Sunflowers in the South of France

(Photo courtesy of Miss Patricia Hiatt)

Depending on the part of summer in which you visit the south of France, you are either delighted by the sight and fragrance of fields of lavender, or sunny spreads of bright cheerful sunflowers. Either way, the view is relaxing yet vibrant.

Father Claude de la Colombiere, the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary, is the blessed Frenchman from whom today's Words of Encouragement are culled. He wrote to Sister Marie Rosalie in the convent at Paray-le-Monial:

"How good our God is, my dear Sister! He is touched by our sorrows and does not permit them to last forever. He takes pleasure in proving our love for a time because He sees that these trials purify us and make us worthy to receive greater graces. But He adapts Himself to our weakness; one would almost think He suffered with us, so anxious is He to relieve us. May He be eternally blessed and praised by all His creatures."

~ quoted by Sister Mary Philip, in her A Jesuit at the English Court, 1922.