y son, you are never secure in this life, but as long as you live you will need spiritual armor. You dwell among enemies, and are fought against “on the right hand and on the left”.† If therefore you defend not yourself on every side with the shield of patience, you will not be long without a wound. Unless you fix your heart on Me, with a sincere wish to suffer all things for Me, you will not be able to bear the heat of this combat nor will you attain to the crown of the saints. You ought therefore manfully to go through all, and to use a strong hand against whatever withstands you.
For to him who overcomes is manna given,† and for the indolent there remains much misery. If you seek rest in this life, how will you then attain to everlasting rest? Dispose yourself not for much rest, but for great patience. Seek true peace, not in earth, but in Heaven; not in men, nor in any other creature, but in God alone.
For the love of God you ought cheerfully to undergo all things; that is to say, labors and pains; temptations, vexations, anxieties, necessities, infirmities, injuries, slanders, reproofs, humiliations; confusions, corrections, and despisings. These are a help to virtue; these are the trial of
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