Violence is not completely fatal until it ceases to disturb us.

We cannot find Him unless we know we need Him. We forget this need when we take a self-sufficient pleasure in our own good works. The poor and helpless are the first to find Him, Who came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Therefore, doing the Stations of the Cross was still more laborious than consoling, and required a sacrifice. It was much the same with all my devotions. They did not come easily or spontaneously, and they very seldom brought with them any strong sensible satisfaction. Nevertheless the work of performing them ended in a profound and fortifying peace: a peace that was scarcely perceptible, but which deepened and which, as my passions subsided, became more and more real, more and more sure, and finally stayed with me permanently.

If we have not silence, God is not heard in our music. If we have no rest God, does not bless our work.

How can I be sincere if I am constantly changing my mind to conform with the shadow of what I think others expect of me?

The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived.

We do not exist for ourselves.