Sending us an opportunity…
Do not suppose that you will have to offer God no more than you have planned; you will have to give Him much more. He rewards good works by sending us an opportunity for greater ones.
–Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Speak or keep silence….
In a general way, it can be said that when it is for the honor of God or the good of our neighbor, we ought to speak. When it concerns only ourselves, it is almost always more perfect to keep silence, in imitation of our Lord in His Passion.
–Luis M. Martinez (1881-1956)
Silence is indispensable…
As an audience maintains silence to hear better the voice of an orator, as music lovers keep silence during a symphony to admire its artistic beauty, so the silence of contemplation is nothing other than the indispensable condition for hearing the voice of God and addressing to Him our heartfelt words.
–Luis M. Martinez (1881-1956)
To attain silence…
If we want to attain silence in the interior of our hearts, we ought to begin by investigating the causes of the clamor within us. Ordinarily there are two causes of interior noise: the imagination and the heart. How often it happens that we enter the presence of Jesus to converse sweetly with Him, and then the imagination begins to skip around, carrying us hither and thither… At other times, the source of the din is in the heart. Except in cases of abnormal agitation, the imagination never produces the clamor that the heart produces. When we are under the stress of some particular emotion, such as love, fear, desire, or anger, we cannot compose our spirit; our soul seems like a city full of noise.
–Luis M. Martinez (1881-1956)
Accept trials provided…
Many people would be ready to accept trials provided they were not inconvenienced by them.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622
Complain little because…
Complain as little as possible of your wrongs, for, as a general rule you may be sure that complaining is sin: self-love always magnifies our injuries.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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