Power of God

A MAN SHOULD NOT BE TOO MUCH
DEJECTED WHEN HE FALLS INTO SOME DEFECTS

When languishing under great and long-continued sufferings, let us remember that humble submission to the cross is incomparably more pleasing to God, than the enjoyment of consolation; and hence, that the greatest consolation of the soul should be, to be deprived of every other consolation but that of being ever faithful to its crucified Redeemer.
When tempted and inclined to sin, let us turn away from our evil inclinations, and resist them with all the strength and courage possible; let us have recourse to our Lord for His assistance, and to the Blessed Virgin for her prayers. The sense of evil must not deject or discourage us, but elevate us to God. In Him let us place all our confidence, and with an extreme horror for sin, withdraw our minds, as far as we are able, from the sinful objects which affect them, and our hearts from the criminal pleasures which allure them. That we may remain faithful under contradictions, let us endeavor, when the heart is moved, to keep silence, and to sacrifice to God all those ill-natured reflections and excited feelings which proceed from resentment against those who have been the cause of our uneasiness; knowing that whatever we think or desire, or say against our neighbor, we think, desire and say against Jesus Christ.
Let us remember, in our interior afflictions, that all is not lost because we are in trouble and violent temptation. Let us resist temptation, submit to humiliation, and believe that before we can be elevated to a union with God, we must first descend into the depth of our own miseries.