Try to excuse one another; say: Surely what that dear good Sister said to me was not intentional; she was taken by surprise, and not, she is bad tempered; no one can ever get on with her. I will take very good care never to submit to her; she is conceited. Oh! no, my dear Sisters, if you cannot accept a rebuff there is reason to think that you do not act for the love of God. Reflect that this person, who seems to you to be so difficult to get on with, may one day be far above you in heaven, and that she is the image of God; moreover, my dear Sisters, honor the forbearance which the Son of God exercised toward His creatures who are so far below Him. Is it not true, my daughters, that you have failed to show this mutual forbearance and, for want of it, have often been angry with one another?

But let us draw near to this fire to be first of all enkindled ourselves and then, by our charity and good example, to draw others toward it.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is our father, our mother, and our all.

These poor vine dressers who labor for us expect us to pray for them while they themselves are working to feed us… We are living on the patrimony of Jesus Christ, on the sweat of the poor. The poor feed us.

No, Sisters, fear not, God will never fail you, if you are faithful to Him.

Faith is indeed a great possession for the poor, because a lively faith draws down from God all that we may reasonably hope for…. God has chosen the poor to make them rich in faith.

As for your conduct with the sick, may you never take the attitude of merely getting the task done. You must show them affection; serving them from the heart; inquiring of them what they might need; speaking to them gently and compassionately.

How marvelously our Lord is honored by those who follow it [Divine Providence] and do not rush ahead of it.

I have a particular devotion to following the adorable providence of God step by step. My only consolation is that I think our Lord alone has carried on and is constantly carrying on the business of the Little Company.

Wisdom consists in following providence step by step.

Try to live content among your reasons for discontent and always honor the activity and unknown condition of the Son of God. This is your center and what he asks of you for the present and for the future.

Do not be impatient with your trials, and at seeing yourselves as receiving no other consolation but God’s. Oh, if we only knew God’s secrets when He places us in this state, we would see that this must be the time of our greatest consolation. In fact, you will see a great amount of misery that you cannot relieve. God sees it as well and does not want to give those who suffer greater abundance. Share their trials with them; do all you can to provide them with a little assistance and remain at peace. Perhaps you share in this need; in that is your consolation because, if you had plenty, your hearts would be troubled to use it while seeing our lords and masters suffering so. Since God chastises His people for our sins, is it not reasonable for us to suffer with the others? Who are we to think that we should be exempt from public evils? If the goodness of God does not expose us to the worst miseries, let us be truly thankful to Him for this, and let us believe that it is due solely to His mercy and is in no way merited.

When we go to visit the poor we should so identify with them that we share their sufferings. We should have the same attitude as the great apostle who said omnibus omnia factus sum, I make myself all to all, so completely that the words of the prophet would not apply to us: Sustinui qui simul mecum contristaretur, et non fuit, I looked for someone to grieve with me in my sufferings, but found none. We must open our hearts so that they become responsive to the sufferings and miseries of the neighbor. We should pray God to give us a true spirit of mercy, which is in truth the spirit of God. The Church says that it is the nature of God to be merciful and to confer this spirit upon us. Ask this grace of God, my brothers, that he may give us this spirit of compassion and mercy, and that he may so fill us with it that as soon as anyone sees a missionary, he immediately will think, there goes a person full of compassion. Think for a moment of how much we ourselves stand in need of mercy, we who must exercise it towards others. We must bring this mercy everywhere, and endure everything for the sake of compassion.

Then, Sisters, you should nurse those poor sick with great charity and gentleness so that they may see you are going to their assistance with a heart filled with compassion for them.

We should assist the poor in every way and do it both by ourselves and by enlisting the help of others…. To do this is to preach the gospel by words and work.

The Church says that it is the nature of God to be merciful and to confer this spirit upon us.

Do what the Son of God did when He was on earth. And what did He chiefly do?… He labored unceasingly for his neighbor, visiting and healing the sick and instructing the ignorant unto their salvation…. You have the happiness to be the first women who have been called to this holy work… Since the time of the women who ministered to the Son of God and the Apostles, there has been no community established in God’s Church with this end in view.

Loving someone is wanting all that is good for that person. Loving the Lord then is wanting that this name be known and manifested other whole world, that his kingdom come, and his will be done on earth as it is it in heaven.

O, Savior of our souls, Light of the World, enlighten… our understanding that we may grasp the truth of what we have just heard, You have formed… a Company of poor girls who serve You in the manner You has taught them. Make them your instruments, O my God, and give them… the grace to carry out all [their] actions through charity, humility and simplicity for the assistance of our neighbor… We trust that if we are faithful in the observances of these virtues, we shall have the reward You promised to those who serve You in the person of the poor.

Charity leads us to God.

It is certain that when charity abides in a soul it takes entire possession of all its powers; charity allows it no rest; it is an ever-growing fire.

Charity… is the life of the soul.

As long as they remain in a state of charity, they will always be in God and God in them.

Always strive to have the robe of charity of which the signs are love of God, love of our neighbor, and love of our Sisters, lest God may wipe your names out of the book of life.

God determines some things for certain times, which He does not want at others. Since we are uncertain of the time when God will be pleased to grant us this grace, we must go forward without becoming discouraged, no matter how unlikely success may appear.

I am like you, Mademoiselle; there is nothing that bothers me more than uncertainty. But I do indeed greatly desire that God may be pleased to grant me the grace of making everything indifferent to me, and to you as well. Come now, we shall make every effort, please God, to acquire this holy virtue.

I have nothing to say to this [legal issue involving real estate], except God be blessed for having willed all earthly things to be uncertain and perishable so that we may seek in Him alone the stability of our plans and affairs because things then turn out well for us.

The work [with children] is very troublesome, but where is there not trouble? When you were in the world, had you no troubles? There are trials and troubles in every walk of life.

God never calls anyone to do some task unless He sees in her the appropriate qualities to carry it out, or which He plans to give her. Therefore, it is He, by His grace, who has called and united you.

Believe that God will not leave a heavy burden on your back without sustaining you. He will be your strength and will as your reward.