*

HOW TO BEAR LITTLE WORRIES

In the first place, expect them. Make them the subject of our morning
prayers, and say to ourselves, Here is my daily cross, do I accept
willingly? Surely! for it is GOD Who sends it. After all ... these little
troubles, looked at calmly, what are they? Ah, if there were never any
worse!

Secondly, we must be prepared for them. You know, if you wish to break the
force of a blow falling on you, you naturally bend the body; so let us act
with regard to our souls.

Accustom yourself, wrote a pious author, to stoop with sweet
condescension, not only to exigencies (that is your duty), but to the
simple wishes of those who surround you--the accidents which may intervene;
you will find yourself seldom, if ever, crushed.

To _bend_ is better than to _bear_; to bear is often a little hard; to
bend implies a certain external sweetness that yields all constraint,
sacrificing the wishes, even in holy things, when they tend to cause
disagreements in the family circle.

Submission often implies an entire resignation to all that GOD permits.
The soul that endures feels the weight of its trouble. The soul that
yields scarcely perceives it.

Blessed are those docile ones; they are those whom GOD selects to work for
Him.

XXXI.

TO OBTAIN PEACE

Approach the Blessed Sacrament, O restless soul, in search of peace, and,
humbly kneeling there, pour forth bravely, slowly, and with earnest
desire, the following prayer:--

O JESUS, gentle and humble of heart, hear me!
From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire to be sought,
Deliver me, JESUS.
From the desire to be mourned,
From the desire of praise,
From the desire of preference,
From the desire of influence,
From the desire of approval,
From the desire of authority,
From the fear of humiliation,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of repulse,
From the fear of calumny,
From the fear of oblivion,
From the fear of ridicule,
From the fear of injury,
From the fear of suspicion,
Deliver me, JESUS.

That others may be loved more than myself. JESUS grant this desire.

That others may be more highly esteemed.

That others may grow and increase in honor, and I decrease. JESUS, grant
me to desire it.

That others may be employed, and I set aside. JESUS, grant me to desire
this.

That others may attract t