“I have clearly recognized, conferring with our Blessed, that he has received from God a tasty, tender and constant love for the goods promised to us in the other life, which I have known that he hoped with humble confidence in God’s mercy and in the merit of the Most Holy Passion of Our Lord.
Among the afflictions of this life he often said: “We must take courage, we will soon go up there; yes, we must certainly hope that we will live forever. What would Our Lord do with His eternal life if He did not give it to the poor, small and puny souls like us? [1]
[1] Deposition of Saint Jeanne de Chantal for the process of beatification and canonization of Saint Francis de Sales. ARTICLE XXV: His hope.
And the contemporaries of Saint Jeanne de Chantal write about her hope:
“She was also once asked, if in various perils she had run to be thrown into abysses and rivers, while traveling, she had always hoped that God would take her out of it; she said that no, “but that she had always hoped that God would do in her what would be most to her divine glory, or by saving her from danger, or by making her end her life in it, and that in this hope her heart was quiet and at rest, and content with what God would have of her.”
Heart of Jesus, through the intercession of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Joan of Chantal, we ask you for us and for our world, so often plunged into despair, a firm hope in your Love that makes us live in joy. Amen.