The Private notes of Saint Bernadette

[George]

From this moment on, anything concerning me is no longer of any interest to me. I must belong entirely to God, and God alone. Never to myself.

Mary sacrificed all to God; she needed him alone. From this day forward, I shall follow her example: the Lord alone will be my portion. Why have I come here if not to love Our Lord with all my heart. As proof of my love for him, I must suffer and generously sacrifice everything to him, as Mary did. Courage my soul, through prayer we can do all that is asked of us. The heart of Jesus is there: Let us knock.

O Divine Jesus, impress on my heart a disposition like that of a certain man who loved your cross so much that he used to say if after serving you for a hundred years his only recompense were the grace to suffer one hour for love of you, he would believe all his service too well rewarded.

O Virtue! How rarely we see you, yet how real you are!

O Jesus and Mary, let my entire consolation in this world be to love you and to suffer for sinners.

[Shin]

These are all so striking!

"O Virtue! How rarely we see you, yet how real you are!"

[Brigid]

"I must belong entirely to God, and God alone. Never to myself."




What a hard thing to do!

[George]

O my Jesus, teach me to understand the holy jealousy of heavenly love! Free me from earthly detachments and raise all my affections up to you. May my crucified heart be forever lost in your own and hidden away in the mysterious wound made by the spear.

O Jesus, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be unfaithful to you!

O Immaculate Mary, O glorious Saint Joseph! And you Saint John, beloved disciple of the Divine Heart, teach me the great science of love! May it draw me powerfully! May I soar at last, may I take flight and hasten to lose myself, unite myself and disappear with you in the adorable heart of Jesus, and Jesus crucified, the Divine Heart of charity, purity, self-denial and perfect submission.

[George]

I must die to myself continually and accept trials without complaining. I work, I suffer and I love with no other witness than His heart. Anyone who is not prepared to suffer all for the beloved and to do His will in all things is not worthy of the sweet name of Friend, for here below, love without suffering does not exist.
It is in loving the cross that one discovers his heart, for divine love does not exist without suffering.

My bed became my little white chapel. Then it became my cross. Eventually it became a crucifix, when I could only lie on it and suffer.

[Shin]

We have to let Him have everything. . .

[George]

I shall spend every moment loving. One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them.

Why must we suffer? Because here below pure love cannot exist without suffering. O Jesus, Jesus, I no longer feel my cross when I think of yours.

O my soul imitate Jesus faithfully: he is gentle and humble of heart. Those who are humble of heart will be glorified. How beautiful the heavenly crown will be for those who are genuinely humble despite outward humiliations, those who follow the humility of the Savior in every way.

O Mary, my gentle Mother, here I am, your child who can bear no more. See my needs and above all my spiritual distress. Have pity on me; grant that one day I may be with you in heaven.

I shall do everything for heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendor of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety.

O Mary, my good Mother, help me follow your example to be generous in every sacrifice Our Lord may ask of me during my life.

O my Mother, offer me to Jesus. Take my heart and unite it with the heart of my Jesus.

Jesus came to earth to be my model. I want to follow him and walk generously in his footsteps.

Divine Heart of my Jesus, grant that I may love you always, and always more.

O Mary, receive my heart as an expiatory victim for my offenses; may it be broken with sadness.

O my Mother, to you I sacrifice all other attachments so that my heart may belong to you and to my Jesus.

O my Mother, come to my aid; grant me the grace of dying to myself so I will no longer live save in my sweet Jesus and for my Jesus.

[George]

I want to follow you and be like you, O my Jesus; I would rather be crucified with you than enjoy all the pleasures of this world without you.

My sweet Jesus, give me a great love for the cross, and if I do not die at the hands of others as you did, may I die by the intensity of my love.

O my Jesus, help me to love you; Love me, and then crucify me as much as you please.

Jesus, my God, I love you above all things.

Dear gentle Jesus, be not my judge, but my Savior.

I want to sacrifice all and suffer without complaining since my Jesus keeps me from all fear.

Love overcomes, love delights, Those who love the Sacred Heart rejoice.

[Shin]

You've found some splendid notes George!

There's nothing like taking notes from the writings of the saints!

I am reading 'The Ladder' and 'The Spiritual Direction of St. Claude de la Colobiere' this weekend, along with my various collections of the Desert Fathers. It's a fine way to spend the afternoon on the Lord's Day.

Reading and taking notes!

[Brigid]

Wow, George. Those are  some amazing quotes! For some reason, St. Bernadette's quotes remind me of St. Therese. Well, there is the obvious, that they are both Saints. But there is more. I can't put my finger on it.

[George]

My wife got me a copy of Saint Bernadette's notes, I will keep posting them if you like, there are also letters as well. Bernadette collected thoughts from a number of sources, and kept them in a notebook, some of the quotes are believed to come from other spiritual sources that she then adapted to her own thoughts, but they are all Bernadette's writings.

[Shin]

I'd love to hear some more of them myself!

This is the sort of thing I am always hoping for. 

[George]

Those who are humble of heart will be glorified. How beautiful the heavenly crown will be for those who are genuinely humble despite outward humiliations, those who follow the humility of the Savior in every way.

O my beloved Jesus, the sighs of my heart rise up to you alone.

Margaret Mary Alacoque said: "I wanted no one to remember me save to scorn me, humble me and insult me; for indeed, that is all I deserved".

O Jesus, you who were forsaken have become the refuge of forsaken souls. Your love teaches me that I must gain the strength I need to endure being abandoned by seeing how you were abandoned. I am persuaded that the most terrible abandonment I could experience would be to have no part in yours. By your death, you gave me life; you delivered me from the suffering I deserved by suffering in my place.
Because of what you endured on the cross, our Heavenly Father will not desert me. He is never closer to me through his mercy than when I am most united with you in your abandonment.

O Jesus, light of my soul, enlighten me during times of tribulation; and since these trials are useful to me, pay no heed to my fears or my weakness.

O my God, I do not ask you to keep me from suffering, but to be with me in affliction. Teach me to seek you as my only comforter; sustain my faith; strengthen my hope; purify my love. Grant me the grace to recognize your hand in the midst of suffering and to want no other comforter than you.

[Brigid]

I, for one, like reading her words. It seems that I get so much more out of a quote when I know of their life and they are Saints who've experiences are known to me.

[George]

Humble me as much as you want. Console me only when it may help me accept suffering and persevere until death. Since the graces I ask are the fruits of your abandonment, bring virtue out of my weakness and glorify yourself in my misery, O my Jesus, the only refuge of my soul.

O Most Holy Mother of my Jesus, you who saw and felt the extreme desolation of your dear Son, help me in my own time of desolation.
And you, saints of Heaven who have passed though this trial, have pity on those who are suffering it now and pray that I be given the grace to be faithful until death.

I turn to you, O Father of mercy! Receive me, O God of all consolation! Sustain me with your grace and grant that so much suffering and so much love may not be in vain.

Jesus gives all to those who surrender all.

The more obstacles there are to my love, the stronger it becomes. It is my one and only possession. Even if I were tormented day and night, no one could take it from my soul. The more I suffer, the more I will draw close to his heart.

A righteous person is a victim and his life is a continual sacrifice. For the love of Jesus, I will fight against my own desires even in the most insignificant matters.

Watch over me, Father, so that everything I do may be with the intention of pleasing Jesus.

O most merciful heart of my Jesus, accept each of my tears, every cry of pain, as a plea for those who suffer, for those who weep, for those who forget you.

O Mary, O Mother of Sorrows! At the foot of the cross, you became our mother. I am the child of your sorrow, the child of Calvary.

O most lovable Jesus, the sighs of my heart rise up to you.


My Jesus, I suffer and I love you.

[Brigid]

That was so wonderful, George! Thanks for all your work on this post.