In elkanders hart. Jij zult jouw hart in mijn hart bewaren en ik zal in jouw hart zijn.
January 1—In the evening, in my bedroom.
“The keynote for 1943? In each other’s hearts. You will keep yours in Mine and I’ll be in yours.”
January 7—Ingrandes church.
“Give Me your heartfelt adoration with the Wise Men. You know how people say to each other, ‘I adore you.’ But for you, it is your God—your incomparable one, your End. So adore Him with every fiber of your being. And since you are nothing, yield yourself to the all.
“You grow greater when you humble yourself before Me. I enfold you. Nothing in you escapes Me and I watch over you. Aren’t you sometimes amazed to see that so many things work out well for you? That’s because I am there, in My little girl who has put her trust in Me. Make this your fixed rule; it is the purchase price of My blessings. Make efforts to belittle yourself before others. What good practice! Try again and again. Never let a chance to humble yourself slip by. It is the evening of your life on earth. Make haste before night falls. But take refuge often in My heart. You’ll find that you make more progress there. Try.”
January 14— . . . “Could any work be more beautiful in this last part of your life on earth than to help Me save sinners? There are so very many. Wasn’t that what made Me suffer most in Gethsemane?”
January 30—In my bedroom.
“Why should My people offer Me only their trials?
“Don’t you think your joys would please Me just as much—that is, if you give them with as much love: your smallest joys with your greatest love.”
February 11—Le Fresne church.
. . . “They say that God is all kindness, and He is. You be the same with Me. What a beautiful exchange! And how welcome each little thoughtful gesture will be . . . You’ll understand later on.
“Get used to walking in the dark like the blind. Trusting My hand to guide you. You couldn’t insult My heart more than to doubt it. My dear child, so little and frail, say to yourself again and again, ‘Where would I be without my great friend? He is everything and I am nothing.’
“Just humble yourself when you stumble and fall. Remember how I paid the price, stumbling and falling Myself on the terrible road to Calvary. Let that encourage you in love. Haven’t we said that love alone matters, that the only tragedy in life is not to love God? Hope to help His cause with all your feeble resources. Make it your wish never to work for your own ends. Lose sight of yourself altogether, even of your inner self, wishing to remember nothing unless it be your infidelities so that you may regret them.
“And wherever you are, practice the presence of God. It will help you to love Him, to have heart-to-heart talks with Him. Since I am there, throw yourself joyously into My arms. Oh, this joy of yours . . . don’t forget it; it enhances your love.”
February 13—After Communion.
“What you can’t manage yourself—the control of your words, or the thought of My Presence—you will find easier with the help of My mother. Ask her to help you. I confided Mary Magdalene and the holy women to her. Be like them: don’t leave her.”
Holy Thursday—“Lord, may I invite You to live in my lovely gardens for your comfort?”
“You are the soul of the gardens and My blossoms are your soul-thoughts. I forget My agony in the Garden of Gethsemane when I feel your warmth for sinners. And when you give Me the love of your hearts, I forget Judas’s hatred and greed.” . . .
I was thinking how I had made a visit to the Blessed Sacrament twice this morning and twice in the afternoon, and that I was going to return for another visit in the evening.
“A whole day for Me, once a year. You think this is a great deal? My Eucharistic Presence is there every day, every night, among you. I’m there full of tenderness, rich with blessings for the taking. Tell Me then that one of your days is not too much. Remember the feast of My heart.”
Holy Saturday—Le Fresne church.
“Rise from the dead. Rise with Me to a new life, a better one, to a life nearer to Me. Always nearer to Me. Beg Me to help you, and be sure that I shall.”
Easter—Le Fresne church.
During the Benediction I said, “My poor love, risen from the dead.”
“My love has never died. At every moment I have loved you.”
May 20—Ingrandes church.
“Fan the flames of your love. Fan the flames. Don’t stand still. Never cease to go forward. Enter ever deeper and deeper into My heart. Reading about My passion is not enough. Make it part of your very self. Wherever you are, take My sufferings. Sufferings desired, willed, expected. . . . They are My love for My children—for you. When one has suffered so, what can one refuse? Ask Me to give you the grace to respond to this love of your God and I’ll light new fires in you that will amaze you. You will realize that it is not of your doing. ‘It is from Him,’ you will say, and this will be the truth. You know how utterly weak you are. Tell Me about it so that I can help you. If you saw an invalid content to be ill, you wouldn’t try to heal him, would you? But if he cried out to you to help him, you would do your best for him. And if he thanked you, you would hold him to your heart.
“Open the secret tabernacle of your heart to Me so that we may speak together of our new love. The words may be the same, but what an added weight of love! You will wonder how a single moment could ever pass by without Me. Where your treasure is, there is your heart. How long My desire has kept watch for you! Ask that I be all in all to you . . . and that you be wholly Mine. You remember how at Corte you told Me that you wanted it to be like that? Now is the time to translate your wish into your daily living for Me. If you have nothing to say to me, come and look at Me in the secret tabernacle of your heart. You will never have to wait, for I shall already be there. You will come with your hunger, and I’ll read this need-look of yours and satisfy it. Over and above all that you ask or think. If you don’t know what to say, just remain at My feet like Mary Magdalene and I’ll read your silence. I’m keeping such sweet joys for you, so be waiting in your secret shrine. I haven’t many shrines like this on earth.” . . .
July 7—“Oneness. I come back to this thought again and again. Why do you live all alone when you can be in Me at every moment? In Me: that’s heaven itself without the face-to-face vision and the rapture. Then practice this at-onement. Practice adoration and tenderness. If you could only see Me as I really am, what would you not do! You would throw yourself at My feet. You would hold Me to your heart, thanking Me for My sufferings and My blessings. You would ask My forgiveness for your willful faults and tell Me again of your love.
“Act just as though you could see Me. It’s such good practice for your faith. And faith brings hope and love.” . . .
July 15—“Picture Me as a living being, loving you more than you could ever imagine even in your deepest longing. And keep before you the thought that this living being who gave His life for you is waiting with infinite yearning for the moment of our Meeting. Wouldn’t you show Him your impatience too? And your joy?
“Picture Me often this way, as a real person, not just someone near you, but actually in you. One whose presence never leaves you. A presence . . . what a fountain of joys! And a beloved Presence too, as precious as life itself. No one is more beautiful than I, for I am Beauty. No one more intelligent, for I am Eternal Mind. Do you really realize how gentle and compassionate I am, for all I am so great? And that My face is full of charm and inexpressible sweetness? Ask Me to soon unveil its creative beauty for you. Love will stream from every feature. Tell Me how sorry you are for having grieved Me. Be aware of the fact that very little keeps you from seeing Me. Let your heart be stirred to its innermost depths as My eyes rest upon you. Don’t you have something to say to Me? Won’t you give Me the balm of your love? How the bridegroom smiles at the bride as she gets ready to lavish all her tenderness upon him; and if she finds words to express her love, I am the one who inspires them, for I am love and I am in her words. At least praise Me by your love-will, and long to please Me. Long to be My beloved companion, my attentive bride. And since I no longer have a mother on earth, be My mother too. Take the place of John and Mary Magdalene. And at the same time, be yourself. You, whom I wanted in this century, this period, this little moment of time on earth, My poor little bride.”
July 22—“Lord, I should so much like to take Mary Magdalene’s place on earth, because I know how sweet her love was for You.”
“Offer it to Me, Mary Magdalene’s love. It is yours by the communion of saints, for all time is present to Me. You find it difficult to believe in this treasure that your God devised for you. But just lay hold of it in all its magnificence, even though it is beyond your understanding. Above all, believe it. All that I have thought out for My children is for their good, not for Mine. Humble yourself in faith and love as Mary Magdalene did. Tell Me often in secret of all the ways in which you have grieved My heart. Be deeply sorry. You know how My heart listens. And if your heart is moved as you confess, what do you think Mine must feel?
“Oh, My child, may love lift you above your usual ways. Like Mary Magdalene, learn to be a new woman, even to giving up your all. . . .
“The sacrifice most pleasing to God is a cleft and contrite heart. What deeper pain could you have than to have little love? So take all the love of the saints and give it to Me as though for the first time. Ask Mary Magdalene to help you—she who loved so much.” . . .
July 29—Le Fresne church.
“My child, can’t you understand that the trials I send you are all made to measure, exactly fitted to your power to bear, favors that draw you nearer to your beloved. Thank Me for a little trial as though it were a flower placed with new tenderness on your heart by your Fiancé. Doesn’t He find you more beautiful when you suffer with gentle patience united with His patience? Doesn’t your soul take on, as it were, a new expression full of love for Him? Be flexible and docile in My hand. Always humble yourself as though you had deserved to suffer. I am all innocence, yet I suffered everything imaginable. Wouldn’t you like to suffer everything too, so that we might be more one than ever? Do you think we’re close enough now? Wouldn’t you love to come closer? Has your love said its last word? Lose yourself and gain by coming into Me. There are many kinds of houses; the home where one lives in intimacy with the bridegroom is the dearest of all, isn’t it? And if you have understood this, why not make it your permanent residence? What could ever touch you there? You are in the arms of the incomparable one to whom you have entrusted everything—your honor, your belongings, your heart. He will use everything for your sanctification. This is the one great end: to love God and to please Him. What else matters, My poor little girl!
“God . . . When you see Him, how you will want to have served Him, to have loved Him, to have glorified Him without counting the cost, and with all your heart! Don’t be afraid of trials. They only help you to go higher. They make you love Me more. And there I am, waiting for you at the bend in the road. ‘How will she overcome this difficulty? Will she ask Me to help her? Will she give Me her whole confidence at last in a childlike outburst of tenderness?’ Oh, the serenity of the one who has yielded everything to Me.”
August 20—Joué-sur-Erdre
“Wherever you are, you are in Me. You are all Mine. Nothing but sin could ever separate us. You can’t possibly escape My love! It is all-encompassing. Serve it. Wait upon Me. How often I have served you in the outpouring of My tenderness! What have I not done for you, My dear little child? If you suffer, suffer with Me. All these discomforts caused by the weather—I bore them all, like you, on the open roads. Always be one with Me in everything that happens to you. How I love this attitude—being ready to merge. Isn’t that love itself? A longing for at-onement?
“I garner up your faith, rewarding it with grace. And if you give yourself to grace, I respond by giving you a greater grace. And so, step by step you will soon rise to heights you never suspected. For there is no end to My gifts and it is My joy to commune with you unceasingly.”
August 26—“I gave you all you have. Am I not able to double My gifts? Am I less rich? Or do I love you less?
“I can sanctify you in an instant. But I love your long and patient work; it keeps you humble. Acquire loving humility—it will exalt you. Discouragement never elevates anyone.
“Keep going. Don’t stop. I kept going on the road to Calvary and, in spite of such agony, I got there. Look at Me and you will find new courage. And honor Me by calling Me to help you.”
September 16—“Say often, ‘My Creator, fulfill Yourself in me. There’s only one thing that I want—that You may reign in me as You reign in heaven.’ And I shall lay hold of you more avidly than a bird of prey. You have seen a devouring flame? Let yourself be taken swiftly. Instead of running away, throw yourself into My arms and lose your bearings. I’ll love you like that—blind, letting Me lead you.
“I am the Good Shepherd; My shoulders can carry more, so take your place.” . . .
September 30—Le Fresne.
After the bombing of Nantes, I regretted not having a truck to save my belongings.
“Why are you anxious? Am I not there to keep watch? Don’t I know what you need and what is best for you? Put everything in My hands and trust. Have you ceased to be My child? Have I ceased to be your Father? My love knows no seasons. I am the changeless one. Just as I gave Myself to you, so I remain.”
I was thinking of the strangers who had taken refuge in my home.
“Don’t ever think that chance brought them to you. I chose these people. Do everything in your power to help them, with the tact of an apostle bent on accomplishing his task. Put them in My care. Pray for them. Suffer for them. Didn’t I suffer for everyone? Try to be like the beloved. Let them see My face in your face. The Father will be charmed and will reward you richly. What will you not be able to obtain?
“Why do you ask so little? Come to Us, My child, and ease Our longing to show compassion. Don’t ever forget that the people around you are there in order that you may plead for them. You don’t take a single step without Me. How could you ever think that you are alone? I’m guiding every detail of your life. Let yourself be taken captive by My heart.”
October 7—Montrelais church.
I was thanking Him for having spared me the bombing.
“Always thank Me. I give you so much. If I were to give you a trial would you thank Me? You should. I do everything for the good of souls. Never doubt this, and believe in My love. Hope in My love. Love My love. If you love My love you will welcome everything that comes from Me and you will act everywhere for Me. If you hope in My love, you will no longer count on yourself. You will expect My help in every difficult situation. You will think, ‘I can’t do anything, but there is nothing the beloved can’t do.’ And full of trust and peace you will take up your task of love again, happy to toil day and night to console Me.
“ ‘If only I were sure that I consoled Him,’ you say. But keep in mind that I am man as well as God, and you may comfort Me as one comforts a man. Don’t be surprised at setbacks; you were made for rest in heaven not on earth. So get used to living for eternity; for nothing has the slightest importance in time that does not count for eternity. Judge everything in Me and by Me. My judgments are not always yours. Let the compassion of My heart flow through you to all who come near you. Let them see it in your smile, in your way of welcoming them. Oh, these contacts with others . . . how much good can come from them. But implant My name in your heart like a banner.”
October 15—Ingrandes church.
“My child, don’t lose a single minute. Time is short for saving so many souls. It is not merely by praying that they are saved, you know, but through the actions of even the most ordinary lives lived for God. Offer Me everything. Absolutely everything, united to My life on earth. What wealth! Give it to poor sinners, most of them are just ignorant. You have known and received so much. Take pains to help them. You will comfort this heart of Mine so full of tenderness, and you will satisfy justice. Offer Me all the crosses of the world. There are so many just now and few think of offering them to Me in expiation for sins. You who do know, help, so that nothing may be lost. Give Me hearts. Give Me souls. I am thirsty. Always.”
“Lord, I want to die for the salvation of souls.”
“Oh! Resemble Me as much as possible. Say to yourself, ‘I’ll do this or that like Him.’ And in this way you will grow and come closer to Me. You know, on earth the tenderness between My mother and Me was so great that we had only one heart. Try to be like her by making your will one with Mine, your great friend. Be ever ready to help others right to the very limit of your strength. You remember with what love I gave myself. In My public life, in the midst of so many people all crowding around through self-interest. Seldom did I meet with love. They came to Me through selfishness, yet My tenderness reached out to each one of them. Imitate Me. Don’t bargain with Me. Don’t complain. Go happily. For My sake—isn’t that a good reason for being full of joy? The only reason. Of course you can’t think of it all the time, but in the morning say, ‘Everything will be for you, my great friend.’ Then from time to time during the day, a little word such as, ‘This is for You.’ It will warm your heart and bring balm to Mine.”
November 3—“You are worried about this Holy Hour. You think you won’t use it well. But since we’re together, count on Me to make up for what you lack. Isn’t that natural between friends? Wouldn’t you do just the same for someone you love? Then I, your God, your Savior . . . just think of it! . . .
“Be sure that no matter what you are doing I can help you, and I long to do so in the very depths of My heart, aflame with love. How concerned I am for your perfection! You are My members. May My Body be perfect . . . Keep your will closely knit with Mine. Be My dream of you.” . . .
November 11—Le Fresne church.
. . . “If you have failed in something, you say, ‘My dear all, I could have been more faithful today. Forgive me.’ You humble yourself most sincerely. And without your knowing it, I press you to My heart burning with love. That is what you call grace, and My grace is sufficient for you. Do you believe that?
“This should be your one fixed desire: To live only for Me. Your life will be filled to the brim with good things. I’ve been waiting so long for the joy of giving you more. Help Me. Ask Me to do so. Stretch out your two empty hands to Me. Give Me a big place in your life. Give Me all of it. Do you realize that you are in exile, waiting for the return of the beloved? Listen from afar. Say to Him, ‘Breathe on this breath of mine which is yours. Your home shall be My home. I could no longer live without Your step in mine and Your voice in my voice.’
“Don’t people pray, ‘Open Thou my lips’? That’s so that the Spirit will speak in you, children of God.”
November 18—Le Fresne church.
“Yes, ask Me to be your good will. Since you know that without Me you can do nothing. You can’t even pronounce My name with love without My help, my poor little child.
“If you only knew the love that suffered and died a shameful death for you . . . If you knew its power and tenderness! I carry you even more than a mother her child. I lead you in the right paths, making plans for you to become holy. To be holy means to be always ready for Me, keeping close to Me, like other Christs. Oh, My dear little brothers, think of your Model, your elder brother, who lived in utter simplicity so that it might be possible for you to become like Him. I was so simple that I passed unnoticed except for those three years when I had a feeble little following of twelve disciples. What a short life Mine was, My child, for the salvation of all the ages! My love for My Father guided all My actions. Enrich yours in the same way and stay close to Me. All that is Mine is yours; you know that. But you must come and take. It is such a joy for Me to give. I only gained to lose, for there is nothing I want to keep for Myself.
“You remember when you were little how tenderly you asked your mother for what you wanted. Won’t you have still more love when you talk to Me? Find a heartfelt élan for Me quite unlike any you give to others. Ask Me to give it to you. Let it be deeper, more intimate, more full of trust; and be generous enough to be ready to die for Me. Oh, if only wave upon wave of love could bring you to the shores of death! What a direct preparation, My little girl!”
November 25—Ingrandes church.
“Offer even the rhythm of your breathing to Me. Not just that of the body, but the stream of your soul-thoughts. This may seem nothing to you, but it is your entire life, and all of it belongs to Me, for love has all the rights of conquest. What sadness for both of us if you were to keep something of yourself from Me. From Me! Oh, My little child, day by day tighten the bonds that unite us. Be My joyous captive. Some have found such sheer delight in My sweet bondage that they could say, ‘My heart overflows with joy even in the midst of trouble.’ For I faithfully accompany My faithful ones and give strength and comfort to those who want so much to suffer for Me. What they endure for Me I endured before them, for I have suffered all things in the sufferings of My friends. Don’t you suffer when you see someone you love suffer? Am I not the most tender of friends? Oh, believe Me, for this is a reality, and it will encourage you to love Me more. A little more each day—ever so gently, without taxing your soul. More frequent holy desires. A little upsoaring of your heart to Me, an affectionate glance. Less time spent far from any remembrance of Me; a sunnier loyalty, a silence of humility; a kindness for My sake. And never cease to thank Me. I do so much for you, My beloved little girl. Don’t you see that? And there are all the other blessings you never see. Oh, don’t ever doubt. (In a tone touched with emotion.) Don’t doubt Me.”
December 3—Le Fresne church.
. . . “It takes so little from you to give Me intense pleasure. If you had a more perfect knowledge of God you would understand this. Often you judge God according to human qualities. Remember that you are nothing, that you are unworthy of My favors. Let your heart be filled with love as you ponder over all that I have given you this year—filled with the desire to come closer to My holiness. Your desires please Me. Don’t put any trust in what you can achieve by your own efforts but ask Me to help you. And even in the spiritual domain, leave your own will behind. You will be in the highway of truth, the rapid route. I was God and yet I did only the will of My Father who sent Me. Of course it’s a mystery. But believe it. Little by little you will find your happiness in running away from the very thing you wanted if it is against My will. If you wish to be perfect you will live in My home, and you are on earth for that alone.” . . .
December 9—Le Fresne church.
“Never leave your immaculate mother. She won’t leave you either. She loves you even more than your own dear mother. She suffered more to give birth to you, for she bore My death. Queen of Martyrs! If suffering increases love, just imagine the tenderness she feels for you. Nothing could ever quench it, not even your ingratitude. Thank her. Love her. Above all, speak to her about your love, and this will draw you nearer to Me. Where else would she lead you if not to Me? She is much too humble to take for herself what belongs to Me, she who lived for God alone. Ask her to teach you to live for Me. Put all your trust in her. She will help you on your uphill climb; it is strenuous work climbing the mountain of perfection. Just when you think you’re going up, you find that you are slipping back. Who will purify you? Who will put light into your mind, if not those who possess it—the saints and the Queen of all saints? See that you are very childlike with her. She was only a woman, but the Woman. The other Eve was called the first woman, but My mother is the woman who crushed the head of the serpent. Live simply with us as at Nazareth. Nothing in our intimate life will be kept from you. I give everything I have, even the love of My mother. When you feel weak or alone, come to us. You don’t need any introduction. We’ve known you for a long time and better than you know yourself. Our poor little child, humble yourself before our great love for you. Love to comfort us for those who do not.”
December 24—Le Fresne church.
I said, “Lord, move about in my thoughts night and day.”
“Yes, let yourself be saturated like a sponge filled with water. Keep yourself before Me. Would you be afraid to leave yourself to be filled with Me? Be sure of this, that when you lose yourself, you gain, and when you seek yourself, you lose. Reach up closer and closer to your Maker. He created you. He knows all about you and how best you can serve Him. And what your share is in the sanctification of the world; for each one of you has some special contribution to make. What sorrow for you if you were to fail! If you didn’t respond to the call! The bride takes her share in the work of the beloved, and the more love she brings to it, the less heavy it seems.
“For this work of love, offer everything you do and think, acting as best you know how to please Me, to be with Me, not to leave Me alone, for on earth I am often alone. How willingly would I take refuge in a faithful heart so as to live there with My Father. And I would transform this heart, filling it with such sweetness and happy simplicity. So grow accustomed to living in Me. Try over and over again. Unceasingly. What delicate work and what help We give those who give Us their love-will. My poor little children, when you have given Us your trust, you are never alone. With what tenderness We carry you . . . Infinite tenderness. Unnumbered delicate touches that would astonish and might even scandalize you if you could see them. A God! To love His creatures so much . . . Yes, and even more. Love—that is our treasure. Believe with all your heart in this holy extravagance and give yourself up to it unceasingly, unceasingly, for God’s love is forever flowing to you, My little girl.”
December 30—Le Fresne church.
“Never alone; you know that. Then let it be a source of strength to you. Strength to speak to Me, since I am there. Strength to act, since I can help you, particularly when you speak to others. Ask Me to speak through you.
“Never alone! What a joy for you! Could you ever thank Me enough?” . . .