June 30th
St Chantal on Prayer
Keep Your Eyes Upon God

You have so often given yourself to God, and assured Him that He might take away from you anything that was not of Him.  Now He has done so, He has at last taken you at your word.  Well, what are we to say?  He withdraws His sensible gifts; He has removed these consolations so that there might remain in your soul nothing but Himself alone.  So you must bless Him for what He has accomplished and remain patient and submissive, without a look at what you have done, at what your are doing, nor at what you may do in the future.  In place of all such thinking, try to practice the lesson of our blessed father who told us:  "Keep your eyes upon God and let Him do His will."

As the much-loved spouse of our Lord then, be of good heart, find your consolation in the will of God and rest assured that your faith, your hope and your love of Him are greater and more perfect than they have ever been.  But this love is one of suffering, and in general quite devoid of any satisfaction.  So hold fast in the assurance that I am giving you upon the part of God and of our blessed father, that father who so often told us that a way lined with crosses is always the better way.  Therefore, do not trouble yourself any more because you have no feeling.