Ave Maria!— August’s Theme: Spiritual Aridity
4- “Be assured that your actual aridity is not imposed by God as a punishment, but as a purification of your soul, with the aim of rendering it worthy of higher communications. […] your state is not at all pitiful, but it is highly enviable. Let this Divine Physician work freely and be sure that everything will turn out for the glory of God and for your sanctification.”
5- “Have patience still a little longer in supporting the state of spiritual desolation; have patience in submitting yourself to the loving trials to which Jesus, in order to render you similar to Him, is subjecting you with admirable providence. Do not be bewildered if the night within you is becoming thicker and [gloomier]. Do not be frightened if you do not see with your physical eyes the serene heaven which envelopes your soul, but look upward, rising up above yourself, and you will see a light shine that participates in the light of the eternal sun.”
