Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone, but with heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing, and God everything.

If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He certainly intends to make you a saint.

May God our Lord never let me harm anyone when I cannot help him!

If God gives you an abundant harvest of trials, it is a sign of great holiness which He desires you to attain. Do you want to become a great saint? Ask God to send you many sufferings. The flame of Divine Love never rises higher than when fed with the wood of the Cross, which the infinite charity of the Savior used to finish His sacrifice. All the pleasures of the world are nothing compared with the sweetness found in the gall and vinegar offered to Jesus Christ. That is, hard and painful things endured for Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ.

To have prevented one single sin is reward enough for the labors and efforts of a whole lifetime.

Remember that bodily exercise, when it is well ordered, as I have said, is also prayer by means of which you can please God our Lord.

Concerning the harsh treatment of the body for our Lord's sake, I would say, avoid anything that would cause the shedding even of a drop of blood.