'We try to make penances of our own choosing, devotional exercises of our own choosing,
employments and virtues of our own choosing. At the same time we forget, we neglect,
and we refuse to look at and to accept the penances which God lays upon us day by day.
Perhaps we murmur,
we complain of the sacrifices He sends us,
in changes of weather,
in the perverseness of men,
or in corporal infirmities or spiritual trials.
Why are we so taken up with self, and so little careful to cooperate with Him?
What a number of touches, impulses, and good inspirations we misunderstand,
put on one side, and make no effort to follow!
What God sends us is so exactly fitting for our soul's needs,
and answers so precisely to our wants!'
From In Love With The Divine Outcast, compiled by A Religious, Pelligrini, Australia, 1934, p. 96. A reprint of this book is now available for purchase online. For information contact:
http://www.traditionalcatholicpublishing.com/
OR
http://www.allthesaintsbooks.com/in-love-with-the-divine-outcast.html
Painting: Jules Breton, Girl Guarding the Cows