Be an example of sincere faith and of a life pleasing to God, and, like the Apostles, you will be the fragrance of Christ, drawing all people to follow Him. But do not importune all people indiscriminately with your words, for in this way you will only destroy your peace with others and in yourself. Have an ardent zeal and a strong desire for everyone to know truth in the same degree of perfection as you have it, and to be intoxicated with this wine, which God has promised and which is now given by him without price (Isaiah 55:1) This thirst for the salvation of your neighbors you must always have; but it must arise from your love of God, and not from ill-judged zeal. God himself will plant such love for your brethren in your soul, when it has renounced all things, and will come in his own time to collect its fruit. But you must not sow anything of your own accord; all you have to do is offer to God the earth of your heart, free of all tares and thistles, and he will sow the seed in it, how and when He wills. This seed will bring about fruit in its proper time.
Remember always that God wishes to see your soul withdrawn from everything in order to unite it with himself. So leave Him to act in you, and do not hinder him by the interference of your will. Make no plans for yourself, except one--always seek to please God by obedience to His will. The householder has already gone out to find laborers for his vineyard, according to the Gospel parable. Put away all care and all thought, strip yourself of all anxiety about yourself and all passionate attachment to anything temporal, and God will clothe you in himself and will give you things you cannot even conceive. Wholly forget about yourself, as much as you can, and let only Love of God live in your soul. ~Fr Lorenzo Scupoli (+1610)
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