on their hearts a channel of gold as I have just done to you . . .

that life which I shall give them must be communicated by them to souls which belong to Me in the world’.”

Source: ‘Eucharistic reparation: the life of the Ven. Marie-Thérèse du Coeur de Jésus, foundress of the Congregation of Adoration Réparatrice’

—

+ Update: I am still working on a post about Mary; the working title is: ’33 Reasons to Consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary.’ This will possibly take months (I spend roughly 5hrs a month on the blog, max.). I will try to post some brief articles in the meantime.

+ Servite Domino in laetitia

—

“Virtue consists above all in…”

“… the mortification of one’s own will [Sir. 18:30].

It consists of concealing, as far as possible, from the eyes of men, the works that you do [Mt. 6:4].

The true servant of God is content to know that his services are known to the Heavenly Father.

You must prepare yourselves to receive all things, evil as well as good, with an equal resignation and even with gaiety of heart [Deut. 30:15; Phil. 4:4].

Be good, therefore, and charitable to your neighbour [Mk. 12:31];

be humble and patient in yourselves [Lk. 21:19].”

– Jesus to Bl. Anna Maria Taigi (p. 52, ‘Wife, Mother and Mystic,’ by Albert Bessieres, S.J., TAN Books)

+PAX+

Humility Feeds Love…

One day, someone told St. Francis de Sales that they desired to become humble so that they could grow in love. The Saint replied that he preferred to aim at love in order to become humble. Who is correct? Why does this matter?

The answer to the first question, I believe, can be found in the writings of Ven. Louise Margaret, a daughter of St. Francis de Sales (i.e. a Visitandine). Our Lord told her that love and humility grow together; they mutually nourish one another (so, in a sense, both St. Francis de Sales and his interlocutor were correct). Consequently, there can be no true charity without humility, and no true humility without charity. “The more you love Me,” said Our Lord to Madeline Vigneron, “the humbler you are.”

One can verify this doctrine with ease; simply consider that God is Charity and Truth. This, then, is the litmus test of holiness or union with God: charity and humility. A soul might appear charitable and virtuous in the eyes of the world; but if they lack humility, their works are to that extent lacking in supernatural value. It is quite possible to donate generously to charity, serve the homeless, pray for souls, go to Mass, and read spiritual books, when, all the while, one is spiritually dead in mortal sin. Purity of intention is necessary. We will avoid delusion (to a great extent) if we offer our prayers, words and deeds to God, asking that He will act in and through us. He cannot fail to hear and answer such a prayer.

A good sign that we are progressing in the spiritual life is that we often think of God with pleasure. But even more indicative of a great love for God, is a docile will that – feelings aside – says with Our Lady: “Be it done unto me according to Thy word.”

We should always end our prayer with these words: “Thy Will be done.” I purposely capitalised the word “Will,” because God’s Will is not distinct from Himself, and therefore deserves to be adored (bearing in mind that God is the First Cause of all good, and merely permits evil).

Humiliations Help to Uproot Self-Love

It is very easy for self-love to creep into our actions. We think that we are serving God, but the moment something doesn’t go according to plan, we get irritated, or we throw in the towel. Really, we should accept failure as we would success, and suffering as we would joy; both are fruitful, so long as our will is directed towards God, Who works all things to our good.

If we are humble, we won’t be so surprised at our falls, nor will be so inclined to judge others, or to distrust, or to any other evil, all of which stem from the same root: pride.

Because God loves us so much, and wants to lavish His graces on us, He often sends or permits humiliations of various sorts. Remember that sharp word someone addressed to you? God wanted it to be a means of sanctifying you. Remember that time you fell into impatience, despite your best efforts? God wanted you to humble yourself and rely more on Him. Remember that time you couldn’t focus during prayer? God wanted to let you know what you are without Him, and to reward your perseverance and patience.

‘Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation. [2] Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds. [3] Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end. [4] Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience. [5] For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.’
– Eccles. 2:1-5

In all difficulties, we must remember that God wants us to be humble. Without humility, there is no union with God, no peace, no happiness, no salvation. By bearing humiliations we give God a precious gift; by acknowledging our misery, rather than rebelling against it, we draw God to us. He seeks only to give.

“My child, the more humble you are, the more love will increase in you.”
– Jesus to St. Veronica Giuliani (August 23, 1715)

“Nothing is more pleasing to Me than to find a soul seeking the humility and meekness of My Heart.”
– Jesus to Mother Marie-Dominique Claire Moes (1832-1895)

+PAX+

 

 

If there were no Misery, there would be no Mercy

“The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy…”
– Psalm 119:64

The following words of consolation are taken from ‘Divine Communications,’ Vol. 1, by Rev. Auguste Saudreau, the master of mysticism:

‘Once,’ relates Mother Mary of the Divine Heart, ‘having committed some sins of impatience, I asked Our Lord to forgive me, and I said to him: “Why do you still let me have these faults, seeing that I do nothing but offend You by them?” He answered that when I fell into these faults and asked His pardon with humility and contrition, this act of humiliation glorified Him more than the faults offended Him, as they were committed more out of human frailty than deliberately, and they gave Him an opportunity to show His mercy and to wash the soul in His Precious Blood, and that thereby His precious Blood became daily more fruitful.’

Another time, in order to reassure her, Our Lord made this comparison: “Suppose a wife was carrying a precious vase that belonged to her husband, and let it drop out of weakness or inattention, would not the husband feel more compassion when he thought of his wife’s weakness and the distress she would feel at her carelessness, than irritation at the loss of the vase?”

But in order that our contrition may make up for our negligences to this extent, it must be inspired by pure love; if we are only grieved at our own continual wretchedness, this too human sorrow will not have the same effect. (p. 113)

… All prayers are appreciated! I gratefully offer daily Mass for every reader of ‘Littlest Souls.’

Pax Christi!

10 Inspiring Sayings from the Saints

“I would a thousand times rather die than consent to anything which might displease Thee.”
– St. Veronica Giuliani [pictured] (d. 1727)

“O Lord, perfection or death.”
– Bl. Elizabeth Canori–Mora (d. 1825)

“I would not for the sake of all creation, or for the purpose of saving my life, consider committing a single venial sin.”
– St. Ignatius of Loyola (d. 1556)

“Love has chosen me; Love has called me, I give myself in love to Love.”
– Soeur Gertrude–Marie (d. 1908)

“… O Jesus, either to co–operate with Thy grace, or to die.”
– Soeur Jeanne-Bénigne Gojoz (d. 1692)

“God’s Will is my will.”
– St. Maria Crescentia Hoss (d. 1744)

“I would rather lift a straw from the ground by the will of God, than raise a hundred dead men to life by my own will.”
– St. Maria Crescentia Hoss (d. 1744)

“No pleasure save the good pleasure of Almighty God.”
– Soeur Marie–Catherine Putigny (d. 1885)

“I will have nothing but Thyself and Thy Divine Will.”
– Sr. Mary Cherubina

“TO SERVE GOD IS TO REIGN.”
– Bl. Aimo Taparelli

Anniversary of an Extraordinary Soul: Yvonne-Aimée de Jésus

February 3, 2016, marks the 65th anniversary of the death of Servant of God Yvonne-Aimée de Jésus. This privileged spouse of Jesus was the recipient of countless graces, including many extraordinary charismata. She bilocated, she prophesied, she had the stigmata. She was tormented by the devil. She let nothing shake her childlike trust in Jesus, King of Love. She was full of love for God and His Church. She sacrificed herself for others, especially priests.

“Only those who were very close to her [Mother Yvonne-Aimée] know to what point she suffered, in a great spirit of Redemption, most especially for priests.”

– Abbé Courtois

Let us ask for her powerful intercession; that we may give ourselves anew to God each moment, and that we may profit from the light that Our Lord imparted to her.

 

Three Revelations to Yvonne-Aimée de Jésus (from Jesus)

+ The value of small things (a confirmation of the little way):  

“I may not give you anything very much to do… but whatever it is, I want you to do it really well, and do it purely for love of Me.”

+ A lesson on humility:

“Realize that, left to yourself, you are nothing, because this will make you more wholly dependent upon your Lord Whom you love above all else. Try to be like the dust. Dust is not concerned about the good opinion of those who trample on it.”

+ The Malice of a Backbiting:

“A vicious tongue is more cruel than the lance which pierced My Heart. When it wounds another, it wounds a part of My Body – indeed, it wounds My Living Body, whereas the lance only pierced My dead Body. It causes Me more pain than the thorns caused My Head, or the nails My Feet and Hands. I love whoever it is whom that vicious tongue has attacked – I gave My own life for them.”

(Taken from ‘No Need for Surprise: Life of Yvonne-Aimée de Jésus’)

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If you would like to read some more of her revelations, here are a few:

https://littlestsouls.wordpress.com/2015/10/04/merciful-revelations-to-sr-yvonne-aimee-d-1951/

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Pax!