came obedient, and ready to undergo all that was most vile and painful, why dost thou shrink, as thou dost, from toil and distress, and dost not rather, for the love of the Crucified, cling to things that are hard and displeasing? If He allowed His Own most Holy Mother to be grievously afflicted in this world; if He allowed her to be often in tribulation, to endure great anguish of soul, and to shed many tears, how canst thou expect to live in this world free of worries? And if thou callest to mind all the men who were the friends of God, thou wilt not find one who passed through the waves of this troublesome world without being severely tried. Take then to thyself from Him Who was Crucified for thee, and from His Blessed Mother, an example of unwearied patience; and in return for the infinite yearning of Jesus for thy Salvation, shrink not from enduring some small affliction; that so, when His Glory shall be revealed, thou mayest have the perpetual joy of His Countenance. The most gracious Mother of Jesus knows how to suffer lovingly with those that suffer. From what she herself suffered, she has learnt to be kind and pitiful to those in distress, and she will not forget her poor ones; she will listen to their prayers; she will in due time help those who call upon her; she will show favour to all those who are devoted to her.
O most merciful Lord Jesus, sweet Son of Mary, shed down upon me, I beseech Thee, the grace of holy tears, and pierce my heart with a wound of very deep compassion, such as I know that to have been with which Thy loving Mother's heart was pierced. Look upon me with those Eyes full of pity, with which Thou didst behold Thy Mother and Thy disciple standing in tears at the foot of
