Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne

"He spent the night praying to God. When day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them."

I believe our sisters have received the gift of joy that we see in many religious who have given themselves unreservedly to God. Our work is simply an expression of our love for God. This love needs someone to receive it, and it is in this way that the people we meet give us the means to express it.

We need to find God, and we cannot do so in turmoil or noise. God is the friend of silence. In what silence do the trees, the flowers, and the grass grow! In what silence do the stars, the moon, and the sun move! Is it not our mission to give God to the poor in the slums? Not a dead God, but a living and loving God.

The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active lives. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and says through us. All our words will be in vain as long as they do not come from the depths of our being; words that do not convey the light of Christ increase the darkness.

Our progress in holiness depends on God and ourselves, on God's grace and our will to be holy. We must resolutely commit ourselves to attaining holiness. "I want to be a saint" means: I want to detach myself from everything that is not God, I want to strip my heart of all created things, I want to live in poverty and detachment, I want to renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims, and my tastes, and make myself the docile servant of God's will.