Sunday April 7
“If the sweetest fruits, such as cherries, apricots, and strawberries, are easy to preserve all year round, being candied with sugar and honey, is it not wonderful if our hearts are preserved from the corruption of sin when they are sweet from the incorruptible flesh and blood of the Son of God. “
(IDL II, 20.
Today, I will meditate on the virtues of the Eucharist, sacrament of life. Christians, says St. Francis de Sales, will remain unanswerable when the righteous Judge will show them the harm they had to die to spiritually, when they could have received the incorruptible body and blood of the Son of God. (see IDL II, 20)
Monday April 8
“Many go out of the world who come out for themselves, seeking by this exit their taste, their rest, their contentment.”
(Letter to the Baroness of Chantal, September 29, 1608, EA XIV, p 68)
Today, I will fulfill the duties of my duty of state with all my heart, since I am here to follow, love and serve God.
Tuesday April 9:
“Good people who have not yet attained devotion fly to God by their good deeds, but rarely, slowly and heavily.”
(IDL, I, 1,)
Today I will strive to keep my charity prompt, active and diligent, to fight against the weight of my sin.
Wednesday April 10
“Even though our friends write well of us, remember that our friends so often exaggerate our good and our enemies exaggerate our evils, and that in the end we are only what we are before God.”
(Letter to Canon Louis de Sales, his cousin, March 26, 1699)
Today, I will be very humble. “If we are very humble, Philothea, our sin will displease us infinitely, because God is offended by it, but the accusation of our sin will be sweet and pleasant to us because God is honored by it: it is a kind of alleviation of to tell the doctor the evil that torments us. ” (IDL 1, 19)
Thursday April 11
“Divine Goodness, considered in itself, is not only the first motive of all, but the greatest, the most noble, and the most powerful; for it is the one that delights the blessed and fills their happiness. How can one have a heart and not love infinite goodness? “
(TLG XII, 11 -)
Today, I will take the time to stand at your feet, Lord, to contemplate your goodness.
Friday April 12
“The Virgin is at the foot of the cross, humbly humble, low, virtuous, and virtuously low. “
(Fragment of a letter to Mme de Chantal, between 1605 and 1608 – EA XIV, 110)
Today, Mary’s maternal solicitude will lead me to the contemplation of her humility, of her acceptance. Lord, have mercy on my weakness!
Saturday April 13:
“Job was righteous, righteous, God-fearing, fleeing sin, and firm in innocence … The great Job cries,” If we have received the good from the hand of God, why should we not receive evil as well.” O God, this word is of great love! “
(TLG IX, 3 )
Today, with the grace of God, I want to try lovingly to bear the adversities that come to me from the hand of God. Like Saint Catherine of Siena, between a crown of gold and a crown of thorns, I will choose the crown of thorns that the Lord carried to the cross.