III

January, 1889.

MY DEAR LITTLE CÉLINE,—Jesus offers you the cross, a very heavy cross, and you are afraid of not being able to carry it without giving way. Why? Our Beloved Himself fell three times on the way to Calvary, and why should we not imitate our Spouse? What a favour from Jesus, and how He must love us to send us so great a sorrow! Eternity itself will not be long enough to bless Him for it. He heaps his favours upon us as upon the greatest Saints. What, then, are His loving designs for our souls? That is a secret which will only be revealed to us in our Heavenly Home, on the day when "the Lord shall wipe away all our tears."¹⁹⁶¹⁹⁶Apoc. 21:4.

Now we have nothing more to hope for on earth—"the cool evenings are passed"¹⁹⁷¹⁹⁷St. John of the Cross.—for us suffering alone remains! Ours is an enviable lot, and the Seraphim in Heaven are jealous of our happiness.

The other day I came across this striking passage: "To be resigned and to be united to the will of God are not the same; there is the same difference between them as that which exists between union and unity; in union there are still two, in unity there is but one."¹⁹⁸¹⁹⁸Mme. Swetchine. Yes, let us be one with God even in this life; and for this we should be more than resigned, we should embrace the Cross with joy.