He has not true patience who is willing to suffer only what he pleases, and from whom he pleases. The truly patient man does not regard the length nor the kind of his sufferings, not yet the person who makes him suffer - whether he be a superior, an equal, or an inferior; whether he be a holy man or ill-disposed and dishonorable. His only aim is to suffer. - Thomas a Kempis
We are told, in the Lives of the Fathers, of a young monk who dwelt with an aged monk who went every morning to the city to sell the articles which they had both made on the preceding day, and who spent all they brought upon wine for himself, bringing home only a bit of bread for the youth. The young man bore this way of life for three years; but at last, finding himself in rags and dying of hunger, he began to consider whether it would not be well to leave such a companion and go elsewhere. Then an Angel appeared to him and said: "Have patience a little longer, for tomorrow you shall be with me in Paradise." He told this vision to the old man, who did not believe it. But the following day, as they were discussing the matter, the holy youth peacefully expired, and the old man was converted and mourned for his previous life.
- text taken from A Year with the Saints, composed by an unknown Italian, translated by a member of the Order of Mercy; it has the Imprimatur of Archbishop Michael Augustine Corrigan, Archdiocese of New York, New York, 21 January 1891