The Cross suffered by you, Jesus Christ, freed me from the slavery of the devil and wed me to the Divinity with an indissoluble bond. The Cross is fruitful and gives birth to Grace in me. The Cross is Light and undeceives me of the temporal and unveils to me the Eternal. The Cross is fire and reduces to ashes all

that is not of God, unto emptying the heart of the smallest blade of grass that could be there. The Cross is the coin of inestimable value and if I, Holy Spouse, shall have the fortune of possessing it, I shall enrich myself with eternal coins unto making myself the richest of Paradise, for the money that circulates in Heaven is the Cross that is suffered on earth. The Cross too, makes me know not only myself, but it gives to me knowledge of God. The Cross grafts into me all the virtues. The Cross is the noble seat of uncreated Wisdom that teaches me the most high doctrines, subtle and sublime. Therefore, the Cross alone will unveil to me the most secret mysteries, the most hidden things, the most perfect perfection, hidden to the most learned and wise of the world. The Cross is that beneficent water that not only purifies me, but provides the nourishment for the virtues in me. It makes them grow in me. And then it leaves me, when it brings me back to Eternal Life. The Cross is that celestial dew, that preserves and beautifies in

me the beautiful lily of Purity. The Cross is the food of Hope. The Cross is the torch of working Faith. The Cross is that solid wood that preserves and maintains always enkindled the fire of Charity. The Cross is that dry wood that makes vanish and puts to flight all the smoke of pride and vain-glory, and produces in the soul the humble violet of humility. The cross is that most powerful arm that assails the devils and defends me from all their clutches. Therefore, the soul that possesses the Cross is the envy and admiration of the very Angels and Saints, and the rage and anger of the devils. The Cross is my Paradise on earth, such that if the Paradise above, of the Blessed, is enjoyments, the Paradise of here is sufferings. The Cross is the chain of the most pure gold that connects me with You, my greatest Good and forms the most intimate union that can be had, unto making my being disappear and transmuting me into You, my beloved Object, so much so as to feel myself lost in You and to live on Your very Life

Wood is the nourishment of fire, and when we discover that it does not produce any smoke any longer, we're sure that the wood is turned into fire. Therefore the beginning and the end of all our action must be for the fire of the love of God, the wood that must nourish Him is the Cross and humility.
The smoke that rises in the midst of the wood and the fire are the passions, the tendencies which often enter in. Therefore the sign that everything inside us has been consumed in fire is if our passions are in check and we don't feel anymore tendencies towards things that do not concern God.