ON SUFFERING

Be like the storekeeper who makes profit on every article. Make every suffering count: a sting of a fly or the point of a pin. An eccentricity of a neighbor, some unintentional slight, the loss of an article, some restlessness of soul.  And be wealthy in God.

St. Louis Marie de Montfort

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WHY THE GOOD SUFFER

Why do we see evildoers thriving and healthy and enjoying great prosperity? Let us weep for them, because their not having to suffer in this world is a guarantee of greater punishment in the next. To show this, St. Paul said, "But when we are judged, we are being chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with this world." Afflictions here are a form of reproof, while those in the other world are a form of punishment for those who were evil in their lives here. 

St. John Chrysostom

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ON SUFFERING

It is not enough to accept the sufferings God sends us as His will. We must accept it as He wills it, when He wills it, as long as He wills it and exactly in the manner in which it pleases Him. This way, even sufferings can be transformed into prayer.

St. Francis de Sales

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ON THE DEATH OF A CHILD

I give thanks to Almighty God that He has not considered me unworthy to be the mother of a child admitted into the celestial kingdom. Having quitted the world in the white robe of his innocence, he will rejoice in the presence of God through all eternity. 

St. Clotilda

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St. Isidore said; "Earthly punishments contribute to our salvation, so that the righteous should be happy to suffer and the evildoer unhappy in suffering and prosperity. Punishment wipes out guilt ONLY if it reforms our way of life." 

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(09-11-03)