Some Christian Resolutions

From "The Secret Dairy of Elizabeth Leseur":

"For Myself. To be very severe. To maintain energetically as the basis of my whole exterior life the practices of my spiritual life: daily prayer, meditation, Communion as frequently as possible. These things are such a great sweetness and source of life to the soul. To accept troubles, sadness, suffering, and to practice voluntary mortification, all in the spirit of penance and reparation, and for souls.

For Others: Not to speak of myself and my spiritual life, to keep silence about my good deeds. To be simple, true, always humble. To maintain calm always and never to betray physical suffering, anguish, or sadness. To be friendly and full of sympathy for men and ideas, to try to enter into and understand them. To be kind, with that true kindness that comes not from the lips but from the heart. To devote myself, to pour myself out, all without excitement or useless dispersion.

And in view of a greater good and for a higher purpose, even to watch over my bearing and my dress; to make myself attractive for our good God's sake. To make my home pleasant, that it may be a center of good and salutary influence; to let diverse spirits and hearts congregate there and to make every effort to raise and enlighten them.

To sum up: To reserve for God alone the depths of my soul and my interior life as a Christian. To give to others serenity, charm, kindness, useful words and deeds. To make Christian truth loved through me, but to speak of it only at an explicit demand or at a need so clear as to seem truly providential. To preach by prayer, sacrifice, and example. To be austere to myself, and as attractive as possible to others."