The Private notes of Saint Bernadette

[George]

These quotes give me such a feeling of peace!

Me too Brigid.

[George]

My divine Master, I have made my choice! I would rather suffer with You until death than rejoice even for an instant with those who insult and abandon you.... I have considered the wide way.....I have weighed the value of the passing riches of this life.....measured the length of it's fleeting pleasures.....contemplated it's vain happiness and it's ephemeral glory. I saw bright flowers under which grow the thorns of remorse and the disappointments of sorrow.
Thanks to Your divine light, I understood it all!.....And turning my lips away from the poisoned chalice, I cried out with the sage: Vanity of vanities; all is vanity on the earth, outside of loving God and serving Him.

So I raised my eyes and I no longer saw anyone but Jesus!
Jesus alone as my Goal,
Jesus alone as my Master,
Jesus alone as my Model,
Jesus alone as my Guide,
Jesus alone as my Joy,
Jesus alone as my Wealth,
Jesus alone as my friend!

Oh, yes, my Jesus! From now on, I want you alone to be my everything and my life. I shall follow you everywhere you go...Come my soul, courage. Climb to Calvary behind Jesus and Mary for just one more day. And then, with Jesus and Mary: Joy, rejoicing, eternity!

O good cross! O precious thorns along the way, soon your wounds will be glorious.

A religious must live with mortification as a fish swims in water. For a religious, there is something missing if she is not mortified. The serious practice of all her duties necessarily leads to the practice of a continual mortification at every moment. If she is not mortified, she is lacking in her duty.

What is the source of offences against the rule and against one's vows? What is the source of laxity of some communities? It is the fact that mortification has not been practiced or maintained. The mortification God asks of us is the precise observance of our rule, it's practices, it's customs and the recommendations made by our superiors. A Sister who is truly faithful in this way practices mortification judiciously and with absolutely no danger of vanity. I believe that she could enter heaven without passing through the fires of purgatory!

We should control our senses. Unrestrained curiosity is an obstacle to prayer. If someone enters the house, do not look or ask who it is. As for the sense of taste, we can practice any number of mortifications without anyone noticing it. A religious should never express a preference for a particular food. You should never hear a religious talk about food. It shows a lack of an interior life. When she goes to meals, she should be humbled by the fact that this necessity is an act we have in common with animals, then she should remember how the Saints have acted.

A religious who allows herself to eat and drink whatever she wants will never have an interior life.

[Shin]

'A religious who allows herself to eat and drink whatever she wants will never have an interior life.'

A timely reminder to keep aspiring to mortify the eating!

Even the laity you will hear St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle tell to be very restrained in their compliments towards any food at the table.

I wish I could live on moldy potatoes like St. Jean Maria Baptiste Vianney, but here I am seasoning the meatballs. How far I have to go..   

'So I raised my eyes and I no longer saw anyone but Jesus!'

[George]

I know Shin, reading Bernadette and the desert Fathers, makes me realize how important a devout prayer life really is, I know I can't do any of the things they say we have to do to merit the eternal crown without the grace and fortitude given by God. There is so much more I want to do please keep me in your prayers.

[Stella Matutina]

These quotes are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing them, George. They make me realize just how far I have to go. There is still so much self love in me, that there is barely any room for Our Lord. What a pitiful state to be in!

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! 

[Shin]

I know Shin, reading Bernadette and the desert Fathers, makes me realize how important a devout prayer life really is, I know I can't do any of the things they say we have to do to merit the eternal crown without the grace and fortitude given by God. There is so much more I want to do please keep me in your prayers.

Always George.. And I will think of this as a special intention..

Pray for me too.

If there is anything I want to improve it is my prayer life. If the prayers improve, everything else will improve.

Praying for you too Stella Matutina, so good to read the above.

I too! God help us!

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

[George]

Hi Stella Matutina, yes we are all too human and subject to temptation and failures, thank God for our Savior, our hope. Meanwhile we are here struggling with our nature, as Saint Paul compares this to a great race (2 tim. 4:7) I think some of us need help getting over that finish line, and so Shin thank you for the prayers and I will certainly keep you and Stella in my daily prayers.