Day after day with Father Cestac: APRIL
APRIL: Poverty
1. Responsible for the poor, I became their friend, and continuous relations were created between ourselves, concentrating almost entirely on their interests.
2. My life was spent among the poor and the little ones; I love them and I feel all that is due to them of interest and love.
3. The Divine Love has established in different places, works of charity for the poor, which are the springs and the sources: these springs are for all, all draw water from them; the more you draw water, the more water comes abundantly; if those springs were to refuse to draw water, water would dry up and go elsewhere.
4. When the love of money prevails, it makes it hard and difficult for the poor.
5. As for 10 francs, it is to the poor that you will distribute them according to their needs. While giving the alms, do not forget to love the souls who often have more needs than the body.
6. It is not enough to give alms to the poor, we must love and respect them: loving them as your brothers and sisters, respect them as the images of Our Lord on earth.
7. Let everything in the house breathe poverty, care, order, cleanliness, these are the only ornaments in the house.
8. The properties entrusted to us are the patrimony of the poor, and we must administer them with the most severe attention.
9. The poorer you are, the more you will have the rights to the kindness of the Mother of the poor, the refuge of the miserable ones, and hope of even the desperate ones.
10. Do charity according to your means which are very small, it is true. It will always be a relief for those who suffer.
11. The community is not, cannot and does not want to be rich. This is because it is poor, it multiplies its charities.
12. We are essentially poor and for the poor.
13. Do not deprive yourself of what is necessary but we do not make expenditures that are not the spirit of poverty.
14. Jesus is the father, friend, brother of the poor; and his Most Holy Mother shared all the affections of her adorable Son for the poverty and for the poor.
15. Regardless of our poor, the poor of outside are flocking from all sides. If we are faithful, these poor will be our wealth and will have abundance of divine blessings in the work.
16. To love the poor and to love being poor are two sentiments closely bind.
17. The poor are the constant object of our love and our care.
18. Receive the poor with love and happiness, considering their visit as the happiest moment of my day, because it is Our Lord Himself who deigns to visit me in their persons.
19. When love and the esteem of poverty dominates, it is a joy to make oneself poor and to flee to the service of the poor.
20. We are poor, but poverty is our happiness. Particularly in this stage we have to live a great economy and do a lot of charity.
21. The conversation with the Emperor took the slope of my heart. This was what improved the condition of the poor.
22. Let us redouble our love for the poor, and never be afraid of giving them too much.
23. In our poverty, we feel the need to multiply our charities and our good works.
24. All that my vicariate gave me, went away every day and flowed into the bosom of the poor.
25. Being poor and working for the poor, I could only have the poorest and the cheapest.
26. For our dedication especially to the poor, we constantly refused to run the residential schools.
27. We are waiting for the Congregation to be authorized to launch us with more courage in all directions well, especially with regard to the poor, who are the continual object of our love and care.
28. Now I am entirely poor and stripped of everything. It is the grace which I have requested all my life; I obtained it and I can tell it is my joy and my happiness.
29. From the beginning our divine Mistress had made me known that I could do charity to the poor but never lending anything to anyone.
30. We are very poor because our good Mother wanted to give us at this time a participation in her great poverty. I bless it with all my heart.