world passeth away"[7]--soon we shall see new
skies--a more radiant sun will light with its splendour crystal
seas and infinite horizons. We shall no longer be prisoners in a
land of exile, all will have passed away, and with our Heavenly
Spouse we shall sail upon boundless seas. Now, "our harps are
hanging on the willows which grow by the rivers of Babylon,"[8]
but in the day of our deliverance what harmonies will they not
give forth, how joyfully shall we make all their strings vibrate!
Now, "we shed tears as we remember Sion, for how can we sing the
songs of the Lord in a land of exile?"[9] The burden of our song
is suffering. Jesus offers us a chalice of great bitterness. Let
us not withdraw our lips from it, but suffer in peace. He who says
_peace_ does not say _joy,_ or at least sensible joy: to suffer in
peace it is enough to will heartily all that Our Lord wills. Do
not think we can find love without suffering, for our nature
remains and must be taken into account; but it puts great
treasures within our reach. Suffering is indeed our very
livelihood, and is so precious that Jesus came down upon earth on
purpose to possess it. We should like to suffer generously and
nobly; we should like never to fall. What an illusion! What does
it matter to me if I fall at every moment! In that way I realise
my weakness, and I gain thereby. My God, Thou seest how little I
am good for, when Thou dost carry me in Thy Arms; and if Thou
leavest me alone, well, it is because it pleases Thee to see me
lie on the ground. Then why should I be troubled?

If you are willing to bear in peace the trial of not being pleased
with yourself, you will be offering the Divine Master a home in
your heart. It is true that you will suffer, because you will be
like a stranger to your own house; but do not be afraid--the
poorer you are, the more Jesus will love you. I know that He is
better pleased to see you stumbling in the night upon a stony
road, than walking in the full light of day upon a path carpeted
with flowers, because these flowers might hinder your advance.

VI

July 14, 1889.

MY DARLING SISTER,--I am ever with you in spirit. Yes, it is very
hard to live upon this earth, but to-morrow, in a brief hour, we
shall be at rest. O my God, what shall we then see? What is this
life which will have no end? Our Lord will be the soul of our
soul. O unsearchable mystery! "Eye hath not seen nor ear heard,
neither hath it entered into the hea