(In the midst of) Suffering and renunciation through the burden­someness, discomforts, and exhaustion of the body, through the darkness or at least the dimness of mind, and through the interior suffering of spiritual isolation and aridity. (I seek a) Pure and solid faith. To ask, as I have been advised, for the grace of “simplicity in suffering.”

Material concerns, sometimes too heavy for my already burdened body, time wasted, relationships that hold no attraction for me, the effort to be pleas­ant and to smile when all of me longs for recollection and for only close friends – all this constitutes my hid­den cross, the best cross, which does not elicit sym­pathy or admiration as illness or misfortune does.

Well, I will carry it “joyfully” until God changes my obligations. Yes, joyfully in spite of dryness, weari­ness, the costliness of these efforts, gently united to the heart of Jesus, aided by Mary, my Mother, stick­ing to my usual rule of devotions, meditation, and so on, always strict with myself, yet more gracious to everyone, attentive to remain open, trusting, and abandoned, without narrowness, self-centeredness, or subtlety.

To accept equally the impossibility of an active life through good deeds, relationships, and regular work, and the impossibility of a wholly contemplative life that my family obligations, the preferences of those around me, and my circumstances prevent. To do all I can for others, to take refuge often in my “inner cell” to pray, to adore, and to unite myself to my beloved God. To make of everything – prayer, suffering, self-­denial, and action – an interior offering for others and for God’s glory, as well as for those I love. 

O my God, “give me an adoring soul, an atoning soul, an apostle’s soul,” and do with me what you want according to my pact with you.

Elisabeth Leseur

(after her death from cancer, and having offered her sufferings for him, her athiest husband became a priest)

The post In the Midst of it All first appeared on AirMaria.com.

The Servant of God, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, used to tell the story of Felix and Elisabeth Leseur.  Felix was a very anti-religious man.  His wife was a holy woman who loved him.  And she offered all she had and was and all her sufferings with cancer for his salvation and conversion.  After her death, he discovered her journal and came to know of her sacrifices for his soul.  He would convert and become a Dominican Priest.  Here is but a very small writing of hers followed by their story from Bishop Sheen.

The post The Offering of Self so Another may Live first appeared on AirMaria.com.

“Jesus on the cross said these beautiful and sad words: “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). Since then, throughout the ages, all of humanity has echoed these words…Now, O God, with all my heart, I say the sorrowful words, “I am thirsty.” I am thirsty for the peace you alone give, which transforms life; for the stability and living refreshment that only exists in you. I am thirsty for light, thirsty to know, to see, to possess, as we shall see and possess in eternity. I am thirsty for the profound sensitivity and the tenderness that can read hearts, and for a close and strong union with you. I am thirsty to devote myself, to give myself, to be understood and loved, to understand and participate in everything.

I sigh for that which endures and I sometimes want to shake off the burden of misunderstandings, hostility and narrowness that weighs on me. I am thirsty for immortality, that complete flourishing of the soul beyond this transitory world. I am thirsty for life, the only Life, abundant and eternal, with all our loves restored in the heart of infinite Love. My God, I am thirsty for you.”

I utter this cry right now; I will speak it again many times, O Jesus, before I come to you. I will say it with you: “I am thirsty.” As soon as you had spoken you accomplished your mission in this world. You prayed, labored, suffered, and “those you have given me, I guarded, and not one of them was lost” (Jn17:12). Let it be so for me, and in solitude, in those times when I come to you as a loving friend, I again express my sorrowful appeal, let me nevertheless, with your help, accomplish my mission and be a courageous Christian and apostle.

+Servant of God – Elisabeth Leseur

The post I Thirst first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Consoling and joyous meditation on those words of Christ, “l came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk 12:49) That fire is charity, the total, exclusive, and zealous love of God and, through him, of all humanity. But who will be holy enough to make others understand what this charity is, and how this fire is to be kindled?

Each one of us can work at this great task and I have seen clearly what I can do in my own milieu. Above all, to work on myself, to try and develop all the instincts God has given me; to strengthen my determination by regular work; to elevate my soul unceasingly by sacrifice and the acceptance of my usual sufferings, and by a constant and loving affection for all who approach me. To do the smallest things with the conviction that they always bring the beauty and truth for which I long. To love exclusively and to fulfill my obligations, however obscure or painful, whether intellectual or material; to miss no opportunity for. action or devotion, especially if no one will notice. Never willingly to omit or neglect these [practices] except when it brings me praise or feeds that subtle pride that so quickly arises.

To go always to the little ones, the suffering, those for whom life is hard, but not to scorn those carefree ones who live for themselves. They more than the others, perhaps, need to be loved… to show God to them. Resolutely to devote my mind, my will, my heart, my whole being to God, to the advancement of God’s kingdom. To raise, strengthen, and spread a little of the warmth that God has put into my heart the “fire” that kindles me, which I regret being unable to kindle in others.

When I have done this, God will do the rest. We pray, suffer; and labor unaware of the consequence of our action and prayers. God makes them serve his plan; gradually, they take effect, winning one soul, then another.

+ The Servant of God, Elisabeth Leseur

The post To Light a Fire on the Earth first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Preach the word. Be ready to do it whether it is convenient or inconvenient. (2 Tim 4:2)

In spite of sufferings of body and soul, life brings unspeakable joys, fleeting glimpses of the ultimate joy to come. But these loving glimpses cannot be life itself’. Life is effort, firm and persevering action and duty accepted and accomplished, the heroic conquest of the body by the soul, the serenity nothing can disturb, and eyes fixed on God. It is charity taking possession of us little by little, banishing everything that is not love.

Not to accept everything, but to understand everything; not to approve of everything, but to forgive everything; not to adopt everything, but to search for the grain of truth that is contained in everything. To reject no idea and no good intention, however awkward or feeble. To love others as Jesus Christ loved them, including suffering and death.

The first responsibility now for every one of good will is constantly preaching, by word and by example: the divine law of charity. Every Christian should be a voice crying in the desert, “Let us love!” Perhaps some heavenly breeze will carry these words farther than we imagine.

In arid times when duty seems difficult and daily responsibilities have no attraction, when all spiritual consolation is denied us and the beautiful light that illumines life is veiled, in these times humble prayer alone can steady us and give us hour by hour and day by day the determination to act “against our will”.

+Servant of God, Elisabeth Leseur

The post Proclaim the Kingdom! first appeared on AirMaria.com.

 I want to assure you of my profound compassion in the painful crisis that you are going through. I understand it thoroughly. But if the waves of suffering and bitterness are violent, do not let yourself go under, especially under the influence of a physical and emotional depression that is very natural after such a shock. Do not let harmful imaginings and debilitating thoughts invade your heart…. 

The post There are Crosses in our Lives first appeared on AirMaria.com.

From the Servant of God, Elisabeth Leseur:

“The day will come, O God, when it will be Your will that I come to you, when the darkness and the sorrows shall vanish, and the burden of the body will no longer weigh on me, when my soul will fly at last, freely to Your beauty, to plunge itself into Your holiness, to drink in Your love.

When I have been delivered, I will love inexpressibly in You all those I will have rejoined, and those I will have left here below, when the true life will finally begin, to last forever. Blessed dawn of eternity, I greet you, not knowing whether from near or far! I must not hope for you because my only wish is to do God’s will “in life or in death. ”

I know that I must first climb up to Calvary and hang upon the cross before knowing union with God; I know that I possess, and hope to possess still more here below, this union through the grace of God, in a great spirit of abandonment. I wait and, like the worker who does not know when he or she will receive the final reward, I want in the meantime to fulfill my responsibilities radiantly and peacefully solely for the love of Him who has done everything for me.”

The post Looking to Eternal Life first appeared on AirMaria.com.

The day will come, O God, when it will be Your will that I come to You, when the darkness and the sorrows shall vanish, and the burden of the body will no longer weigh on me, when my soul will fly at last, freely to Your beauty, to plunge itself into Your holiness, to drink in Your love.

Blessed dawn of eternity, I greet you, not knowing whether from near or far! I must not hope for you because my only wish is to do God’s will in life or in death. I know that I must first climb up to Calvary and hang up on the cross before knowing union with God; I know that I possess, and hope to possess still more here below, this union through the grace of God, and a great spirit of abandonment.

I wait and, like the worker who does not know when he or she will receive the final reward, I want in the meantime to fulfill my responsibilities radiantly and peacefully solely for the love of Him who has done everything for me.

Servant of God, Elisabeth Leseur

The post Preparing for our Last Day first appeared on AirMaria.com.

God, I offer You my spiritual aridity and deprivations. I offer You the interior sadness, the injuries, the disappointments of my heart, so much anxiety for the spiritual well-being and the health of those precious to me, and all the many sufferings of life. I offer You darkness of spirit, weakness of will, interior sorrow, and burdens…

(Jesus, You who are) all love, all purity, all tenderness: give me purity of heart, tenderness, and charity. Accept my afflictions and use them for the good of others and for Your glory. May Your blessed hands help me to carry my burdens and may Your love and the union of our hearts relieve my isolation. May it one day, when, by your Grace, we will convert and make holy those dear persons whom I beg You to make Christians and apostles, O Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God.

The Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur

(Her prayers and offerings would, after her death, convert her husband who would become a Dominican priest. Ven. Fulton Sheen would often tell this story)

The post Offering for the Conversion of Loved Ones first appeared on AirMaria.com.

To pray is to believe in and worship God and to acknowledge that our existence has a supernatural goal, and that we have not only a bodily but also a spiritual life; we put God first, others before ourselves, and ourselves before worldly things, before all that is transitory and that is not as valuable as our immortal souls.

To pray is to live in constant, calm, strong, and lasting union with God, to look at everything from God’s point of view, and to be so peacefully anchored in eternity that annoyances, unavoidable struggles, and continual activity have no ability to disturb us or to drag us down. Do not think that when I speak to you in this way about living in eternity in advance, that I forget that though you are a future citizen of heaven, you are at the present time a young citizen of earth. I am not encouraging you to neglect your human responsibilities.

When life is established on a solid foundation of faith and when Grace sustains us daily, we can live on earth and do our part in building up society. We are able to enjoy the happiness and love that comes our way to a degree scarcely known to those who do not put a little of eternity into their love and pleasure. Nothing human is foreign to us, and we possess the priceless privilege of being simultaneously members of the human race and sons of earth, and also members of the heavenly race and sons of God.

Prayer calls for action, just as action requires prayer to inspire and direct it. Yes, indeed, let us pray a great deal. Let us always work with courage for ourselves, our brothers and sisters, and for God

The Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur

The post A Foundation of Prayer first appeared on AirMaria.com.