The last installment of St Teresa Margaret gem of spiritual wisdom.On Devotion to Most Holy Mary
“Let them recommend themselves to God,” the Saint used to say of the religious, “and they will see He will console them. Let them have recourse to the intercession of Most Holy Mary in all their necessities and they will always be heard.” (Canonical Process: Deposition of Mother Teresa Maria of the Most Holy Conception)
The Saint used to place her patients under the care of the Most Blessed Virgin, after which she remained tranquil, saying: “Let them also confide in Her assistance, because they are in good hands.” (Ibid.)
Bless us, O Virgin Mary, Mother of Compassion, Advocate and Consoler of all those who confide in You! (Affections)
Mother of Mercy, give us strength against the enemies of our souls, so that by your aid we may always be victorious. (Ibid.)
On Poverty
When she [the Saint] was insistently asked by her father, who wanted to give her a present, what she would like, she replied: “I desire nothing and I need nothing. You have made me such a beautiful gift in allowing me to wear this Holy Habit, that if I remained with my face to the ground from morning to night in gratitude, I should still be doing less that I ought.” (Canonical Process). In the last hours of her life the doctor ordered some drops of laudanum to be given to her. She received them with gratitude saying that the medicine was too good and precious for a poor Discalced Nun, and that she did not merit so much attention. (Canonical Process: Deposition of Mother Teresa Maria)
On Silence
Whoever desires peace, let her watch, suffer, and be silent. (To the Sisters)
If we wish to become holy, let us work and endure in silence, keeping our soul in peace. (To the Sisters)
When one cannot put oneself right by speaking, it is better to have recourse to prayer and silence; and thus to keep one’s peace alone with God. (To the Sisters)
Whenever there was some trouble in the monastery the Saint was unwilling to talk about it and used to say: “Prayer and silence!” (Souvenirs)
On Mortification
There is such need to mortify the intellect, the memory, and the exterior senses, so that they become almost spiritual, and then united to the soul they find in God alone their nourishment and their consolation, and they can say: “My heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God.” (Maxims)
The Saint made the resolution never to let pass an occasion that presented itself to suffer, and to suffer as far as possible in silence, keeping it between herself and God. (Canonical Process: Deposition of Mother Anna Maria of St. Anthony of Padua)
On Devotion to the Sacred Heart and to the Most Holy Eucharist
The Saint regarded the Sacred Heart as the center of the love with which the divine Word loved us from all eternity, making such devotion consist in loving It unceasingly. She wanted to be called ‘of the Sacred Heart,’ intending by this to wish neither to live nor breathe except to love It with all her strength. (Canonical Process: Deposition of Father Ildefonse)
Yes, my God, You know well that I long only to be a victim of Your Sacred Heart, entirely consumed as a holocaust in the fire of Your holy love! (Resolutions)
Your Heart will be the altar of this, my consummation in You O my God; and You will be the priest who will immolate this victim in the fire of Your holy love! (Ibid.)
Since, O my God, You inspire me to make myself like you in everything, as much as I can, I want particularly to imitate You in those virtues that are so pleasing to Your most loving Heart, namely: humility, meekness, and obedience. (Resolutions)
On Various Subjects
How is it possible that men can commit what is an offense against God? Oh! It cannot be true, they cannot have had the intention of doing evil! (Words of the Saint)
All things come to an end; therefore take heart, for just as one thing gives way to another, so eternity will come at last. On the contrary seeing how quickly the things of this world end ought to console us, because we are drawing ever nearer to that goal to which all our works ought to tend. (To one of the Sisters)
I. I will perform no action with haste or perturbation.
II. I will fix my eyes in my heart, and raise my heart to God.
III. I will speak softly and only of necessary things. (Resolutions)
“One must take care,” so the Saint used to say, “to make use of spiritual direction for what is just strictly necessary, because many times it happens that one begins the conference on a spiritual plane and ends up in self love.” (Canonical Process: Deposition of Mother Teresa Maria of the Most Holy Conception)
If we live and move in God, it does not seem to me that His company and His love can hinder us from moving and working externally. (To Father Ildefonse)
Lord, give me greater patience that I may be able to suffer still more for You. (Words of the Saint as she was dying.)
After "The Florilegio of St. Teresa Margaret" - a booklet of sayings translated from the Italian by Sister Miriam of Jesus, O.C.D.
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