Ant. Ubi caritas (Missa in Coena Domini, ad Mandatum)
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Jesus, thou art my only true and real friend. Thou dost share all my sorrows and takest them upon thyself, knowing how to turn them to my good. Thou dost listen to me kindly when I tell thee of my difficulties, and thou never failest to lighten them. Wherever I go, I always find thee; thou dost never leave me, and if I am obliged to go away, I find thee waiting for me....As Jesus Christ possesses your whole heart, he wishes also to have all your anxieties and all your thoughts. Think of him and trust in his goodness for all the rest. You will see that he will make all things right when you think only of his interests. Reflect very specially on this advice: it contains a great treasure. Experience will show you that I am not deceiving you.
Do not let your peace depend upon what is outside you; you will see that Our Lord will supply for everything when you are satisfied with him alone, and you will find more in him than in all creatures together. Beware of thinking that you have need of anyone whom God withdraws from you. He is too faithful to take away from you any help that he sees necessary for you, so that you may reach the perfection he expects from you.
My Savior, do I still desire something which is not thee? Art thou not sufficient for me, shall I not love thee alone and be content to be loved only by thee! What have I come here to seek, O my God, if it be not thee? What does it matter what they say of me, or if I am loved or despised, well or ill, occupied with this work or with that, placed with these people or with those? Provided that I am with thee, and thou with me, I am content.
Saint Claude de la Colombière
(Lettre à la Sœur de la Colombière, Religieuse de la Visitation)
