It is in a spiritual fashion that God gives himself, reaching to the deepest depths of the heart with his inspirations and uniting himself so gently with the soul that words cannot express what happens. The net result is that whoever is thus joined to God becomes one spirit with him. Let us drown ourselves then in this ocean of holiness, of infinite purity. If we lose all, we shall thereby gain all. The divine heart will never fail us, this I tell you for certain, if we do not fail him. And even if we did, he would not fail us, because his fidelity is greater than our unfaithfulness. He is not one of those who breaks faith with a person who has broken faith with him and we shall forever find him ready to call us back. Let us humble ourselves before the grandeur of God. Let us make ourselves nothing in the presence of this adorable Unknown. Let us lose ourselves forever with never a thought of finding ourselves again. Let us plunge into his divine abyss. If only we could say in utter truth these words: "My God is my all," we would never find our prayer long or boring. When boredom descended upon us in prayer, that simple phrase said from the heart would act like a spell to drive away our weariness and disgust. David declared that God hearkens to the desires of the poor. This is why it is sufficient in order to make a good prayer, merely to tell God: "All my desires are before you and my groanings are not hidden from your sight."Saint Bonaventure offers us this advice for prayer. "If you wish God to stoop down to reach you, carry the woes of Christ crucified in your heart."
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
-Saint Jane Frances (1641) co-founded the original community of the Congregation of the Visitation.
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