Writings of St. Peter Julian Eymard

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	Year Written
Simplicity.pdf Follow the common and ordinary way of life. Something that has been approved by an entire group is better than what comes from only a few. A common law, a common rule is better than a personal rule. Therefore, love the simple and common life; the name community says clearly that your life should be such. Do not strive after virtues that are externally unusual. Keep anything extraordinary to yourself. Externals must be simple and common. In our day, people are fond of anything extraordi Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
Sins Against Charity.pdf We must be very careful and strict in avoiding all sins against charity. These offend our Lord much more than other sins, because our Lord is love and the command of charity is closer to his heart than all others. This precept contains the entire law. Our Lord said: If you are merciful, I will show mercy to you (cf. Mt 5:7). His rule of conduct towards us will be taken from the way we treat others. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
Spirit of Love and Sacrifice.pdf Make your first meditation on this subject, examining the sacrifices you should make toward God, your neighbor and yourselves. Sacrifice is love in practice. 1° Toward God. I cannot tell you what these sacrifices are; there are no general rules. Each one should follow her grace; discern the characteristic of God’s love within you. Then you will be sure of the sacrifice God is asking from you. The goal of love is a perfect union with God. You have to be like a drop of water poured in Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
St. Joseph Servant. Adorer. Disciple. and Our Model.pdf This feast of St. Joseph is so beautiful and consoling for us! I must offer him special honor and give him to you as protector and model. That’s why I will speak to you about St. Joseph: apostle, prophet, servant, adorer, disciple and model of the coenobitic life. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1868
Suffering and Joy. Fraternal Charity.pdf […] As soon as we give ourselves to God, we give ourselves to the cross, to sacrifice. It will be death in order to have life. God crucifies us and gives us life. He crucifies the old self who is always with us. Crushed at night, it revives in the morning even stronger than the night before. Our life is a constant struggle, says Job. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1866
Supernatural Charity of the Heart, of Respect, Affection and Action.pdf We must build our perfection on charity, for this is the Lord’s commandment. He based all holiness on the love of God, and charity towards our neighbor as its expression. This is the greatest and first commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (for the love of God) (cf. Mt 22:37-39). Our Lord also told his apostles: Keep my precept, my new commandment � Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Annunciation.pdf The angel found the Blessed Virgin alone. She had no witnesses, because the house in Nazareth was divided into two parts. It lay against a cliff. There was a part that was more withdrawn, where the Blessed Virgin prayed. Then there was the front part of the house, judging from what has been said. What was she doing? Surely, she was at prayer. When God wants to give any grace, this happens during times of prayer. So also with the Blessed Virgin. We always picture her in silence and praye Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Ascension.pdf the feast of the Ascension. This feast continues for ten days, until Pentecost. Ascension is the end, the last feast of our Lord on earth; it is the triumph, the harvest. Our Lord Jesus Christ certainly deserved this triumph, since his poor body suffered much to enjoy glorification and to be seated at the right hand of the heavenly Father. He had suffered such bodily humiliation, he was crushed as under a press (cf. Is 53:5), as the prophet Isaiah says, his appearance like that of a leper ( Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Attraction of Eucharist.pdf I told you that we must serve our Lord according to our internal state,2 because this state is the positive indication of the will of God. Moreover, we must follow the attraction of the grace that then becomes the motivation of all the actions of our life, because that’s why it is offered. The attraction of grace for you can only be a Eucharistic attraction. If you had a different one, it could be a movement of grace, but not an attraction. God cannot contradict himself. He cannot give y Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Attraction. We Must Serve God by Our Interior State of Grace in our Vocation.pdf We must serve the Good Lord according to the attraction of grace, because the attraction of grace is the will of God manifested in us. What is an attraction? How shall I say it? I don’t know. This is how it is defined: An extraordinary movement of grace in us that draws us strongly and gently to God or to one of his mysteries; to something that comes from God, that really draws the soul very gently and powerfully. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Complete Gift of Self.pdf We will begin meditating on the gift of self. You must give yourselves totally to God. Everything depends on that, all the rest is nothing. Giving what we own has value, but it means merely giving back to God what already belongs to him. To give our work entails giving only part of ourselves, the fruit of our labors; but we hold on to “the self”. To give ourselves little by little is not possible, and is an insult to God. He made the world for us and us for himself (cf. 1 Cor 3:21-23). Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Dominant Virtue of a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament.pdf My Sisters, I have to leave next week, and so I cannot give your retreat. You have enough things to read, and the Good Lord will do the rest. I2 think that you had a good Christmas season. Very often these great feasts are times of trial; we suffer more than we rejoice. In the past, we had this experience – it’s true that we are engaged in some ministry: we would go to God through our neighbor rather than through ourselves, through charity rather than through our own piety. What could Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Essence of Love Is Suffering.pdf What is the essence of love? How do we know that we love God? And how does God perfect this love? This is a good question: what is the essence of the love of God on earth? The answer is this: suffering – by suffering we unite ourselves to God, and God perfects his love in us through suffering. I must explain this well. The essence of love is suffering. Without suffering there is no true love – we cannot say that we love God if we don’t suffer. What is divine love, or even natura Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Eucharist. My Only Good.pdf 1. The adorable Eucharist will be my starting point, my rule for judging all creation. No object, science, art, person will be esteemed unless they have some connection of service, virtue, love with the divine Eucharist. What is outside of this will be indifferent to me. What is contrary to his service, his glory, or his love will be my bitter enemy. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	No D
The Eucharist. My Rule of Life.pdf Jesus said: The one who feeds on me will have life because of me [will live for me] (cf. Jn 6:57) It is only right that the servant will work for the master who nourishes her, that the slave will work for the one who ransomed him, the creature for its God, the Christian for Jesus Christ. Here in the Eucharist, Jesus nourishes me, feeds me with his body, blood, soul, and divinity. I don’t change this divine nourishment into myself, as happens when I eat ordinary bread because the bread is ma Click below to view the whole content continue reading	No D
The Eucharist. Purpose of the Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament.pdf We are going to meditate on this truth: the Eucharist must be your life2. Our life is shaped by our purpose. In the natural order, when aiming for a certain profession, we direct all our work and studies to this goal – in order to become fit to attain it. That is our end purpose. It’s the same in the spiritual order. When we have a goal, we must direct all our efforts towards it. All our thoughts, our desires, and our entire self are geared to attain a goal that sanctifies everything. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Eucharist. Source of Life.pdf Jesus Christ communicates his life by his grace, by his spirit, and by his truth which (is) Himself. He does this by his grace, not only as all Christians receive it, but in a special way by our Eucharistic attraction. This attraction is at first through sentiment. We feel happiness and devotion in the Eucharist, but this sweet attraction and consolation will pass. For an attraction to be true, everything must lead to it. Our thoughts, our actions, have no other goal but to see the Eucha Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Eucharist. The Aim of Everything.pdf Education is not a way of being; it is a preparation for arriving at a way of being. All our studies are necessary means for arriving at the state to which we aspire. Likewise, my Sisters, the practice of the virtues, of prayer, penance, and charity are not your state, your center; they are but means, preparations for becoming Eucharistic servants. Therefore, all that you do must be done in view of the Eucharist, for love of the Eucharist. Nothing must occupy you outside of the divine Euchar Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Eucharist.pdf When Our Lord was on earth, he was only passing through, as we see in the Gospel, going about doing good, curing those whom he met along the way, the blind, the crippled, those possessed, etc. (cf. Mt 4:23- 24) […] Now, Jesus no longer walks about, he remains (with us), waiting night and day, and will do so until the end of the world. He remains waiting for us, to heal our wounds, to dry our tears, comfort our infirmities. What love! Poor soul, you can come to visit me whenever you wish, Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Eucharistic Passion.pdf During this holy Lenten season only one thought should occupy your mind, namely, the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It must become your major focus, your great devotion. Your love of God will not be great or strong, unless based on the Passion. You will not understand our Lord’s love, since one understands love only through sacrifices. Our Lord’s greatest proof of love was the passion itself. For this reason St. Paul says that he loves only Jesus and Jesus crucified (cf. 1 Cor 2:2). Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Eucharistic Thought.pdf My good Sisters, may you have only one fundamental idea, only one thought, only one center. When this royal thought, this fundamental idea weakens and becomes indolent, strengthen it through recollection, through penance, through every means, so that it will always remains central. What must this thought be? That of the service of our Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament. It must be central, so as to guide your perfection. This is the reason for your being around the Holy Eucharist: to serve Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Eucharistic Work. Rule Drawn from the Tabernacle.pdf May God be blessed for everything! My poor Daughters, providing that God’s will be done, and that we allow him to work, all the rest makes no difference to us. We would have liked to go very fast. It didn’t happen! Our Lord seems to stop everything, but only because he wants to do something better. The devil is working furiously against the work, and he uses all his malice to fight it and crush it, if that were possible. And so we need only undertake something for the Eucharist to come Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Four Ends of the Sacrifice. Adorationdocx.pdf We honor the entire Eucharist by the four ends of the sacrifice: not by only one; we take all four of them. These four are: adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and intercession. Some communities have chosen only one or two of these fruits, one or two of these ends; some have only adoration and thanksgiving, such as in Brittany, and as Fr. Hermann does. This is a work of thanksgiving, not an order. I don’t know any order of thanksgiving2. These are associations that could become orders / Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Gift of Self.pdf Giving is a good thing – it means making a donation, a gift. It involves returning what we have received; but this is not the same as giving oneself. Our Lord requires giving as a condition for evangelical service: Go, sell what you have and give to the poor, then come, follow me; and you will have treasure in heaven (cf. Mt 19:21). Abandon everything, come, give yourself in your poverty as my follower, and I will give you everything. Our Lord says that this is a big sacrifice, for he adds Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Good Lord Unites Us to Himself by Gentleness.pdf The Good Lord unites us to himself by gentleness; it is through the gentleness of this union that he leads us to strength. I often spoke to you about sacrifices, virtues, and everything that you should do; but you should not center in these sacrifices, in that state of death that I spoke of. This is not your center. The Good Lord does not unite us to himself through sacrifice, but through the experience of his goodness. He makes us feel a great sweetness, a sign of the grace of God in us, be Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Grace of Consolation.pdf Surely God knows what we need much better than we do. If he gives a grace of consolation, of sweetness in his service, a grace of devotion, it’s because we need it, or we will need it. And so, in his mercy, he sends it to us. Why should we refuse it? It would be like saying that the Good Lord doesn’t know what he’s doing. It would also be acting like a beggar who has nothing, yet refuses to accept what is given to him. Perhaps one might object: that God is treating me like a child a Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Grain of Wheat.pdf My Sisters, it is necessary that you should become like the grain of wheat, the substance of which is totally transformed. We will consider the grain of wheat reaching its condition as a host, becoming Jesus Christ. That will give you an idea of what you need to do to attain eucharistic life. The grain of wheat is cast on earth and there it dies and its life springs from its death. From this death comes forth a seed. The grain becomes a plant. It becomes the wheat. Then we gather the ear, Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Health of the Soul.pdf What I desire is the health of your soul. When do we know that we have it? When we are faithful to his grace. The body is healthy when it has strength in its organs; the soul that is faithful to grace has interior health: it has strength and the love of God. When we are sick, work will exhaust us: everything is tiring; food is not digested by the stomach. When a soul is sick, nothing will be beneficial to her, or will benefit only slightly – she has not the strength to carry out her work: Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Hidden Holiness of Jesus Christ.pdf Let us return to the subject of our hidden life. Be satisfied with the holiness of Jesus Christ, who is hidden. Jesus Christ has two kinds of holiness. There is one that is external, in great things, in his glory, in his heroic virtues. Don’t seek the holiness of the grandeur of Jesus Christ. That one is less perfect, less esteemed by Jesus. Consider his hidden life, where there is more love. There was more love in Nazareth than on Tabor. In Nazareth he deferred his miracles. Jesus is g Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Hidden Life of Jesus.pdf Our Lord preferred to choose the hidden life, from his birth to the time when he began his public life. For thirty years, he lived unknown to the world, but his love for the hidden life shines in all its brilliance in the most Blessed Sacrament. In fact, nothing appears there – all is veiled: his beauty, his majesty, and his glory are not seen. The divine gentleness of his words is not heard; only one thing is evident, the virtue he cherishes – humility. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Humility of Love.pdf You will make your meditation on the humility of love. A king wanted to get married. He was a perfect king, with all the qualities that make great kings. He had a large kingdom and he was honored by his subjects. He wanted to espouse someone worthy of him. All who were part of a princely family were hoping to catch his eye and please him, but everyone was surprised when his choice landed on the least girl in his kingdom. Everyone was saying: How could the king have taken someone whose pare Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Humility of Mind Heart and Body.pdf I think you were attentive to your short meditation this morning – it fits you well. Humility is your dowry as spouses of Jesus Christ, to be Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament. You have no other. If the Good Lord asked you for another dowry, you could not give it to him. Examine all the virtues, and you’ll find them impossible. You may practice them a little, but their perfection is impossible for you. It’s the same with the virtues of the mind, those that come from the working Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Interior Attraction of Recollection.pdf We said that you must serve God through your attraction of grace. We gave some preliminaries; now let’s continue. It is clear that we must serve God as he wants to be served – the will of God becomes the norm for good works. We will experience great consolation and encouragement, once we have established this principle! Who knows whether the Good Lord is pleased when I practice this specific virtue, when I enter this vocation? Who knows if God is happy? As soon as I start doubting when Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Last Days of Holy Week.pdf This week we celebrate the mysteries of the Passion. They are great and solemn; meditate on them. You must enter into their spirit, and follow the grace of each day. Tomorrow, we recall the betrayal of Judas. The Church has always considered Wednesday as a day of sadness. It is a day of penance in many religious orders. When permission is given to eat meat, Wednesday is excluded. On that day, our Lord was sold. This crime is often repeated through bad Communions, and the Church remembe Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Life of Love.pdf Our Lord Jesus Christ said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will have their fill (Mt 5:6). This is not said in today’s world, where these people are called unfortunate. If you are hungry, you must eat. If you are thirsty, you must drink. Our Lord Jesus Christ considered happiness to consist in satisfying hunger and thirst. In heaven, the saints always live of the Good Lord; they never exhaust him. Their hunger and thirst are always satisfied, and yet they al Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Life of Our Lord in Us.pdf Recollection means pouring ourselves into God – that’s the first part. The second part is making room for God to live in us – our Lord in us. At first, we are the ones going into God. We go there by choice and out of love, renouncing everything along the way. That’s fine! Once a soul resides in God, the reverse occurs, as I told you frequently in the past. These truths are not easy to grasp. Our Lord says: Whoever eats me remains in me (cf. Jn 6:56). First we go, then there is Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Life of the Blessed Virgin in the Cenacle.pdf Let us reflect on the life of the Blessed Virgin in the Cenacle. Everyone has a center of life that gives stability. For example, a child’s center of life is the affection of its mother, its family home. A merchant’s center of life is his business, he thinks only of that, and dwells there. A scholar’s center of life is knowledge, etc. Every person has a center of life, in which to rest, recreate, and find pleasure. A young man may work the entire day far from his family; he is happy Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Loving Sacrifice of Our Lord in the Eucharist.pdf What is a sacrifice? Renunciation. There are two kinds: suffering of the body and renunciation of the soul. The greater the sacrifices are, greater is the love; the less perfect they are, the more love decreases. This is the rule: there is no love without sacrifice. While the love of God is perfect, when he wants to show it to us, he shows it by sacrifice Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Mercy of Love.pdf My dear Sisters, we spoke about the love that our Lord gives us; now let us see how he forgives us. We need his forgiveness more than his gifts; we have more guilt than virtue; we do more harm than good. My poor Daughters, we miss out on many graces! We render so many graces barely effective, if not sterile, by our own fault! What touches me more deeply about the love of God for us is his mercy; it touches me more than his gifts. When he gives, he is so good that he cannot help but give; an Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Mission of the Holy Spirit.pdf Let us reflect on the mission of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit has a mission, since he is sent. You know what is written in the Gospel, that he is sent by Jesus Christ who says, If I do not go, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you (cf. Jn 16:7). Clearly, then, the Holy Spirit has a mission. The eternal Word has a mission as Savior, while the Holy Spirit has one as Sanctifier of souls. Alone, Jesus is not sufficient. The Father give Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Month of Mary.pdf here comes the month of Mary; we will begin it tonight, as we end the final day of April. Our men will do the same. We have prepared our chapel that is even more beautiful than yours. Although we are Religious of the Most Blessed Sacrament, we must not for that reason have a lesser devotion to the Blessed Virgin. It would be offensive to say, Jesus is enough for me. Where do we find Jesus on earth, if not in Mary’s arms? We cannot separate Jesus from Mary, for isn’t she the Gate of He Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Mystery of Suffering.pdf God surrounds suffering with mystery – especially the sufferings of love that we can call the sufferings of sanctification. He wraps them up, he hides them from us. He has to wrap them as in a veil of mystery, so that we will not recognize them. We can have a foreboding of sufferings, and, no doubt, know them in advance, and we can say: I will suffer. But the spiritual man does not see the suffering until the time of God has come. God does not manifest it. Each of us has a sum of sufferi Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Presentation of our Lord.pdf The Presentation of our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin is a great feast both in heaven and on earth. Heaven has never received so great a victim as our Lord offered by the hands of his mother. And earth has never possessed so great a gift as this fruit of the earth, the flower of Jesse (cf. Is 11:1), the fruit of the virginity of Mary. The earth was so rich that the angels in heaven could never equal a gift in any way comparable to that offered by Mary. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1863
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin.pdf God was drawing her with his love. David, the ancestor of the Blessed Virgin, said: I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the Lord.” (Ps 121:1) She rejoiced, as we will, when we go to heaven. In her visit, she preceded her parents; love has wings. Everyone must have noticed this little girl, so good and pure, especially when she climbed the stairs of the temple, built on a mountain, Mt. Mello. Why did she run ahead? To arrive sooner, to be the first to kiss Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Purity of Love.pdf 1866 God loves you with an infinite, perpetual, and eternal love, that is my hope, since he has given you sufficient signs of that love. Now, you should want to love him as much as you can. In order to love the Good Lord well, my Sisters, you must be pure and not offend him. You must avoid everything that displeases him, that’s the one and only proof that you love the Good Lord. To love him perfectly, you must give yourself in religious life. Try to be good religious. If you want to Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1866
The Purpose of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament.pdf The purpose of man is to know, love, and serve God in this world and to possess him in the next – that is the catechism. The purpose of the Christian changes one word: to know, love and serve Jesus Christ, God and man, in this world, and to share his glory in heaven. As for you, my Sisters, your purpose is the know, love, and serve Jesus Christ in the most Blessed Sacrament of the altar in this world, and reign with him in heaven. That is your entire law; that is your purpose. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Qualities of Eucharistic Service.pdf How shall I serve Jesus in his loveable sacrament? With all my mind, with all my heart, with all my will, and with all my strength. (Mt? Mk 12:29) 1º With all my mind. The Holy Eucharist will be my dominant thought; his better service will be my ambition; his perpetual service will be my most glorious bond with him. I will be indifferent to whatever cannot be related to the service of the adorable Eucharist, because it is not my task, not my duty as a servant. I will consider as an exerc Click below to view the whole content continue reading	No D
The Recollection of Love.pdf Recollection means going from outside to inside, paying attention to God in us. I deliberately avoided using a word that would have surprised you; namely, loving attention to God in us. Whoever speaks of attraction, speaks of love, since that is its character. Perfection is just that. The desire to make him our center means to desire life, joy, and well-being. One who centers on a friendship will find happiness; whatever pleasure one centers on will also bring happiness. In the same way, t Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Recollection of Study. of Contemplation. of Attention. Center.pdf As a science, recollection comes through a learning process, and through practice. It is a natural act and is done like any natural act. It consists in giving attention which is more or less sustained, on a thought, a truth. One can work on recollection. When it has the characteristic of study, then it is a recollection of study, and the mind works. If it is a discovered truth that we contemplate, then it is the attention of contemplation; the soul remains in the silence of contemplation. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Resurrection. We Must Rejoice with the Blessed Virgin.pdf Now, we focus on the Resurrection. You would not enter into the spirit of this feast if you wanted to weep and return to Calvary. If that were your particular grace, I would say nothing, but you would not be following the flow of Gods graces. Rejoice with the Church; you have found your lost treasure. There is great joy and happiness in recovering a treasure that had been lost (cf. Lk 15:6, 9, 24). Here is our Lord, our Friend, our Father, and our Spouse. Let us not lose him again. We mus Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
The Science of Love.pdf My Sisters, I think you understood clearly what I told you this morning2, and you made your meditation on the life of love. These are truths that dazzle us ordinarily when we hear them for the first time. We see their beauty but not their depth. These truths are not new in themselves, because they are as old as God. As they are new for us, we should not get discouraged if we don’t understand them at once and don’t grasp them fully. God does not enlighten us as he did Saint Paul. Even Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Spirit of Eucharistic Faith.pdf St. Paul said: The just lives by faith. (Rm 1:17). The spirit of faith inspires all his actions… […] To have the spirit of Eucharistic faith means to find joy in the service of the God of the Eucharist, to search for any occasion that gives honor and glory to Jesus Eucharistic. To live the Eucharistic spirit means, then, to make the Holy Eucharist the loving thought of our mind, the royal love of our heart, and the supreme good of our will. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	No D
The Spirit of Love and Sacrifice.pdf Your rule says that you should have the spirit of love and sacrifice. Why do we always speak about sacrifice, come back to it? Isn’t there any true love without sacrifice? No, my dear Sisters, there is no true love without sacrifice, I mean for us who are journeying as exiles on earth. Heaven is the reward of the sacrifices of love on earth. In heaven, love will be rewarded according to our sacrifices. There is a greater glory for those who bore many sacrifices, little glory for little Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Spirit of Nature and the Spirit of Grace.pdf My Sisters, today we shall talk about the spirit that should move you and various other spirits. I will try to complete what I said about the attraction of grace, since I did not have time to finish. Right away, I am informing2 you that it is a difficult subject.[…] It is not something palpable and accessible to the senses. We shall examine the movements of the soul. I will not talk about the movements of the evil spirit – spare me that. I will not talk about them, since everyone knows Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
The Spirit of Sacrifice.pdf You must not run after sacrifices, as sacrifices in themselves. This would be like a servant who is unwilling to remain next to his master; worried and impatient, he prefers to go out and work for him, rather than remain with him. That’s what happens when we love our sacrifices as sacrifices, when we place our life in them, when we make them our center – preferring to work for God, rather than work with God. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Spirit of the Foundation.pdf My goal, in all that I do, is always to make you go alone to the Blessed Sacrament. You have a lot of need for direction, for priestly guidance, but as far as I am concerned, to be wise, I must imitate St. John the Baptist. He had disciples: and you, you are my disciples. The Good Lord gave me the grace to gather you. He instructed them and kept them for a long time. When the time came, he sent them all to2 our Lord (cf. Jn 3:26), and he disappeared (cf. Jn 3:30), like the stars do when th Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
The Spirit of the Society.pdf Let us explain the spirit of the Society.2 First, what is a spirit; what do we mean by spirit? Each person has her own personal spirit, distinguishing her from any other, her own way of seeing things, talking, and acting. This is what forms her character. A person with a good spirit will be gentle and charitable; if the contrary is true, she has a bad and terrible spirit. We judge a person by her spirit, the written letter brings death but the Spirit gives life. (cf. 2 Cor 3:6) Our good Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Spirit. Serving with Devotion and Abnegation.pdf My Sisters, I want to talk to you about the spirit. It’s important to continue on this topic of the spirit of love and sacrifice. The question is, When will I know that I have the spirit of the Society, the spirit of love and sacrifice? This is very important; can you know it by yourself? Of course, it’s easy to know if one is dead or alive. Life manifests itself. We give proof by acts of virtue, and by the spirit of love within us. The first proof is to fulfill our vocational dut Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
The Three Degrees of Love(Continuation).pdf Once again , Father chose to talk about the spirit of love. My Sisters, it is very important to form the spirit of love in yourselves. I already explained what it is to have the spirit of a thing and what rules to follow. An act of love is an isolated deed with its own reward. An act of holiness, of virtue, is more than that, because a habit is developing in the soul. When the soul has a dominant virtue, she acts by that virtue and it becomes a habit. A person who is kind on occasion h Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Three Degrees of Love.pdf What do we mean by the spirit of love? The word spirit means more than love. Love has three degrees: [First], an isolated act of love. This is a particular love, a natural attraction toward a person. The second degree, a preferential love. This is a dominating, sovereign love beyond all others, a love that triumphs over everything. It presupposes a battle, because we cannot dominate what we did not fight for; but it is not yet the end of our life. To have the spirit of a thing is Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1858
The Transfiguration.pdf Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration. In Rome this is a first class feast, feast of the patriarchal church of St. John Lateran, the Pope’s church. We have also celebrated this feast, full of very consoling truths. I will try to explain. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
Third Anniversary of the Foundation.pdf [Today is] the feast of St. Ignatius. The Good Lord permitted this anniversary to fall on the feast3 of such a great saint who used to say: All for the greater glory of God. This is how he began his order. There were nine at Montmartre, what is surprising is that these hidden underground passages have been left untouched since the time they were buried during the Revolution. Men change, things remain the same. This saint did so much good. His liturgical prayer says: Lord, you sanctified St Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
Three Kinds of Life.pdf There are three kinds of life. The first is the life of the senses, or the life of the passions. Many people live that kind of life – they are in the majority. In that kind of life, everything ends with pleasure: the miser earns money to enjoy himself; others desire honors in order to have wealth. This life of the senses is found throughout the world. This is what our Lord meant with the words: The gate is wide that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many and it le Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
Three Kinds of Peace.pdf […] My Sisters, there are three kinds of inner peace. There is peace of conscience, which you surely have. Peace of conscience consists in having nothing to accuse oneself of before God. I’m not talking about mortal sins, but about venial sins. This peace is a sign that all is well with God. It is not lost by the intrusion of the senses; nor from our evil nature which is not premeditated. These are mere odors from a dunghill – excuse the word. It does not disturb our peace if w Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
Three Kinds of Recollection.pdf My Sisters, there are three kinds of recollection. The first recollection, if I dare say it, is the most imperfect: it is recollection through conscience. Let me explain. Our conscience is like the mirror of God in us. Conscience discloses to us the law of God, tells us what is right and what is wrong. God inspires us through our conscience, giving us a sense of the holiness and truth of God, such that recollection is needed to know one’s duty. Then the law is within. This recollect Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
Three Obstacles that Prevent Us from Enjoying.pdf I said that many people don’t enjoy our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, for three reasons. First, because they approach our Lord with their senses, limiting themselves to using only their senses. Since our senses cannot grasp the most Blessed Sacrament, since our Lord does not allow himself to be seen and touched, the result is that these people experience nothing. They think, and speak, and act only through their senses – they have a rather languid faith that proceeds well only wit Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
To Live with Jesus Christ.pdf You must honor our Lord, his interior and Eucharistic life; you must honor him by your life – and this includes three ideas. 1º You must live with Jesus Christ. In the Apocalypse, St. John says: On Mt. Zion, I saw the Lamb that was slain, and with him one hundred forty-four thousand virgins, singing the song of love, and who never leave the presence of the Lamb that was slain. (cf. Rv 14:1-4) You, too, are meant to live always with him: a servant lives with her master, a spouse with h Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
To Recollect Oneself in the Goodness of Our Lord.pdf Now, my Sisters, be recollected; develop the habit of recollection, of living in our Lord, as I told you, because as long as you have not done this, you will be useless. You will not enter into God, into his love; you will be affected by all the vicissitudes of the times. You will not be at peace, but on a troubled sea agitated by stormy winds. If you remain with our Lord, if you sit at his feet (cf. Lk 10:39), you will understand the depths of his truth, become instructed in his truth and lo Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
Vocation. The Hidden Eucharistic Life.pdf My Daughters, I see that the Good Lord is increasing your number. Surely, when the Good Lord acts in that way, he has plans of grace and mercy. What are they? Time will tell: “Where the body is, there also the eagles will gather”,2 said our Lord (cf. Lk 17:37). In the Church what is Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament? He is the body. Our Lord’s feast is called Feast of the Blessed Sacrament. The eagles are souls. The Blessed Sacrament is everything that is most needed for thes Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
We Must Begin Our Adoration Well.pdf In our last instruction, we mentioned how to make adoration when already in a moment of fervor; but in general the problem with our meditations, with our adorations, is the very beginning. If we begin well, the rest will follow. I know that human weakness can arise, but we continue the way we had begun. The essential thing is to begin our work well, energetically from the first. If we begin badly, in a lukewarm way, there is much to fear that we’ll have a hard time to return to where we Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
We Must Die to Everything with Our Lord.pdf My Sisters, you must live from the Eucharistic life of our Lord. What is that Eucharistic life? You must understand it well, because it must be the rule and end of your life. The Eucharistic life of our Lord is the form that his love chose to remain in our midst. Since that form is a form of annihilation, it is also what he wanted to teach us, so that we could always say: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Mt 11:29). This annihilation of our Lord out of love required tha Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
We Must Give Our Lord Our Personality.pdf Let us place ourselves in the presence of our Lord by an act of faith, etc. […] My dear Daughters, in order to love our Lord, we must give ourselves to him as he gives himself to us: we must love him as he loves us. Do you know the greatest gift that we could make to the love of our Lord? Here it is: to give him our person, and forever – I will explain. To give our person to our Lord – there are very few persons who give our Lord their personality, even among religious; there are Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1866
We Must Give Ourselves to God for God and not for Ourselves.pdf Let us place ourselves in the presence of God, etc. Let us complete the meditation of last night. We said that we must consecrate to God our personality; that is, the self that commands. We must give him the self that is the center of external relations who receives praise and affection the self that i it o e. o out ti trut elpe ou to ee tat religious life still has something more perfect, namely, to give oneself to God for the sake of God, and not to give oneself to God for your se Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1866
We Must Go To God Out of Love.pdf Considering your duties and the sublime perfection required of Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the frailty of your human nature, you may well wonder whether you can ever attain this perfection of the Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Confronted with a lofty mountain that rises to the sky, you may ponder that since your pace is ever so slow you may also need wings. Let me teach you how to go forward, so that your experience will show you that I have told you the truth. It is Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
We Must Immerse Ourselves into the Love of Our Lord.pdf […] Once in a while, we need to renew our courage, to re-immerse ourselves into our resolution to belong solely to our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Blessed Sacrament. A regular life easily leads to routine, I might even say to laziness. We get used to even the holiest things, to the point that they become mechanical and natural. We really must re-immerse ourselves into the grace of our vocation, in order to be ever fresh and enter into it more perfectly. We need to evaluate ourselves Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
We Must Leave Ourselves to Enter into Our Lord.pdf My Sisters, in the last conference2 we were saying that the first work of grace is self-detachment. If we review our life, we see that the Good Lord is always working to free us by detaching us, distancing us either from sources of temptation, or occasions [that drain our] affection. Why? In order to fill us – that’s clear. Our Lord disengages us from the world and from ourselves, in order to fill us, to take over our hearts, to become truly our life. In this way, my good Sisters, Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
We Must Live in the Love of Our Lord.pdf Let us reflect on the consequences of last night’s meditation. Love called you and is nourishing you. The conclusion is this: if love had not called you, there would be no union [between you and our Lord]. Where there is no love there is no union. The greater the love on both sides, the deeper the union will be. Love our Lord then, and let love be your universal and only life. St. Augustine used to say, Love, and do what you will. How then should you love? As Jesus loved you, answer Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1862
We Must Not Dwell in Ourselves.pdf 1861 […] My poor Daughters, dwell truly in the Good Lord, and don’t dwell in yourselves. There is a saying that we should keep to ourselves. In one sense it is good to be quiet in one’s own home, that’s only natural. But I tell you, in the order of grace don’t dwell in yourselves; you will not be comfortable. The Good Lord did not make us dwell in our own thoughts, in the affections of our own hearts, in preoccupations over our bodies, in our small possessions. The Good Lord di Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
We Must Not Dwell in Sacrifices.pdf […] We have spoken about sacrifice – now we must complete this idea. You will have sacrifices to offer every day, because this is the nourishment of love. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
We Must Serve God According to Our State.pdf My Sisters, let us develop a truth that is at once important and difficult. It is my hope that the Good Lord will enlighten you about it. We must serve God according to our internal and external state. This is necessary because it is the certain expression of God’s will when we are in a transitional state, and then especially when he places us in a permanent state [of soul]. It is a proof that he wants that state for us and how it affects us at that time. Desiring to serve God outside of Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859
We Should Start With Love.pdf Imagine perfection on a high mountain. A Christian is told, you have to climb the mountain of God. There are difficulties and sacrifices as we climb; we slip and fall. There are so many difficulties on the way to perfection! Another one says, this is too long; I will succeed only at the end of my life. Instead, he uses wings and flies. The first one walks, exercising virtues, working out perfection to the smallest detail. This is long, very long, walking slowly and reaching perfection onl Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
What Is the Society and What We Owe It.pdf There will be no spiritual direction on the day of the retreat; it is too short and wrong timing. You cannot talk about your retreat in direction, since it is not finished. On that day, the professed should meet their superior, and the novices, their novice mistress, for guidance. I will see you the following day. Then you can report on all that was said to you, and what we dealt with. Then I will give you direction. Come in the morning, the best time, but don’t come all together as you Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
Why Our Lord Suffered.pdf Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the five wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the Fridays of Lent are dedicated to celebrate an aspect of the Passion. In this way, the Church divides the mysteries of the Passion, so that we can better appreciate them, calling them to mind one at a time. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
Works of Zeal.pdf I recommend to your prayers the baptism of a Jewish lady that will take place on Thursday at eight o’clock. She is well prepared. Since we cannot prepare her by means of confession; we prepare her only with the Word of God. She cannot receive absolution, since she is not baptized, and since baptism takes away all sins. It seems that she really loves our Lord Jesus Christ and understands him a little. She has to make many big sacrifices. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1861
You Come from God. The Work of Adoration is Everything.pdf A virtue is recognized by its strength; through practice, it gains strength. Since we humans are limited, we take time to rest. God limited us to show us that we are weak in ourselves. The spiritual life is the same. This life of grace and love gains strength through practice; it also has need of strength and rest. Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1860
You Come from God.pdf We must thank the Good Lord for sending servants, we must thank the heavenly Father for sending adorers for his divine Son. The heavenly Father calls them, and Jesus Christ receives them: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. (cf. Jn 6:44) Quite evidently, the Father must be the one to form a court for his divine Son. What is surprising is that the vocations that we were expecting and hoping for do not come; if they do come, they bring us headaches. The Good Lord Click below to view the whole content continue reading	1859

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