| Age | Sources and Pages | Code Number | Quotations | Relevant Key Words, Phrases and Their Code Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | GCII 808- 809, Aug. 2, 1893, LT 145: to Celine. |
19-20-1 |
…Jesus does not will that we find His adorable presence in repose;
He hides
Himself; He wraps Himself in darkness. It was not thus that He acted with
the
crowd of Jews, for we see in the
gospel that the people were CARRIED AWAY
when He was speaking.
Jesus used to charm weak souls with His divine words,
He was trying to make them strong for the day of trial…. But how
small was
the number of Our Lord's friends when He was SILENT before his
judges!…
Oh! what a melody for my heart is this silence of Jesus…. He made Himself
poor that we might be able to give Him love.
He holds out His hand to us like a
beggar so that on the radiant
day of judgment when He will appear
in His glory, He may have us hear those sweet words: “
Come, blessed of
my Father, for I was hungry and you gave to eat; I was thirsty, and you
gave me to drink; I did not know where to lodge, and you gave me a home.
I was in prison, sick, and you helped me.” (Matthew 25:34-36.) It
is Jesus Himself who spoke
these words;
it is He who wants our love, who begs for
it.… He places
Himself, so to speak, at our mercy, He does not want to take anything
unless we give it to Him, and the smallest thing is precious in His
divine eyes…. Jesus is a hidden treasure, an inestimable good which few souls can find, for it is hidden, and the world loves what sparkles. Ah! if Jesus had willed to show Himself to all souls with His ineffable gifts, no doubt there is not one of them that would have despised Him. However, He does not will that we love Him for His gifts, He Himself must be our reward. To find a hidden thing one must hide oneself; our life must then be a mystery. We must be like Jesus, Jesus whose face was hidden…. “Do you want to learn something that may be of use to you?” says the Imitation. “Love to be unknown and accounted for nothing…. And elsewhere; “After you have left everything, you must above all leave yourself; let one man boast of one thing, another of something else; as for you, place your joy only in contempt of yourself.” What peace these words give to the soul, Celine. |
2-20-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-20-2 (Silence, Hidden), 14-20-5 (The Little Way), 16-20-3 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 25-20-1 (Glory), 28-20-3 (Peace), 40-20-1 (Participation to Salvation), 43-20-2 (Darkness) |
| 21 | GCII 861- 862, July 7, 1894, LT 165: to Celine. |
19-21-1 | …Frequently, we descend into the fertile valleys, where our heart loves to nourish itself, the vast field of the scriptures which has so many times opened before us to pour out its rich treasures in our favor; this vast field seems to us to be a desert, arid and without water….We know no longer where we are; instead of peace and light, we find only turmoil or at least darkness…. But, like the spouse, we know the cause of our trial: our soul is troubled because of the chariots of Aminadab….We are still not as yet in our homeland, and trial must purify us as gold in the crucible…. At times, we believe ourselves abandoned. Alas! the chariots, the vain noises that disturb us, are they within us or outside us? We do not know… but Jesus really knows. He sees our sadness and suddenly His gentle voice makes itself heard, a voice more gentle than the springtime breeze: “ Return, return, my Sulamitess; return, return, that we may look at you!…” (Cant. Chap. 6, v. 12.) What a call is that of the Spouse!… And we were no longer daring even to look at ourselves so much did we consider ourselves without any splendor and adornment; and Jesus calls us, He wants to look at us at His leisure, but He is not alone; with Him, the two other Persons of the Blessed trinity come to take possession of our soul…. Jesus had promised it in days gone by when He was about to reascend to His Father and our Father. He said with ineffable tenderness: “ If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and we will make in him our abode.” (John 14:23.) To keep the word of Jesus, that is the sole condition of our happiness, the proof of our love for Him. But what, then, is this word?… It seems to me that the word of Jesus is Himself… He, Jesus, the Word, the Word of God!… In another place, Jesus teaches us that He is the way, the truth, the life. We know, then, what is the Word that we must keep; like Pilate, we shall not ask Jesus: “What is Truth?” We possess Truth. We are keeping Jesus in our hearts!… |
2-21-5 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-21-3 (The Little Way), 15-21-1 (Union with Jesus), 20-21-1 (Truth), 28-21-1 (Peace), 43-21-1 (Darkness), 49-21-1 (Trinity) |
| 23 | GCII 961, June 20 or 29(?), 1896, LT 190: to Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
19-23-1 |
“Blessed is the one who places his support in Me, for he is setting up
in his heart steps which will lift him up to heaven. Notice, little lamb,
that I am not saying that one must separate himself
completely from
creatures, despise their love, their kindness, but, on the contrary,
one
must accept them in order
to please Me, and to use them as so many
steps, for to separate oneself
from creatures would serve only one things:
to walk and go astray on the paths of this earth….
To lift oneself up one
must place his foot on the
steps of creatures and attach himself to Me
only…
Do you understand, little lamb?” “Lord, I believe it, but above all I feel that Your words are the truth, for they bring peace, joy to my little heart. Ah! may they enter sweetly into the very big heart of my shepherdess!… |
2-23-9 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 20-23-3 (Truth), 28-23-1 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 143, Aug. 9. |
19-24-1 |
1. I was saying about her: “Our warrior is down.” “ 'm not a warrior who fought with earthly arms but with ‘the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.’ And this sickness hasn't been able to put me down, and no later than yesterday evening, I made use of my sword with a novice. I told her: I'll die with my weapons in my hands.” |