Extracts

Yellow Notebook, April 6: When we are misunderstood and judged unfavorably, what good is there in defending ourselves or explaining ourselves? Let us simply let it go, say nothing. How gentle it is to say nothing, to allow ourselves to be judged however others may choose!

We do not see in the Gospel that St. Mary Magdalene explained herself when her sister accused her of sitting at the feet of Jesus and doing nothing.

She did not say: “O Martha, if only you knew the happiness I am experiencing, if only you could hear the words I am hearing! Besides, it is Jesus who told me to remain here.” No, she preferred to remain silent.

O blessed silence, which brings such peace to the soul!

Yellow Notebook, April 6: O my God, how different Your judgments are from those of men! This is how we so often deceive ourselves on earth, mistaking in our sisters what is an imperfection for what is a virtue in Your eyes!

Yellow Notebook, July 17: I feel that I am going to enter into rest… But above all, I feel that my mission is about to begin: my mission of making the Good God loved as I love Him, of giving my little way to souls.

If the Good God grants my desires, my Heaven will be spent on earth until the end of the world.

Yes, I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth. This is not impossible, since, even in the midst of the beatific vision, the Angels watch over us.

Yellow Notebook, May 27: I always see the bright side of things. There are people who take everything in such a way as to cause themselves the greatest possible pain. For me, it’s the opposite. If all I have is pure suffering, if the sky is so dark that I cannot see any clearing, well! I make it my joy… I make it… my boast! Like trials from Papa that make me more glorious than a queen.

Yellow Notebook, June 4: Yet I would really like to have a beautiful death, to please you. I asked the Blessed Virgin for it. I did not ask God, because I want to leave Him free to do as He wills. Asking the Blessed Virgin is not the same thing. She knows very well what to do with my little desires, whether she should tell Him about them or not… in any case, it is for her to decide, so as not to force God to grant my request, and to let Him do His will in everything.

Yellow Notebook, June 6: Mr. Youf said to me again, “Are you resigned to dying?” I replied, “Ah! my Father, I find that resignation is only necessary for living. As for dying, it is joy that I feel.”

Yellow Notebook, June 22: As I understand well the words of Our Lord to St. Thérèse: “Do you know, my daughter, those who truly love Me? They are those who recognize that everything which does not relate to Me is nothing but falsehood.”

Yellow Notebook, July 3: When I have committed a fault that makes me sad, I know very well that this sadness is the consequence of my unfaithfulness. But do you think I stop there?! Oh, no, not so foolish! I hasten to say to God: My God, I know that I deserve this feeling of sadness, but let me offer it to You nonetheless, as a trial that You are sending me out of love. I regret my sin, but I am glad to have this suffering to offer to You.

Yellow Notebook, July 5: I too have moments of weakness, but I am glad of them. I do not always place myself above the little things of this earth; for instance, I may be teased about some foolish thing I have said or done. Then I turn inward and say to myself: Alas! So I am still at the same point as before! But I say this with great gentleness and without sadness. It is so sweet to feel weak and small!

Yellow Notebook, July 6: I think that, for my death, I shall have to have the same patience as for the other great events of my life. Look: I entered Carmel when I was young, and yet, after everything had been decided, I had to wait three months; the same was true for my taking of the Habit; and once again, the same for my Profession. Well, for my death, it will be the same: it will come soon, but I shall still have to wait.

Yellow Notebook, July 15: Often, without knowing it, the graces and lights we receive are due to a hidden soul, because God wants the Saints to communicate grace to one another through prayer, so that in Heaven they may love one another with a great love, a love far greater even than that of a family—even the most ideal family on earth.

How many times have I thought that I might owe all the graces I have received to the prayers of a soul who had asked God for them for me, and whom I will know only in Heaven.

Yellow Notebook, July 15: In Heaven, no one will look upon another with indifference, because all the elect will recognize that they owe one another the graces that have merited them the crown.

Yellow Notebook, July 17: “I cannot allow myself the joy of enjoying myself; I cannot rest as long as there are souls to be saved… But when the Angel has said, ‘Time is no more!’ then I will rest, I will be able to rejoice, because the number of the elect will be complete and all will have entered into joy and rest. My heart leaps at the thought…”

Yellow Notebook, July 18: “… God would not give me this desire to do good on earth after my death if He did not intend to fulfill it; rather, He would give me the desire to rest in Him.”