O my God, I offer you my heart

“O God of my heart, your infinite goodness does not allow me to share my love without first considering your love for me. Take possession of my heart and of my liberty. How can I hope for anything good, except that it comes from you? For you love me far more than I love myself. You are infinitely more desirous of my welfare, and more powerful to effect it than I am. I have nothing, and I hope for nothing, except you. You are my only good. Oh Infinite Goodness, would that I could love you as much as all the Seraphim together. But it is too late to imitate them. But at least I can offer you, with all the affections of my heart, the love of the most holy Queen of the Angels. O my God, before all in heaven and on earth, I offer you my heart, such as it is. Out of love, I adore the decrees of your Fatherly Providence in regard to your poor servant. I detest all that could separate us from one another. God of goodness, you desire to be loved by sinners. Grant that I might love you and then do with me as you will; not my will but your will be done.” (Exhortation to a Dying Brother, 1645, O.C., XI, 64-65)

Jesus' love urges us

"Fountain of love! You humbled yourself before us and accepted an infamous punishment. You loved us so much that you opened yourself to our pain and suffering, you took the form of a sinner, and you endured a most horrible death. Is there any greater love? … Who else has loved us in this way? Nobody but our Lord. Who else was driven by such love for the human person that he left his Father’s throne, became one like us, subjected himself to our infirmities? And why? To give us an example of how we should love one another. Yes, Jesus’ love caused him to be crucified and, through his love, we have been redeemed. If we had only some degree of this love, we could not stand by with our arms folded. We would not be able to see our brothers and sisters in pain and not do something to alleviate their suffering. No. Charity cannot remain inactive; it urges us to save and console others." (“On Charity,” May 30, 1659, O.C., XI, 555)

‘Christian’ in name only

“It is incongruous that one could be a Christian and not see the afflictions of a brother or sister, not weep with them, nor suffer with them. Whoever does not respond to the cries of the poor would have to be completely devoid of love, ‘Christian’ in name only, lacking even the most basic human qualities, less than an animal.” (Letter to Jean Pierre, November 17, 1657, O.C., VI, 560-561)

Who acts contrary to the teaching of Jesus is doomed to failure

“No matter what you might think or desire, be assured that following the teaching of Jesus and the example of his life will never lead you to disaster, but rather direct you to the fullness of life. All things that are not in conformity with the Gospel are vain, and anyone who acts contrary to the teaching of Jesus is doomed to failure.” (O.C., II, 236-237)

Why we have failed in some task

 "Let us place our confidence in God, but let that confidence in him be complete and perfect and let us regard it as certain that, as he began his work in us, he will complete it... Do you wish to know why we have failed in some task? It is because we have relied on ourselves." (“On Confidence in God,” O.C., XI, 731)

Let us follow the paths God points out to us

"We have to value the few talents God has placed in our hands. If we are faithful in the little things, he will place us over greater things… The spirit of the world is restless and likes to do all sorts of things. Let us put aside this worldly spirit. Let us not follow our own paths, but rather let us follow the paths God points out to us. Let us offer ourselves to him so that we might do everything and suffer everything for his glory and for the edification of his Church." (Letter to Guillaume Desdames, April 25, 1659, O.C., VII, 438)

We have done what we were supposed to do

“We must get it firmly into our heads that when we have carried out all we have been asked to do, we should, following Christ's advice, say to ourselves that we are useless servants, that we have done what we were supposed to do, and that, in fact, we could not have done anything without him.” (CR XII, 14)

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you

“If divine providence ever allows us to be subjected to, and tested by, slander or persecution, we are to be extra careful to avoid any retaliation, verbal abuse, or complaint against the persecutors or slanderers. We should even praise and bless God, and joyfully thank him for it as an opportunity for great good, coming down from the Father of lights. We should even pray sincerely to him for those who harm us and, if the opportunity and possibility present themselves, should willingly help them, remembering that Christ commanded us, and all the faithful to do this: 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for persecutors and slanderers'. And to get us to do this more willingly and more easily he said that we would be blessed in doing so and that we should be joyful and glad about it since our reward is great in heaven. And, more importantly, he was gracious enough to be the first to act in this way towards others so as to be a model for us. Afterwards the apostles, disciples, and numberless Christians followed his example'.” (CR II, 13)

A desire to serve God

“Let us beg our God to enkindle in our hearts a desire to serve him. Let us give ourselves to him to do whatever he pleases with us... Let us hold it as certain that we shall not be true Christians until we are ready to lose all and to give even our life for the love and glory of Jesus Christ, resolving, with the holy Apostle, to desire tortures and even death itself rather than be separated from the charity of the divine Savior.” (SV XI, 75)

Practical acts of charity toward the neighbor

“Acts of charity toward the neighbor ought to be practiced constantly by us, such as: 1) to do to others that which we would justly wish them to do to us; 2) to agree with others and to approve of everything of which the Lord would approve; 3) to bear with one another without complaint; 4) to weep with those who weep; 5) to rejoice with those who rejoice; 6) to show respect for one another; 7) to be sincerely kind and obliging to others; 8) finally, to become all things to all men that we may gain all for Christ.” (CR II, 12)

Become the least of all

Our obedience ought not limit itself only to those who have the right to command us, but ought to strive to move beyond that.... Let us therefore consider everyone as our superior and so place ourselves beneath them, and even more, beneath the least of them, outdoing them in deference, agreeableness, and service. (SV XI, 69)

God is served equally by both sexes

"Did the Lord not agree that women should enter his company? Yes. Did he not lead them to perfection and to the assistance of the poor? Yes. If, therefore, our Lord did that, he who did everything for our instruction, should we not consider it right to do the same thing? ... So God is served equally by both sexes" (6 December 1658, SV XII, 86-87).

The Spirit of Jesus Christ is a spirit of union and of peace

"Be united with one another, and God will bless you. But let it be by the charity of Jesus Christ, for any union which is not sealed by the blood of Our Savior cannot perdure. It is therefore in Jesus Christ, by Jesus Christ, and for Jesus Christ that you ought to be united with one another. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is a spirit of union and of peace. How can you attract people to Christ if you are not united with one another and with him?" (Abelly, book II, ch. 1, 145)

We are always in the sight of God

"If men have found a way to see everything that happens, even to the smallest movement of a tiny insect, how much more must we believe that we are always in the sight of the divine mirror of God's all-seeing vision." (SV XI, 409)

Never lose sense of God's presence

"The memory of the Divine Presence grows in the mind little by little and by his grace becomes habitual with us. We become, as it were, enlivened by this Divine Presence. My brothers, how many persons there are even in the world who almost never lose their sense of God's presence." (SV XII, 163-164)

The Infinite Good embracing all that is good

"Oh, if we had an eye sufficiently piercing to penetrate a little into the infinity of his excellence, O my God, O my brothers, what exalted sentiments of God should we not take away from it! We should say with St. Paul that eyes have not seen, nor ears heard, nor the mind of man conceived anything like it. God is an abyss of sweetness, sovereign and eternally glorious Being, an infinite Good embracing all that is good. Everything in him is incomprehensible." (13 December 1658; SV XII, 110)

The beauty of God

"What then compares to the beauty of God, the source of all beauty and of the perfection of his creatures? Do not the flowers, the birds, the stars, the moon, and the sun borrow their attraction and their beauty from him?" (SV XIII, 143)