Madame Elisabeth to Marie de Causans after the death of of her mother, the Marquise de Causans

… when we truly belong to God, we can never be unhappy, no matter what trouble, no matter what grief, we may be called upon to bear, because we are always sustained by an all-powerful Being who shares our sorrows, who feels them as we do, who, when we turn to Him in complete abandonment, relieves us, strengthens us, consoles us. “But,” you will reply, “I do not feel this consolation of which I hear so much. I am aware only of my sorrow, of the overwhelming loss I have suffered.” Let us then humble ourselves, my dearest, for it is always our own fault. Why do we place so high a value on the conviction that God loves us and is interested in is? Because that satisfies our self-love. Let us eliminate that.

Have recourse to God quite simply; let faith teach us that He never abandons His children … Say to Him: “My God,You see into the depths of my heart; it is Yours and Yours alone. I cannot know if You accept all the sacrifices I offer You … but Your Son died to atone for all my sins; look upon Him, my God, and from His Cross, to which our cruelty and our sins have nailed him, hear Him who asks grace for us, who consoled the good thief that had recourse to Him. I wish to imitate Him, O my God, to acknowledge Your sovereign power, and above all to believe that, whatever happens, You will never abandon me.”