On prayer....

Retreat Notes [Lyons, 1674]

"When we are distracted during prayer and find the time long because of our impatience to pass on to something else, it is good to say to yourself: My soul, art thou tired of thy God? Art thou not satisfied with Him? Thou possessest him and dost thou seek for something else? Where canst thou be better than in his company? Where canst thou profit more? I have experienced that this calms the mind and unites it with God."
-- The Spiritual Direction of St. Claude De La Colombiere, p.14.
**Translated and arranged by Mother M. Philip, I.B.V.M. (1934); Ignatius Press, (1998).

Sao Paulo (Brazil) February 11, 1993 Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

"Another danger which threatens you is that of allowing yourself to be taken up with inordinate activity, and so forgetting the powerful force which prayer has in obtaining the grace of conversion of many of my poor sinful children. And so I have invited you to pray much for the conversion of sinners, by showing you, through my little daughter Bernadette, that the most efficacious prayer, the prayer which is most preferred by me, is that of the holy rosary..."
--To The Priests, Our Lady's Beloved Sons, MMP (2009). Interior locutions to Fr. Stefano Gobbi, MMP (1973-97), #488, pp.760-62

As we enter the holy season of Advent let us unite our hearts in a more contemplative way to the hearts of Jesus and Mary...praying in union with them for the salvation of souls and conversion of sinners. Let us remind ourselves that we are all in need of conversion and Divine Mercy-- coming to us this season as the infant who is our Lord and Redeemer!
Blessed be His Holy Name...amen.

On detachment...and change...

"One great mean of detaching our heart from earthly things is to change our employment often: we become attached unconsciously and take root as we easily see by the difficulty we have in changing our usual customs. To have to leave a place where we are known and have friends is like a kind of death. A thought that will help us to bear these separations bravely is that God goes with me everywhere: I shall find the same Lord where I am going as I have here; from this point of view, there is no separation. I shall find the same God there as I pray to here, the same God who knows me, loves me, and whom I long to love."
--St. Claude de la Colombiere, Spiritual Notes, Lyons (1674).
**The Spiritual Direction of St. Claude de la Columbiere, Translated and arranged by Mother M. Philip, I.B.V.M., The Bar Convent, NY.(1934); Ignatius Press,San Fransisco, (1998).