Monthly Spiritual Retreat - December

Theme: Abandonment to God

To ascertain God’s will ought to be the object of my soul, the aim of my existence. I ought to offer myself to God, so that He may dispose of me as a poor, clumsy, sluggish instrument, and use me in His service and for His glory. I ought to strip myself of everything and put myself in His hands, desiring one thing only – namely, what He Himself desires for me. In seasons of good health, I will thank Him and work; in times of sickness, I will accept it and offer it up joyfully; in sorrow or happiness, sadness or prosperity, I will gather up everything, give everything, and make everything serve for the good of souls, for a work of reparation.

I will put most absolute and loving trust in Him who is at once my Master and my Friend, and serve Him with a generous soul and joyful heart, quietly and with all my might.

In times of trouble and spiritual darkness, I will increase my prayers and mortifications, and force myself to act with greater energy. My life being so uncertain, I must pray a great deal, and offer up my trials and sacrifices for the good of souls and in a spirit of reparation. Whenever I am able, I must bestir myself, without haste or excitement, but not become absorbed in active work that does not seem to be especially designed for me by God. Prayer, the practice of humility, and renunciation ought to take precedence of everything else.

I will put my works, sacrifices, and prayers in our Savior’s hands, leaving Him to dispose of them, although I will continue to offer Him each morning the acts or sufferings of the day for particular intentions, those whom I love, the souls in Purgatory, or the Church.

I will always bear in mind the needs or spiritual wants of souls, especially of certain souls, that I may lay them before God, and beg of Him great graces for these souls.

I will make myself all things to all men, increasing my kindliness and devotion, avoiding all harshness and exaggeration in speech, and not putting forward my own ideas and opinions. I must remember that spiritual food is too strong for many souls, and that it must be offered cautiously, and in some way diluted. I must be content not to go more quickly than God, and know how, in dealing with certain souls, to go at a walking pace or even more slowly still. Once more, let me repeat that the hour and the means are in God’s hands, and that my business is, as a humble worker, to pray, suffer, and act, in full reliance on Him, and with absolute humility.


From “The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur: the Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband from Atheist to Priest,” Sophia Institute Press®, Manchester, New Hampshire, © 2002