Teresa de los Andes – Letter 109 To Elisa Valdes Ossa 

J.M.J.T.

June 13, 1919

 ”Do you know which souls enjoy my Kindness most, Our Lord asked?  The ones who rely on Me most.  Trusting souls run off with My graces.  I am all love; and the greatest pain they can give My Heart is to doubt My Kindness.  My Heart not only sympathizes, but even rejoices to make up for failings as long as there is no malice involved.  If you only knew the work I could do in a soul filled with miseries, provided it allowed me to work there.  Love needs nothing.  It seeks only that there be no resistance; and ordinarily, what I ask to make a soul holy is that she let Me act.  A soul’s imperfections, when given no consent do not displease Me, but call forth My compassion.  I love souls so much… A soul’s imperfections should serve as ladders to reach Me through humility, trust and love.  I draw near to a soul that humbles itself and I come to its nothingness in order to unite it with Myself. 

            All these are words of the Sacred Heart.  And so, consider your misery, your weaknesses and your infidelities.  In a word, distrust yourself, but don’t remain there in your nothingness.  Climb up to the Divine Heart, cast yourself upon Him, and His merciful love will strengthen you.  When you fail, say in all simplicity to the Heart of Jesus:  “Lord, don’t you remember that I can do nothing for myself?  You did not sustain me.  You, Lord, are at fault that I am so miserable, because you haven’t helped ;me.”  In this way you’ll be strengthened; and He is delighted with that kind of trust and distrust.  Remember that the Heart of Jesus is you spiritual cradle.  There is you nest; there Jesus sings lullabies of peace and love to you.  We must be apostles of that Heart’s mercy.  We must dissolved the wall of coldness with which they keep Him isolated.  On the altar, we must caress and console Him in His mystical agony.  There reduced to nothingness, He lives for His creatures’ sake.  Only the sanctuary lamp reveals His presence.  What love!  It is beyond understanding.  I ask myself often why all of us don’t go crazy with love for our God.  Through the centuries a few souls have stood out for their passion of love:  Our Holy Mother Teresa, Magdalen of Pazzi, Blessed Margaret Mary and a few others.  Among millions and millions of people, only these have had a great and generous heart.  What a shame!  How miserable we are:  unable to love the only One who is true and good.  On His Feast day let us ask of the Divine Heart this madness, that we may live united to Him, sing His mercies and shed tears for His loneliness.  May we at least who know Him and who have been drawn to love Him because of His divine Word, Hi captivating Beauty, ,His infinite Goodness, may we at least be grateful to Him.  Let us be faithful and loyal.  Let’s ascend Calvary with Him.  Let’s take from Him Hi cross, His crown of thorns, the fall and vinegar and let’s pierce our own hearts with Longinus’s spear.  Let’s be crucified, let’s be hosts for love of Him.  Let the Feast of the Sacred Heart begin together to deny ourselves in all things and in every way.  I should have begun it from the time I entered this holy mansion, but I’m so miserable.  Yet, I am consoled because Our Lord loves and helps me more and more.  He sees that I want to love Him but that I still don’t have enough strength in my soul to possess the love as strong as death.  Our Jesus is all Heart.  And now he has captured mine.  He keeps me imprisoned in the furnace of His love.  I live in Him.  What peace, what sweetness, what silence, what an ocean of beauty encircles that Divine Heart!  How He fills me with His tenderness, despite my being so unfaithful to Him.  When will that happy day dawn when death, having broken the chains of sin amid which we live, we can finally tell our God:  “We will never again offend You, and no one, nothing can separate us from you!”"

Copyright 1994.  Letters of St. Teresa of the Andes  translated by Michael D. Griffin, O.C.D.  Teresian Charism Press  Holy Hill 1525 Carmel Road Hubertus, WI   53033 USA

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