June 24th
St Chantal on Prayer
Abandonment and Trust

Now, to sum up in a few words what I have been suggesting to you as a cure for your ills, I entreat you, by that obedience which you owe to the divine Will, that Will which is conveyed by the superior whom you see in God and as you see God in her, that you hold firm trusting in the guarantee which I give you as from God, that your faith, hope, and charity are greater and more perfect in you than they have ever been.  So stop asking yourself if you possess them or if you possess any virtue.  Do not go to the trouble of conscious renewals of your resolutions, but simply advert to them with all good will and hold fast in that absolute trust which has been granted to you.  Never give way to the desire to be liberated from your difficulties.  This is a privilege which is from God in order to make you perfect in every virtue.  It is a reward and not a punishment, make no doubt of this.  What God desires is that you bear this burden patiently, with complete surrender to His holy good pleasure, without permitting your mind to seek, nor inquire what is going on within you; without allowing your self to discuss, nor even to glance at temptations, no matter what their type, nor even to consider why this trial has been imposed upon you.