It is a good sign when He burdens us with [crosses] and we carry them well, but woe to the person who runs away from them, for he will find such heavy ones that they will overwhelm him.

Since God is satisfied with our good will and honest efforts, let us also be satisfied with the outcome He gives to them, and our actions will never be without good results

. . . [R]estlessness usually stems from pride and from being discontented with one's lot in life.

Far from being a bad thing to seek advice, you must, on the contrary, do so when the matter is of any importance, or when we cannot come to a clear decision on our own.

Let us be submissive to Providence, He will see to our affairs in His own time and in His own way

Use gentle methods to get whatever good you can from priests and monks who are slaves, as well as from merchants and captives. Resort to severe measures only in extreme cases, for fear lest the hardship they are already enduring in their state of captivity, joined to the strictness you might want to exercise in virtue of your authority, drive them to despair. . . . It is not light they need, but strength, and strength permeates through the external balm of words and good example.

I have never made any distinction between those who have taken vows and those who have not; some should not be overburdened in order to spare others.