From the letter to a pious young woman, who later became a religious in the Conservatory of Coriano:
June 4, 1851
Dear Maddalena Z.,
To embrace the religious life means to go apart into a sacred place that represents the gathering of the apostles: it is a delightful paradise, the garden of God, the pupil of his most pure eye. Come, the Divine Gardener eagerly awaits the flowers and fruits.
Come. We walk on paths that shorten the long way, paths that are much shorter, even though they are far more tiring than the ordinary way. Nevertheless, to arrive quickly at our journey’s end, we don’t mind the thorns that snag us along the way. We work hard and we sweat; we even bleed, but know that this is how we will reach our goal. To reach heaven, all our fatigue is insignificant, and the burden of rules and precepts is a light that illumines the pathway of the life of perfection.
