I urge you to have ever greater confidence in God, for it is written that those who trust in him will never be forsaken.
Don't turn in on yourself as so often happens, unfortunately. In the midst of the trials which may afflict you, just place all your confidence in our Supreme Good in the knowledge that he takes more care of us than a mother takes of her child…. Take courage, then, I repeat, and have courage at all times. The Lord is with you, always ready to welcome what you confide to him in secret. What a great consolation it is to know that we always have access to such a dear friend, to such a loving Spouse! The apostle of the nations raised his voice to cry out: If God is for us, who is against us?
Be steadfast and firm in your faith and be on the alert, for in this way you will avoid all the evil snares of the enemy. This is precisely the warning given us by the prince of the apostles, Saint Peter: Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith…. Yes, renew your faith in the truths of Christian doctrine, especially at times of conflict. And renew in a most particular way your faith in the promises of eternal life which our most sweet Jesus makes to those who fight energetically and courageously. You should be encouraged and comforted by the knowledge that we are not alone in our sufferings, for all the followers of the Nazarene scattered throughout the world suffer in the same manner.
Let us remember that the lot of chosen souls is to suffer. God, the author of all grace and of every gift leading to salvation, has decreed that glory will be ours on condition that we endure suffering with a Christian spirit. So let us lift up our hearts full of confidence in God alone. Let us humble ourselves beneath his powerful hand, let us cheerfully accept the trials to which the mercy of the heavenly Father subjects us, so that he may raise us up at the time of his visitation. Let all our concern be to love God and be pleasing to him, paying no attention to all the rest, in the knowledge that God will always take more care of us than we can say or imagine.
