Endure! Through a supernatural spirit, because our crosses unite us to our Lord's Cross. God sends or permits to identify ourselves with His Son, Moreover, even humanly speaking, suffering well accepted makes us mature; it demands rare virtues. As long as a man has had nothing but happiness, he does not know of what he is capable, just as we do not really know what the sound of the bell is as long as the clapper has not struck it. But let sorrow come upon a man, then he can divine what he is capable of doing. When the soul is fortified by divine motives, it can reach that summit which humanity can reach in the way of moral uplift. For the sons of men as for the Son of Man, the highest royalty comes from the crown of thorns.
Endure! Through charity for all your brethren. While it permits us "to complete that which is wanting in the passion of Jesus Christ," suffering gives us a most efficacious role int he redemption. To act safely; but to suffer, how much more! The great instrument of salvation is the acceptance of the cross on which one is to be nailed. If we had more often present in our mind the sufferings of all our brethren scattered throughout the world, how much more cheerful would we be in accepting the many myseries which assail us!" -- Some Rare Virtues by Raoul Plus, SJ
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