Whoever has become a servant of the Lord fears only his Master. But whoever is without the fear of God is often afraid of his own shadow. Fearfulness is the daughter of unbelief. A proud soul is the slave of fear; hoping in itself, in comes to such a state that it is startled by a small noise, and is afraid of the dark.

When you hear that your neighbor or friend has reproached you in your absence or presence, then show love and praise him.

The slave of the belly ponders the menu with which to celebrate the feast. The servant of God, however, thinks of the graces that may enrich him.

As long as anger lives, it continues to be the fruitful parent of many unhappy children.

Simplicity is an enduring habit within a soul that has grown impervious to evil thoughts.

Our inhuman enemy inspires the thought that God loves mankind, and that He quickly forgives this sin. But when we observe the guile of demons, then we see that after the commission of the sin, they suggest to us that God is a righteous and implacable Judge. The first they say in order to lead us to sin, the second, in order to weigh us down in despair.

The man who pets a lion may tame it, but the man who coddles the body makes it ravenous.