“Surrender to God and he will do everything for you.” Antiphon from the breviary (emphasis added)

“If you understand, it is not God.” St. Augustine

“With noiseless footfall I draw near to you … I need no agonized pleading. Your need it my call.” God Calling

“As we have come to know your truth, may we make it ours by a worthy way of life.” Mass collect

“My heart is burning with desire to attract souls to itself in order to forgive them.” Jesus to Sr. Josefa

“We always hope; and in all things it is better to hope than to despair. When we return to real trust in God, there will no longer be room in our soul for fear.” Goethe

“Tell aching mankind to snuggle close to my Merciful Heart.” Jesus to St. Faustina

“O Jesus, I surrender myself completely to Your mysterious workings in my soul. I can do nothing and I am worth nothing without You. Give me all that You desire me to give You. Accomplish in me all that You desire to find, so as to draw out of my little nothingness all the love and all the glory which You did have in view in creating me.” Mother Yvonne-Aimee de Jesus

“I believe that when death closes our eyes we shall awaken to a light, of which our sunlight is but a shadow.” Schopenhauer

“We must be content with the provisions Christ gives us for the journey, even if they do not satisfy our vanity.” Source Unknown

(the sisters renew their vows this day) “Indeed, with the scraps of this frail humanity, the Lord will shape His final work of art.” Pope Francis

“The soul’s perfection lies in recognizing imperfection, in remembering how short one has fallen and calling to mind the faults and wickedness that leave their ugly, indelible traces on the soul. Imperfection ensures humility and the recollection of sin only makes him cling to God with greater gratitude and longing. Recognizing his own imperfection increases tolerance and sympathy for others.” Source Unknown

“Nothing else in the world can make man unhappy but fear. The misfortune we suffer is seldom if ever as bad as that which we fear.” Schiller

“When you do anything in sincere desire to serve God, not one gesture or word or thought is wasted – all the love you put into what you did will be with you forever and ever.” Caryll Houselander

“Our cares we can cast on You, for you care for us. How can we be troubled about the future road, since it belongs to You? How can we be troubled where it leads since it finally but leads us to You!” St. John Henry Newman

“Vigilance, self-knowledge and discernment; these are the guides of the soul.” Abba Poeman

“The divine activity permeates the whole universe, it pervades every creature; wherever they are it is there; it goes before them, with them, and it follows them; all they have to do is to let the waves bear them on. Would to God that kings, and their ministers, princes of the Church and of the world, priests and soldiers, the peasantry and labourers, in a word, all men could know how very easy it would be for them to arrive at a high degree of sanctity. They would only have to fulfil the simple duties of Christianity and of their state of life; to embrace with submission the crosses belonging to that state, and to submit with faith and love to the designs of Providence in all those things that have to be done or suffered without going out of their way to seek occasions for themselves.” - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to Divine providence

Remain in peace then in whatever condition you may possibly find yourself: when you have achieved that you will have done all that is necessary. Repeat constantly “Blessed be God for all and in all. I wish only what He wills and nothing more. May His holy will be done in me, and by me. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

–“We see perpetual rivers streaming from the fountain of Almighty God's mercy.” – St. Peter of Alcantara

Sister Maria Celeste, the daughter of Galileo Galilei, died on this day in 1634. “Only in blessed God, as in our final destination, can we find real peace. Oh what joy will then be ours, when, rending this fragile veil that impedes us, we revel in the glory of God face to face!” - Letter to her father written IN 1630. (cf. page 230 of Galileo’s Daughter. She was a Poor Clare in Florence.)

God apportions, according to His wisdom, spiritual joys and tribulations to those who lead a spiritual life. The work of salvation and perfection consists in following faithfully the path allotted to us according to the attraction God has given us, whatever this may be. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

No soul can be really nourished, fortified, purified, enriched, and sanctified except in fulfilling the duties of the present moment. What more would you have? As in this you can find all good, why seek it elsewhere? Do you know better than God? As he ordains it thus why do you desire it differently? Can His wisdom and goodness be deceived? When you find something to be in accordance with this divine wisdom and goodness ought you not to conclude that it must 11 needs be excellent? Do you imagine you will find peace in resisting the Almighty? Is it not, on the contrary, this resistance which we too often continue without owning it even to ourselves which is the cause of all our troubles? - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

- My dear Sister, when you have neither time nor inclination to read, try to keep yourself simply in peace in the presence of God. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

- Do you also mount into the sanctuary of the soul, and endeavor always to remain there, because it is there that God makes His permanent dwelling. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

“In the name of the Eternal Father and of His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, splendor of the Father's glory, for love of whom l cry out with jubilation of heart, saying in verse to His most refined handmaids and spouses: Whoever the lover, who loves the Lord, Come to the dance, singing of love Come dancing, wholly enflamed Desiring only Him Who has created her.” – St. Catherine of Bologna, Poor Clare

The Duchess of Feria, Ana Ponce de Leon, became a Poor Clare after the death of her husband. Her spiritual director was Saint John of Avila, who preached when she was given the holy habit. She received the surname “spouse of the Most Blessed Sacrament” because of her exceptional devotion to the Eucharist. When asked how she could spend so much time in adoration, she replied, “I could remain there for all eternity. And is not there present the very essence of God, who will be the food of the blessed? Good God! Am I asked what I do in his presence? Why am I not rather asked, what is not done there? We love, we ask, we praise, we give thanks. We ask, what does a poor man do in the presence of one who is rich? What does a sick man do in the presence of his physician? What does a man do who is parched with thirst in the presence of a fountain? What is the occupation of one who is starving, and is placed before a splendid table?”

“Consider diligently, I pray you, all that the Blessed Son of God has done and suffered for our Redemption .” – King Saint Louis

“In the mystery of our Blessed Savior's ascension, first, consider, that he deferred it for forty days, that in the mean time, often appearing to his disciples, he might instruct them, and with them discourse of the kingdom of heaven; for he would not forsake them by ascending into heaven, before he had disposed their minds to ascend with him spiritually. – St. Peter Alcantara

“Christ ascended up to heaven in the presence of his disciples, that they might be witnesses of this mystery, of which, they were beholders, none can give better testimony to Almighty God's deeds, than he who hath learned them by experience ; wherefore, he that would certainly know how good, how sweet, and merciful he is towards his, and what is the force and efficacy of his divine grace, love, providence, and spiritual consolations ; let him ask those, who, indeed, have had experience of them, for they, and only they, will give him the best instructions and satisfaction.” - St. Peter of Alcantra

Perhaps a day will come when … you will enjoy that heavenly unction which Jesus Christ has attached to His Cross. This is what makes the peace and joy of the saints unchangeable, and it is what those experience who follow generously the path of perfection and a spiritual life, in sacrificing everything for God. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

It is the office of the Holy Spirit to arouse good inspirations in us, but our duty is to accept them and put them into practice.

It will be particularly useful to read the lives of those who, after being great sinners, became eminent saints; such as the lives of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Augustine, St. Pelagia, St. Mary of Egypt, and especially of St. Margaret of Cortona, who was for many years in a state of damnation ; but, even then, cherished a desire for sanctity ; and who, after her conversion, flew to perfection with such rapidity, that she merited to learn by revelation, even in this life, not only that she was predestined to glory, but also, that a place was prepared for her among the Seraphim.” – St. Alphonsus Ligouri

Holy Communion is the true daily bread of our souls. In it alone can we find subsistence, power, remedy, and support. What a difference there is between those who communicate frequently, and those who do so but rarely! Oh! how little do the latter realize the riches, and the treasures of grace of which they deprive themselves. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

- “Pentecost eve is here and we are full of earnest desire to participate in the fruits of a mystery so consoling” - Mother Mary Maddalena Bentivoglio, Custom Book Directory

Moreover, that in all our prayers, readings, examens, and thoughts of God we should act quietly, gently, without confusion or effort, seeking only the union of our hearts with God, and for that making use of frequent pauses to give the Holy Spirit of God time to work in us what He pleases, and as He pleases. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

"It is proper to the virtue of love to transform the heart of the lover into that which is loved." - Saint Bernardine

Saint Rita Repeat constantly: “Blessed be God for all and in all. I wish only what He wills and nothing more. May His holy will be done in me, and by me.” . - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

Jesus invites me to dwell in the solitude of the heart, where he wishes to make his abode. Hence, silence with creatures, within myself, and with the things that surround me is necessary in order to converse with him who left and leaves his prison every morning to come and live in my poor heart. The less confidence you place in yourself, the more easy will it become to have entire confidence in the mercy of God alone, through the merits of Jesus Christ. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

I greatly approve of your method of prayer; continue the same, and make acts when you feel inclined. When, during pauses, or interior silence some good thought or inclination should be suggested to you, receive it quietly; and do the same with interior repose, whether sometimes greater or less, as God pleases. In a word, tend always towards that sovereign Lord, more by the affections and desires than by the mind and intellect; and no matter what He gives you be always satisfied. God knows better than we do what is necessary for us.

St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi used to say, that a religious being called to be the spouse of a crucified God, should, in all her actions, have in view no object but Jesus crucified, and should in her whole life have no other occupation than the continual meditation of the eternal love which her divine Spouse bore to her.

“Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 7:12) O thrice holy God, ineffable Trinity, Eternal Father, Word, Spirit of Love, humbly prostrate before your divine Majesty, I, Sr. Marie-Imelda of the Eucharist, most unworthy of your servants, implore your clemency and beg your infinite goodness to have mercy on me, for the love of my Jesus. Deign to accept my modest offering. It is unworthy of you, I know, and I too am unworthy of offering it to you. That is why I beg the Queen of virgins, Mary Immaculate, to present it to you herself. – - Sr. Marie-Imelda of the Eucharist, Poor Clare

Since, then, a God has given himself entirely for your salvation, would it not be enormous ingratitude in you to refuse to him the sacrifice of your whole heart, or to love him only with reserve? – St. Alphonsus Ligouri

If possible, remain ever there, by the side of Jesus Christ humiliated, cast down, and annihilated before His Father. I love to see you in prayer taking the position of a beggar … but still more do I love that indescribable something which inwardly draws you on. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

-“But,” you say, “I do not know if I have this faith.” Well! at any rate you know that you aspire to it continually... Therefore you have, at least, the continual and habitual desire of this divine presence. This desire is known to God Who sees the slightest movement of the heart. That ought to be enough for you. Remain then in peace, confidence, submission, and abandonment, and in grateful love. - Pere de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to divine Providence

St. Baptista prayed: O my sweet Jesus, if the works of Your hands are so beautiful, what will Your resplendent face be? Show Yourself to me, let me see You, my gracious Lord; why do You make me suffer such pangs of longing? You alone are my life, my hope, all the love of my heart and my soul. Why do you jest with me, why do You hide from me Your most holy face?

Beginning at 7:00 AM after mass - Vespers and Liturgy of the Hours @ 4:30 PM with Benediction @ 5:00 PM

The Capuchin Poor Clare, Sister Consolata Betrone (+1946), is best known for her “unceasing act of love”. She writes: “One morning during the retreat… I had been unable to make my visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in company with the other novices, and so I knelt down alone before the tabernacle… Jesus makes me understand the Gospel very well. Upon opening it at random my glance often happens to fall on the words of Saint Elizabeth: ‘Blessed art thou who has believed!’ I so desire to believe, oh so deeply, in the Good God.!” - Jesus Appeals to the World, pages 62 and 170

Beginning at 7:00 AM after mass - Vespers and Liturgy of the Hours @ 4:30 PM with Benediction @ 5:00 PM