“Saint Augustine, the great Father of the Church, says that ‘prayer is the strength of man and the weakness of God,’ and I tell you, revealing my thought and feeling to you, that prayer is the only strength available to the Teresian Work. By the very fact that we do not avail of any other strength, we overcome the Invincible obtaining from his infinite mercy the uninterrupted series of wonders that constitute our life (…)

What prayer ought to be for you all, and how much it matters to those of us who dearly love the Work, may easily be concluded after reading what is expressed in the previous paragraph.

The difficulties from within and the dangers from without, together with persecutions from some and the fears of others, bring discouragement to the bravest spirit.

Now, if you think that in order to overcome everything, we do not use nor do we wish to use any other means than prayer, you will have an exact idea of what prayer means in the Teresian way of life (…)

If our strength were rooted in talent, in status, in something merely human, some people would be able to cooperate and others would not. Since prayer is our strength, everyone can cooperate equally, but if not everyone prays equally, it must be because not all love the Work equally or because not all have its spirit (…)

More than anything else, I beg you to practice prayer; to make the practice of prayer something necessary for your life, to be so committed to its practice that there can be no motive, argument or reason strong enough to put your prayer aside for even a single day. Lead your students to God along this sweet and gentle path. I beg you to practice prayer in study, illness, toil, temptation, in trials of every kind, in everything you undertake, hi the fulfilment of your duties. Practice prayer whenever the world, the devil and the flesh put you in danger; when for yourselves, for your neighbor and for the Work you need to obtain some favor; in order to persevere in your vocation, to now and follow it. In short, pray to know all that is good, to free yourselves from every evil, and to triumph over everything. May you turn to prayer with such trust and constancy that, once you have prayed, you remain as satisfied as if you had put into practice every means ever to be known and implemented by the most learned and the most powerful (…)

We are stronger, have more vocations and do positive good wherever people pray.

If alongside every victory, every vocation, every legacy received, we could place the cause that produced the effect, we would certainly find the prayers, tears, suffering, penance and sacrifice of good people, and not talent, diplomacy or human effort. Clearly then, if we are seeking nothing but effects of a higher order, if we only aim to spread the Gospel, if our Work is one of apostolic endeavor and its objective is the salvation of others, leading them know and love God, what must be the causes which produce such effects? The only cause is grace, and the means for obtaining it is prayer. In short, prayer is our strength.”