"When at prayer, we must have eyes and ears for nothing but God."
"When all else has forsaken us, it is then that we are least forsaken by God." (42)
"Remain in Him or near Him, in peace of mind and utter trust..."
"There is still another way of prayer which is that of struggle. This happens when we find ourselves oppressed by continual and violent temptations. In this condition what is needed is a great faithfulness to God, with a quiet and direct putting aside of the subjects of our trouble." (36)
"The periods of dryness which we experience in prayer are caused by nothing but our love for God. Anyone who is in love finds it easy to hold attention on that which is loved. If our mind refuses to pronounce a word, let us make our hearts speak for us. Suppose we were to say nothing more to God than this: that we love Him, that He is worthy of our love - that would be enough for Him."
"With Him there is no need for long speeches. In heaven the angels utter no other word than this: Holy. This is their entire prayer, and in paradise they are occupied with this single word as an act of homage to the single Word of God who lives eternally." (37)
"The state in which God desires most to find us is that of humiliation. To be little before God is not enough; we must be nothing, nothing at all. This is the foundation upon which He builds, because it pleases Him to make things out of nothing." (41)
"Never give in to the desire to be liberated from your difficulties. This is a privilege from God which is to make you perfect in every virtue. It is a reward and not a punishment. What God desires is that you bear this burden patiently, with complete surrender to His holy good pleasure. Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him. That is all the doing you have to worry about. It is the only activity God asks of you, and He alone draws you to it." (54)
"One thing alone is necessary: it is to have God. In short, then, no matter what is going on, we must hold both our attention and our love on God, not wasting our time in studying what is happening to ourselves or what its cause is. Our Lord asks this of us." (56)
"To rise above self - this is what must be done - above all feelings, all opinions and dislikes, so that we gaze upon God and bind ourselves to Him by a simple assent." (57)
**excerpts are reprinted from Wings to the Lord: Thoughts on Prayer by St. Jane Frances de Chantal, with permission of copyright holder, Daughters of St. Paul, 50 St. Paul's Avenue, Boston, MA 02130.
