January 1—I was desiring His glory.
“Don’t ask Me for it as though it were something that will never come. When you ask, believe that the answer will come. Ask for My glory and My kingdom this year. Then pay attention to the little things, little vanities, little exaggerations. These will be big victories.”
January 8—Seine-et-Oise.
“Don’t be vain about anything. What does it matter to you what people think about you? Be satisfied with the thought that I know you.”
January 20—After receiving a favor, I was thinking, “How good He is!”
“You say that I am good at this moment. I am always good with an unchanging goodness. You must remember this if you want to keep your love alive.”
I was thinking in my solitude, “If only He were here, near me in the train.”
“You don’t see Me, but I’m always with you.”
January 30—As I reread His teachings, I was lamenting the fact that I had not been faithful to them for very long.
“There are some things that I ask for one day only, and My compassionate heart applies it to an entire life.”
February 3—“My Father . . . our Father, He is more yours than the father you had on earth. If only this could be a reality to you!”
I said to Him, “I’m so poor that I don’t even know what I need.”
“Make Me your provider. Why don’t you ask? Don’t you trust Me, the Almighty, your Christ who is love? You should always be as simple as a little child, and have boundless trust.”
February 12—Nantes. 5:35 AM The Way of the Cross.
“As you meditate on the Stations of the Cross, look at My eyes and see in them nothing but the utmost kindness and love in the midst of the torture.”
February 14—Nantes. After Communion.
“Don’t you understand that I am your life? I planned it all. I’m here. I’m there. See Me everywhere.”
And in returning to the house I heard about a terrible automobile accident I had escaped the previous evening at Saint-Nazaire.
February 25—After Communion.
“Trust more and more in My compassionate heart.
“You would save more and more souls if you did. Believe in the communion of saints. My compassion stoops to your poverty. Then understand the true meaning of trust.”
March 7—Rennes to Nantes.
“Darling Father, when the time comes for me to die, if I’m in a coma You must wake me, I should like to die completely aware of the sacrifice.”
“It’s simpler than you think. Just abandon yourself.
“Do everything with the same joy and love that you would have if you were in heaven. Seek nothing but My glory and everything else will be given to you as well. Live wholly in the kingdom deep within you.”
March—In the Vosges.
“Don’t say your prayers just to get them finished, but saturate your soul with love. Otherwise it would be better to say less.
“When I give you power, if you keep it for yourself, it remains with you. If you share it with others it multiplies a hundredfold. Then have the courage to pass it on.”
March 29—After Communion.
“Say, ‘Holy Father, I offer You Jesus living in my life and dying in my death. And I offer You the heart of Jesus in each one of my heartbeats.’ ”
I was wondering, “Can I ever be made pure?”
“Everything can be made pure in My blood.”
April 1—I was thinking of the ugliness of humanity.
“I love you all the same, just as you are. “Serve.
Serve others. My mother said, ‘I am the servant.’ ”
April 16—Sfax. Quasimodo Mass.
“Don’t you believe that when you pray I listen to you and that I love you? Pray, believing and loving. Adore and give thanks. Humbly adore, trustfully adore, with faith in Me, the all-powerful one. Adore while you are loving Me.”
April 22—“Are you fully aware that it is your soul that really matters? Why should I who am love itself not have My moments of mysterious, secret love—a love of My own choosing?”
When my feelings were hurt.
“Make use of your sensitivity. It was given to you so that you might merit by it.”
April 24—After Communion. I was saying the Lord’s Prayer.
“What other prayer could equal the one I composed myself? . . .
“Love your prayers very much, the Our Father, the Hail Mary. You who love works of art, love your prayers. When you pray, I guide the words on your lips as one guides the steps of a little child.”
April 28—After Communion.
“Enjoy Me. Give yourself a rest from saying prayers so that you may enjoy My love.”
May 2—“Don’t you see that I’m calling you to perfection? And don’t you realize that the perfection of one person is of the highest gain to the whole human race?
“Tell people to talk with Me.
“You see how gently the rain falls on the little new leaves of May? Then you may imagine how careful I am in approaching souls.”
May 5—As I was looking at the dust on furniture cleaned the previous evening.
“That gives you a true picture of the daily care you should take to purify your souls.
“Live in intimate communion with your Creator as I did when I was on earth—your mind continually occupied with the Father.”
“Yes, but You saw Him, Lord.”
“Be one with Me, and satisfied with the thought that your brother, the Christ, sees Him.”
“What more should I do?”
“Nothing more. But do everything with more gentleness. Be more like Me.”
May 8—Le Fresne.
“You ask Me to help you to discover new ways of loving Me? Be one with me. Be one with Me. Be one with Me.”
May 17—“Offer yourself to Me just as you are. Don’t wait to be pleased with yourself. Be one with Me in your greatest shortcomings. I take them and restore you if you put your trust in Me. Have confidence. Who loves you the most?”
May 22—Genelard.
“You like making something pretty out of a worthless object, don’t you? That’s the way I work in souls—so happily!”
May 23—Lyon. With the Sisters of Saint-Joseph de l’Apparition.
“You worry about not thinking of me constantly. You worry about your many shortcomings and are afraid to look at Me any more. You mustn’t do this. Just give yourself as you are. I know all about human nature. I came to help and restore. Transplant yourself in Me not because of your worth but because of My yearning.
“Unite the weariness of your face with My face disfigured by blows, to make amends for your shortcomings and those of the world. Seize upon every opportunity to be one with Me. If you only knew what a joy this union with souls on earth is to Me, you would understand that I reward those who offer Me the frequent thoughts of their hearts.”
In the tram. Bellecour.
“It’s because you are so unworthy to hear Me that I speak to you. My compassionate heart is like that.”
May 25—Lyon. Saint Joseph.
“You don’t understand the mystery of the little seed that grows into a mighty tree and gives a thousand other seeds. Nor the mystery of electricity and wavelengths. Nor of so many forces scarcely known to you. Then don’t be amazed at the mysteries of God. Be in love with mysteries. They are there to prove your childlike trust in the Father.”
When I found myself uglier than usual.
“Love your appearance. I gave it to you.”
May 26—5:30 AM
“From the moment you wake up, intercede for others. Claim sinners from Me. You cannot know the joy you would give Me. I died for them. It wasn’t illness that made Me die. I was struck down in the fullness of life. If you don’t help Me today, I won’t be able to save this soul or that one, and you know I love them. Then save them as though you were saving Me.”
May 30—Lyon.—“Is it love when my heart beats more quickly when I think of You?”
“Yes, it is love. But it’s also love when you make an effort to be good for My sake without the slightest pleasurable feeling.
“Have I ever overburdened you with work? Or taken more than you could give? I measure everything.”
June 1—Ain.
“Write! I don’t want people to be afraid of Me anymore, but to see My heart full of love and to speak with Me as they would with a dearly beloved brother.
“For some I am unknown. For others, a stranger, a severe master, or an accuser. Few people come to Me as to one of a loved family. And yet My love is there, waiting for them. So tell them to come, to enter in, to give themselves up to love just as they are. Just as they are. I’ll restore. I’ll transform them. And they will know a joy they have never known before. I alone can give that joy. If only they would come! Tell them to come. . . .” (Voice full of yearning.)
June 3—Ain.
“When you ask, believe that I am good enough to answer you, otherwise you will deprive Me of giving.
“Be crucified with Me. To be crucified is to be stretched against your desires, against the love of self . . . in poverty, obscurity, and obedience to the Father.
“Remember that the crucifixion is the prelude to the resurrection, that is, to all joys.”
June 12—“Live in Me. I am your principle, your fountain of life and joy, the dayspring of your being. And that is why when you see Me you will be able to say, ‘I recognize You, You whom I had never seen.’ ”
June 15—“Give yourself to Me as you are. At any moment in your life. Just as you are.
“Of course! in an instant I can change you. But you must believe it. You must put your trust in Me.”
June 22—In the country.
“Be very simple with Me. You know how people act en famille. They kiss each other affectionately morning and evening, and this is perfectly natural. And sometimes during the day some word or gift makes them exchange a loving look. There are outpourings of tenderness! Oh, if only I were allowed to be one of the family! . . .”
June 23—In the train, as I had an unkind thought about another passenger.
“Don’t judge too quickly. Don’t judge people by appearances.”
June 26—“I want to in-dwell your very being. I’ll live you. I am Life. Life itself. So don’t have any other will than Mine, the will of My Father, and you will be rewarded on the final day.”
June 27—“What should I expect from Him today?”
“Everything that you have asked for in faith.”
July 1—“Go higher, still higher. With all your strength. And when you have reached a higher level, you will see that you have not even begun your ascension.”
July 2—I had lost my reduced-fare pass.
“Offer Me these little annoyances like your thorns to ease the pain of My own.”
In the train.
“You see, you gave them nothing but a little smile, yet you did them good. You have understood Me. Try to always understand Me, then our oneness will be more complete.”
July 4—Le Fresne.
“If I didn’t allow you to be tempted, where would your victory be? So instead of being unhappy, you should be glad. Say to yourself, ‘Now is the moment to win through.’ Remember when you were little how you loved to win?”
July 5—“Don’t underestimate the Holy Spirit. If you could but comprehend His majesty!”
July 10—“Who is your God, you or I? Then why don’t you think of Me more than of yourself?”
July 17—“Is it so difficult to talk with Me? Everything that interests you, every little detail of your life, tell me about it. I’ll listen with such attention and joy. If you only knew . . . Tell others to act with Me as they would with the intimate friend who knows all the secrets of their hearts.”
July 19—After Communion.
“For love I gave myself into the hands of men who did with Me as they wished. Now, I give Myself up in the Eucharist, and once again you do with Me what you wish. This is for love too. Right to the end. Right to the end of time.”
July 27—“Yes, you may offer Me your entire day as a gift from yourself. But when you join in a crusade of prayer you are more closely united with all those who are praying the same words.”
September 2—General mobilization of French troops. (While I was folding my blankets.)
“Offer Me your most ordinary actions, the smallest of them, like a bouquet of wild flowers. Aren’t they loved, these little flowers of the fields? Make a crown of them for Me; it takes many little flowers to make a crown. Don’t weary of placing them on My brow lacerated by the thorns. In this way you will win strength for the poor soldiers who are leaving today. This is the communion of saints. Its fountain-head is your Christ, the first saint.” . . .
September 7—I was humbling myself before Him for my many distractions.
“Offer them to Me all the same. They’re something of yourself. Give so that I may restore. Keep yourself often before Me, My very little one.”
September 15—As I was praying.
“If you only had faith you would receive in a single request what it takes you years to obtain. So believe that I am listening to you and that I always answer—in a way that you may not recognize to be the fulfillment of your prayer.”
September 19—“If you suffer alone you are poor. But if you unite your sufferings with Mine, you are rich.” . . .
September 29—Le Fresne. Mass.
“Even if you do nothing at Mass but try to drive away distractions, you please Me all the same. I understand.”
October 10—“Don’t drag your past along with you constantly if it burdens you and hinders you from coming close to Me. Just as you are, throw yourself into My arms for your joy. Can I give you anything else?”
October 18— . . . “Lord, what does it mean this atonement with You?”
“It is to think of Me. To talk with Me as with your best and gentlest friend. To seek My interests. To suffer for My cause. To be eager for My kingdom. To remember My sufferings. To set your love adrift in My love every moment of your life. And it is everything that unfolds from all this.
“Love Me as best you are able. I complete.”
October 28—After Communion.
“If at each of your thanksgivings you asked My mother to help you, it would be a great joy to Me.”
November 19—5:30 AM. The Way of the Cross. I was saying, “I am crying out my love so loudly that You won’t hear the blows of the hammers.”
“Condemned to death . . . to this death . . . Do you realize what this is?”
“I should like to experience it, Lord, so that I could offer it to You.”
. . . “When the love of the cross sinks deep into a person, he lives in a joy that the world can never know. For the world has only pleasures, but joy belongs to Me and Mine, My friend.”
November 22—I was weary of meditating.
“This is another reason for vocal prayer. One way of praying rests the other and in this way you stay close to Me. You mustn’t lose your gaiety. You need it to soar upward.”
Nantes.—I had sewed vestments and received three priest-soldiers for dinner.
“Thank you for preparing those clothes for Me yesterday. Thank you for entertaining Me and giving Me happiness.”
November 28—Notre Dame. After Communion.
“Today you will pay attention to everything you say. You remember: ‘He who does not sin in words is a perfect man.’ Seek this perfection lovingly with the thought of pleasing Me. How happy I should be to see My little girl perfect . . . Around noon, see how you have got along. . . .
“You remember when you were little and slept with your mother, I said to you, ‘Every evening you will tell Me about your day,’ and you chased away the thought, believing that you were imagining it.”
“Lord, how much closer I should be to You now if I had approached You every day of my life.”
“We’ll make up for lost time.”
December 4—After Communion.
“Seek perfection. Aim at perfection in each one of your actions. At first it seems difficult. Then you learn to recognize the fact that all happiness is in this. The joy of having more of Me brings about all other joys.”
In a conversation, I had great difficulty in restraining an unkind word. But the Voice said:
“To give Me pleasure.”
After the temptation:
“You see? You are happy now aren’t you? How could you compare the pleasure of having said this unkind word with the joy of having won the victory? These little victories have eternal rewards. Think about this.
“Don’t waste your time thinking about yourself. Am I not there to watch over you? . . .
“What is left of all the earthbound thoughts you have cherished? And what would your treasure not be today if they had all been transformed into upsoarings to Me. Ponder deeply on this.”
December 22—“Pray a great deal for others. Pray for bigger things—for those who govern, for missions, for nations. Pray for My kingdom to come everywhere. As for you, I’m taking care of you.”
December 24—Moonlight in the avenues. Joyful, because in a few hours it will be Christmas.
“Oh, yes, be full of joy. Do you know what the world was like before I came? There was God and there were men. Now God has become a man among men—one of you. What love! What potential oneness between you and Him! Do you really feel the difference? Then thank Me with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul, and be Mine more than ever.”
After Communion.
“Here is the Savior, the Messiah men called and longed for. The Savior of the world and of each one of you—your Savior. Ask Me to save you from your daily faults, your deplorable habits, all the wretched you in you, and I’ll save you from them. Look for ways of multiplying loving deeds and refraining from sins of the tongue. Say to yourself, ‘He’ll be happy.’ ”
December 25—Christmas at the cathedral.
“Christians of today! . . . Others have passed before you. Still others will come after you, soul upon soul in the Father’s sight. Christians of today! . . . In your short time on earth, give Me the utmost of your love for My glory. Oh, may your period in the history of the world be for My heart a golden age of abundant harvest!”
December 26—After a meeting with young people.
“Take your soul in your hands and look at your day. Weigh up the love you have given Me during the hours that have gone by. And remember: you will be judged according to the measure of your love.”
After Communion.
“Try to avoid the smallest faults. This is your work, since you have been called to holiness, and holiness is the absence of any willful faults. It’s a work of love. Of love . . . do you understand?”
Stations of the Cross. First station.
“You would condemn Me to a kind death if the jumble of your earthly thoughts beclouded the thought of Me.”