January 1—On awakening.
“Your keynote for the year: Believe in love. Have faith in My love.”
January 2—I was watching Him weep in the Garden of Gethsemane and I asked Him to let His tears fall into my heart.
“Yes, there were moments when I saw the comfort that My soul-friends would give Me all down the ages. I saw their great desire to suffer in My place, and I sent flowing to them the merits of My fearful agony. For I saw the first man and all the others, right to the very last. What a burden, My child, for one who atones! . . .
“You must believe in the love of Christ—once again I ask you for this—for otherwise you will hurt Him. Wouldn’t you be offended if a friend said to you, ‘Everything is false in your affection.’ You would be hurt and you would be on your guard after that. Often you, too, lack faith in My love and so you put a stop to My gifts, for I’m afraid of adding to the weight of your ingratitude. And I wait . . . But if you call Me, how present I am to you, how ready to carry you, My poor little children.
“Do you remember when you were little how you used to hunt for Me? You would go and hide yourself in the dark room behind your grandmother’s kitchen. There, in the corner, was a large doormat rolled up. You would scramble into it, and when anyone called out, ‘Where’s Gabrielle?’ you would say to yourself, ‘I’m with the good God.’
“And do you remember how on summer nights at Le Fresne, you would go out alone on the terrace, hunting for Me between the Loire and the stars; and you would say ‘I’m going to think.’ You were seeking Me, and I let Myself be caught, but you were not aware of this yet. How I loved you, My little child!”
January 9—Holy Hour.
“Come and watch Me suffer in the Garden, just as though it were that very night. It is always that very night, for God sees all time at a glance. Don’t leave Me! I’m like a terrified child who begs not to be left alone. Stay there. Let Me know that you’re with Me. A presence is soothing. Hold My hand. I am only a poor man full of distress even though I am God. No one will ever understand the depths of My desolation. I feel the need of being surrounded by all My dear ones, for I see all the powers of evil let loose and I am alone to defend Myself. Pray with Me. Do you have a firmer belief in My love now that you see Me suffer so? Give Me these alms, this faith offering.
“How much it means to Me to see faith, hope, and love—these three basic attitudes—in the hearts of My children.
“Two rungs to climb: faith and hope. From there you reach love. And as you read this morning, love alone counts. You must use every manner and means of reaching it. You must ask Me to make it grow in you, offering little sacrifices to this love that needs to be kept alive. Sometimes you think that you are wasting time, that love in you is feebler, when all the time it is growing. To long to love, why, that’s love itself. And all these efforts of yours to love more, only add to the sum of your love in the eyes of the divine compassion.
“Advance, advance. Let nothing hinder your trustful steps forward. Trustful—of course—since I am there. And if you count on Me, can you ever imagine that I would fail to help you reach your goal? Learn to desire. And since you have heard this word, ‘Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect,’ dare to the utmost. Alone you can’t do anything. But trusting in Me, leaning on Me, submerged in Me you can do everything. That’s why I keep on saying, ‘Lose yourself in Me and humbly ask Me to act for you, and I’ll act.’ ”
January 16—Holy Hour, Saint-Pierre.
“Pray with Me. With Me, you understand. I said to them, ‘Could you not watch with Me one hour! Watch and pray.’ And I say the same to you. Isn’t it only natural for brothers to help one another? I am your brother. I carry the burden of the whole world and it seems to Me that already I am sinking beneath the weight of it. Help Me, My Gabrielle. Help Me by praying. Help Me by loving. Love can work such wonders in a sensitive heart, and what heart is more sensitive than Mine? Suppose someone were to ask you, ‘What are you doing at this moment?’ and you could answer, ‘I’m loving My God.’ Even if the whole universe were to stand still, it would be a fact of little importance compared with a soul striving to charm Me.
“Love Me in all kinds of ways. Love to make amends, to comfort Me, to thank Me, to glorify Me, to obtain, to please Me, and then love just for the sake of loving. That’s what the saints in heaven are doing and would you believe it, it is forever the story of My passion that is perpetually renewed. So take all these concerts of praise and all these transports of love and offer them to Me in the Garden in order to veil the assaults of the powers of evil from Me.
“Pray for all centuries, all peoples, all sinners. There is infinite treasure in My sweat of blood. What have you to fear? Give My blood to the world—Life ebbing away that it
May give Life.
“My dear little girl, so full of weakness and poverty, I’m counting on you: help your elder brother.”
January 22—Holy Hour.
“Do you believe in My powerful love?”
“Yes, Lord, I do believe in Your powerful love.”
“And do you believe that My love is more powerful than all the loves of the earth put together?”
“Yes, Lord. I do believe that.”
“O tell Me that often. It relieves My agony. Nonbelievers wound My tenderness, and the confidence of a soul is such balm to Me.
“Don’t you see that since you let Me act in your place, your joy and our oneness are greater? Don’t you see, too, that in this way you will take great strides forward, since it is I who cover the miles? The other day when you had that disappointment (an important business matter that seemed to have failed) I loved the way you offered the whole thing to Me right then and there. I gave it to the Father. Lose yourself in Me always. If you only knew who I am, you would never cease to take refuge in My arms. If you knew the gift of God and who this one is called Jesus Christ!
“At least don’t check your transports of love any longer. For I am the transport of love, I, your Christ.
“Don’t even try to find out where I’m leading you. Keep your eyes fixed so steadily on Me that you are not even aware of your surrender. Try to please Me in everything. And see that your soul always wears a smile, because this is what I love and it honors Me. Then I want you to cultivate the habit of multiplying opportunities for helping other people, since you know that they are My brothers. And thirdly, I want you to create opportunities of speaking about Me. It would be so heartwarming for Me and for you.
“Can you imagine a single day spent without once pronouncing God’s name, together with a kindly word for those who are listening to you? Perhaps you are shy. Are you afraid of embarrassment? In reality the opposite is true. Make the experiment, and you’ll be astonished to see how much people are attracted by these heaven-born words. Just try; I’ll do the talking. I beg you, give Me the chance, beginning tomorrow. You know very well that when your Lord speaks, He touches.”
February—In my bedroom at Nantes.
“Poverty. Even My words are only just vocal enough for you to hear them. Haven’t you noticed how almost imperceptible My voice is? Imitate My poverty.”
In the dark morning, the wet pavement reflected the sky and this helped to guide my steps.
“When grace saturates an attentive soul, that soul reflects God and guides its brothers to Him. Who can ever measure the power of influence?”
After a sermon on the Mystical Body of Christ.
“And since you are part of My body, why should you be amazed at the fact that My thinking members hear My thoughts? We are one.”
After Communion.
“Don’t be afraid to come back to Me after your distractions. Ask My heart to forgive you and love Me more than ever.
“You understand, if you keep smiling before My face, you will always have a smile for others, and it will warm their hearts.”
February 6—Holy Hour. Notre Dame. Nantes. I wasn’t pleased with my day—so little had counted for Him in it.
“That doesn’t make any difference. I take you as you are, with your regrets; so just be sorry. Tell Me that you will be more careful tomorrow. Don’t you think that I prefer someone who has fallen and repented to one full of pride in his good deeds? The self-righteous lose all merit. Then always be little, My Gabrielle. Get a true picture of yourself in all your weakness, without even the possibility of being good without Me. But in the distress of your poverty, look at all My riches: they are all yours. Look at My goodness and throw yourself into My arms. Look at My love without ever being afraid; I am your Savior. You know when John said, ‘It’s the Lord,’ it meant so much for him. And for you?”
“For me, too, it means much.”
“For you I must be everything. Everything! You understand? Your life is Mine. . . . Move out of yourself; I’m living in you. Do you grasp what I mean? I take up all the room.”
February 20—Holy Hour. At the Reparatrix.
“You are only an instrument. But be that; be always ready to serve Me. Serve Me, not yourself. You’re dependent on Me. I’m your Employer. Thank Me for wishing to make use of you. Aren’t you happy with your employer? Could you ever say that I don’t look after you? You have experienced the delicate little touches of My tenderness and you’ve seen it also in the details of your life. For nothing is too small for my watchful love. You have learned to recognize Me in circumstances too. And this pleases Me so much. It is really I, your Christ, who comes to meet you so often.
“You have the picture: two friends at opposite ends of a road hurrying to meet each other. That’s how it is with us. Never leave Me alone on the road, longing in vain for you to come, My very little beloved one.
“Serve Me with your whole heart, looking upon everything that is not for Me as nothing at all. And since I am the Host in your heart-center, come there often to visit Me. Pay no attention to the world. Cloister yourself in your inner shrine, and in secret adore your bridegroom. Talk to Him in your own words and listen to Him.”
February 26—My birthday.
I was consecrating the first hour of my life to Him and asking Him that the last one be full of love.
“Remember this; as one lives, so one dies. If, during these moments that divide you from death, your heart is full of Me; if zeal for My kingdom consumes it; if you are thirsty for My glory, death will find you like that and you will pass on with a thought of love. . . .
“To pass on . . . it’s not long, it is just to leave the life on earth to enter into that other life. This is your true birthday; that is what it is to be born to Life everlasting. And I am Life, I, your Christ.”
“Help me to live from now on as I shall live in heaven; I mean, in my soul.”
“But this is the reason why I lived—just in order to be the Life of your life. Always place your life in Mine, doing nothing yourself and everything through Me. Be full of joy when you are misunderstood or overlooked because this makes you just like Me. And when you are alone, think of My forty days of solitude and be one with Me. How happy I’ll be, My poor little one—I who lived only for My children. I wanted a little soul on earth who would live from time to time wholly for Me.” . . .
Easter—All along the road to the Cathedral I was saying, “Hail, my resurrected Christ!”
“As far as your heart is concerned,
May the world be in its tomb.
May your Christ alone live!”
At the offertory:
“Through my rising from the dead, offer the resurrection of your own body at the general resurrection. Offer the resurrection of each member of your family, of all those who have passed before you and those who will outlive you, and of all the people you have ever known—all of them. Let them be like a procession around my resurrection for the glory of God the Father.”
April 20—Le Fresne. Holy Hour.
“Don’t you come to Me with more confidence than to any friend on earth? Aren’t you at home in My heart? It should be that way too, since for each soul I am the unique, the incomparable one.
“Offer this communion between us to the Father in union with the communion between the three divine persons. After you receive the Eucharist, offer Him not only My body, but the perfections of My soul: My power and My tenderness; My virtues, too—the ones you have loved the best—in order to help you to overcome your weaknesses and failures.
“You understand—in Me you can find everything: all the love you need to help you. So don’t be afraid of making use of the one who loves you so. Unfold your trust like silk to clothe your request, and you will vanquish Me. My heart is easily taken captive by My little children. And you are all My little children. Any humble tenderness disarms Me.
“Yes, before you fall asleep, lovingly and humbly confess the day’s faults and failings. What gain for you! And what eagerness to restore in the heart of your loving Savior.
“You remember, when Mary Magdalene had told Me of her sins, she stopped to ask, ‘After that, can I be forgiven?’ I assured her and she went on. But once again she stopped and asked, ‘For this too,
May I still hope to be forgiven?’ ‘Yes,’ I assured her. Then when all her past had been laid at My feet, she wept from pure love-gratitude, understanding My infinite compassion. Understanding a little, that is. For it is not in you to grasp the infinite.
“Love to be blind, since it is I who am leading you if you really want to put your hand in Mine. Don’t you think fathers are happy when their little girls leave everything to them in simple tenderness?”
May 1—“You thank Me for the springtime with all its flowers and for the birds that sing in your linden trees, for the first butterflies and all My beautiful creations. And you are right, for I am beauty itself. But the springtimes that I bring to souls by My grace—these are what you should thank Me for most of all. These springtimes full of the elixir of eternity are paid for with the shedding of My blood and create splendors you cannot see. But the angels and the saints gaze on them.
“Oh, My dear children—love that is unloved . . . how deep a wound, this wound that I bear! Comfort, rest, help love. Give everything to love, poor as you are. Lean on My heart, and the burden of you will be My joy; and I’ll flow into you as the sap from the root of the vine flows into the branch. And your life will be My life. You are nothing at all by yourself, My poor little girl.”
May 8—Holy hour.
“Perhaps you were in a hurry to say many things to me, and I am late.”
“You know you must give great importance to the very little things of every passing moment because in My eyes, the eyes of God, only love will give value to what you do. I tell you this often because I don’t want you to lose anything. You can be so rich at so little expense and you can enrich others too. So take notice of every little thing. Give everything to love; and aim at perfection in all your work in order to please Me more and to make up for past flaws. Do you realize that a single one of such moments can make amends for an entire life? Whatever you do, do it well, looking at Me and asking Me for My glory. And God will bless you.
“Lord, help me. You know my nothingness and my bent for doing wrong.”
“My grace is sufficient for you. It comes when you ask for it. Often it comes even before you ask. So be very serious about your influence as Christ’s bride. Say and do only what your bridegroom approves. See Him in your place. ‘What would He do? How would He answer?’ And this will be a new way of pleasing Me, a way of never leaving Me. You see how I’m always seeking for you, for all my children.”
May 30—I was giving Him a sacrifice and I said: “It’s a flower that I’m pinning to your robe.”
“Give Me these flowers often. (The voice seemed to smile.) It’s as though you added to My beauty. You see, when you become more beautiful, I become more beautiful. Oh, My little girl, how one we are! From the time of your morning Communion, right to your night’s sleep, let us be one. And again when you are fast asleep—one. Forever oneness . . . Would you like that? Then tell Me that you long for it. Keep it always before the eyes of your soul. Remember how all the tapestries in the abbey at Beaune featured a single word—alone—to express the bereavement of the inconsolable widow. Let the tapestries of the temple of your soul be the weaving of a single word—one—to express our undividedness. Child of God, shouldn’t you imitate the union of the three divine persons in one?
“Ask the Holy Spirit for this when He descends into you tomorrow. Do you think He is inactive on the morning of Pentecost? He makes the earth new and each one of you, too, according to your readiness to receive. He is infinite. Abandon yourself to Him. He is a consuming fire. Abandon yourself. He is the Comforter. Freed from self, ask Him to comfort through you. Just sink out of sight into your nothingness and let God work.”
June 5—“Plunge into the infinite ocean of peace, calm as a beautiful sunrise. You remember the tints in the sky at Naples just before the sun rose, when the whole firmament and the whole sea were bathed in multicolored serenity. Think what the infinite perfections of My heart must be like. Can you realize all their varied beauty? Adore without seeing it. And because you have adored in blind faith, you will be rewarded.
“Put your forehead against My forehead. Enter into my thoughts.”
June 19—Holy hour.
“I am the one who makes whole. So give Me your wretchedness. Show it to Me with your two hands like a beggar. I said to the apostles, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ Such gentle, loving words! And I say them over again to you.
“You remember how only Moses could approach God on Sinai. If anyone else crossed the borderline at the foot of the mountain he was struck dead. And now that the Son of God has come to die for His brothers, He says to you, ‘Draw near. Come, love Me without fear, for I love you.’ ”
June 19—“Lord, already I wish You the feast of Your heart for tomorrow.”
“Every day would be My feast if you offered Me the wish, My Gabrielle, for every day is the feast of love, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. And it is I who send you sleep. This is another way of loving you. You fall asleep, and yet I never cease to look at you. So ask your angel to offer even the rhythm of your restful breathing for My glory. Love is so simple. Awake, asleep, it goes on and on, like your Loire that never stops flowing by day or night. In heaven you know, there is no pause, for love is pure activity. . . .
“You must long for heaven, because this is the same as to long for Me and it glorifies Me. Even when you have such a distorted picture of Me, yearn for Me, for this is a triple act of faith, hope and love.” . . .
June—I said, “My love, bless this meal.”
“If only because you said, ‘My love,’ I will bless it. You know that I am more sensitive than the most sensitive of men and your childlike tender words have great power over My heart. So get to know the paths that lead directly to Me. I yield My secrets to My children.
“I am Samson. But he regretted having spoken, whereas I yield myself completely because My love is beyond all your power to imagine. Your belief in this immensity of love that accompanies you is feeble because you judge your God according to man’s standards. But you, My child, at least you—surrender to me. Believe without trying to define.
“Let Me live in you. If your poverty overwhelms you, you
May be sure that this is the very thing that draws Me to you. You can always take My love if your coldness makes you afraid. I am your Creator, but you are My little girl, and I know all about your emotions as I know every wave of the sea. Even before you speak, I hear you, since I live in you. Do you want Me to walk in your ‘garden enclosed’?”
“Rest, Lord, pick flowers and fruit.”
“I’ll sow the seeds. You’ll do the cultivating. And you will give me back the whole harvest, since I am the Master of the garden.”
July 26—In the country.
I said to Him, “Let us stroll down Your avenue of linden trees.” Correcting me:
“Our linden trees. What would it be to Me without you? Try to understand my desire for oneness.”
July 30—Visit.
I said, “Loving You is forever new, my Jesus.” And He replied:
“Loving you is forever new, My Gabrielle.”
I continued and He answered. It reminded me of the little birds that twitter sotto voce in their nests.
August 19—In the empty church. He said:
“Tell Me if you are pleased with your day.”
“I hurt someone without wanting to, and I am so distressed.”
“Remember what I told you? ‘When there is nothing you can do about a situation, give it to Me, full of trust that I’ll put things right for you. I’ll give you an opportunity to make up for it with an act of kindness.’ ” . . .
August 21—Our Lord called me by the name I was given in the Third Order—Sister Mary of the Heart of Christ.
“The heart of Christ, Mary, belongs wholly to each one of My children. You remember I said, ‘Who is My mother? Who are My brothers? Those who do the will of My Father who sent Me.’ Isn’t it consoling to know that you can be one of My family, the most loving of all families—My rest and My refuge?”
“Lord, I want to meet you everywhere. Yesterday, I kissed You on every rose.”
“Let your eyes, your ears, and all your senses look for Me everywhere in nature, the vast garden where your beloved walks, perhaps in the hope of meeting you. So many things can come from a meeting. Be with Me, little chosen one—with me, your Savior and God.”
August 24—Going into church. “Dear God, it is I.”
“But you were already here.”
Raising my eyes I saw my hydrangeas on the altar.
August 28—I was thanking Him for all His blessings.
“Even when your faith is no bigger than a mustard seed you must strive to make it grow. Look upon these special blessings of today as My love, attentive to every detail of your life; and at every step of your way, you will find Me watching, going ahead of you. Have you ever gone anywhere that I have not been waiting for you? You often ask Me to take care of your precious belongings. But for Me, aren’t you more precious than all?
“Entrust yourself to Me constantly. And always give Me each moment as it passes. Isn’t it better in My hands? Doesn’t it say in the gospel, ‘He laid His hands on them and healed them.’ I’ll take out of this present moment of yours whatever clings too much to the earth—the selfishness that sullies your intention.
“Always trust. Trust more and more—even to the point of expecting a miracle. Don’t stop half way or you will set limits to My love. When you have unfolded your confidence you will unfold it still more without ever being able to exceed what I expect of you.
“Always count on Me, never on yourself. And you will advance; you will soar with wings like the eagle, My very little girl.”
September—From the monstrance.
“Rest on My heart, eat and drink. You must take life from this food that is beyond your power to understand.
“Dare as only love knows how to dare. Stay on My heart and be sure always to wake up there. Do this for the sake of all humanity, as though it were in your power to give Me every living person in a single instant. Learn to desire this. Desire is a beautiful fruit; you can quench My thirst with it. Go now and take Me with you.”
October 1—In the country.
“If this oneness between the soul and Me has begun on earth, can you imagine that there will be any interruption when the soul leaves the body?”
“Lord, is it at that moment only that we shall understand Your love?”
“Yes, not until then will you begin to understand My love—only to continue throughout all eternity.”
“I’d like to be now as I shall be when my soul leaves my body—enfolded in Your presence and wholly lost in You.”
“Offer Me this desire to see Me and Me only in everything. And I’ll take it as a gift from you. Let nothing else count for you any more apart from what grieves or what pleases Me. Sacrifice yourself in My sight to the point of not even noticing your sacrifice. And suffer with the greatest simplicity, since it is all for Me, your Christ, who suffered for you. What is life when one possesses eternity? You remember what you said about eternity: ‘It’s as though one were always just arriving, and the earth—no more than the faraway, fleeting dream of a moment.’ Take courage from this thought. And never suffer outside of My love, but let your suffering be like new accents of love for Me that say, ‘You know that I love You, that I am as incense burning before Your face with the utmost desire to please You, My friend.’ ” . . .
Christmas—At the Cathedral.
“Since I came down to you, just think of My immense power put at your service by My love. Don’t ever doubt that through Me your work of transmission can reach the very ends of the earth.
“Ask again that My kingdom
May come.
“Ask!”