“You greatly need God’s Holy Spirit to guide you in your difficulties, and to moderate your natural vehemence under circumstances that are calculated to excite it.

As to those who have caused this difficulty, I think you should speak of that to no one but God in prayer on behalf of the person who insulted you. People are not killed by a blow on the extremities — the nails or the hair — but by an injury to the vital parts. When God purposes to make us die to self, he always touches the thing that is the very essence of our life. He adapts our cross to each one of us.

Let yourself be humbled. Calm and silence under humiliation are a great benefit to the soul. We are sometimes tempted to talk about humility, and it is easy to find plenty of opportunities for doing so, but it is better to be humbly silent. Talkative humility is always suspicious: talk is a certain relief to self-conceit.

Do not get angry about what people say. Let them talk while you try to do God’s will. As to the will of other people, you could never come to an end of satisfying it, nor is it worth the trouble. Silence, peace, and union with God ought to comfort you under whatever people may falsely say. You must be friendly to them without counting on their friendship. They come and go. Let them go — they are just like chaff scattered by the wind.

Only see God’s hand in what they do. He wounds or comforts us by using them. You need all your resolution, but at the same time your quickness of temper requires checks and impediments. Possess your soul in patience.

Frequently recall the presence of God, so as to calm yourself, to humble and adapt yourself to the humble of heart. Nothing is really great except lowliness, charity, mistrust of self, and detachment from one’s own opinions and will. All stiff, harsh goodness is contrary to Jesus Christ.”

~ Francois Fénelon, 2-1-2012

The Complete Fenelon (Paraclete Giants) (pp. 65-66), Paraclete Press, Kindle Edition