Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people's, if we are always criticizing trivial actions - which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives.

Lord, how you afflict your lovers! But everything is small in comparison to what you give them afterwards.

With all this wide and beautiful creation before me, the restless soul longs to enjoy its liberty and rest beyond its bound.

Let him never cease from prayer who has once begun it, be his life ever so wicked; for prayer is the way to amend it, and without prayer such amendment will be much more difficult.

Learn to self-conquest, persevere thus for a time, and you will perceive very clearly the advantage which you gain from it.

Mental prayer is nothing else but being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him.

His Majesty knows best what is suitable for us. There's no need for us to be advising Him about what He should give us, for He can rightly tell us that we don't know what we're asking for (cf. Mt. 20:22). The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer ? and don't forget this, because it's very important ? should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every possible effort to bring his will into conformity with God's will.