Do not be vexed at the contradictions you meet in ordinary intercourse, for they give an opportunity to practice the most precious and amiable virtues, which Our Lord has recommended to us. Believe me that true virtue is no more reared in outward repose, than good fish in the stagnant water of a swamp. How shall we prove our love for God, who has suffered so much for us, if not among contradictions and repugnances? - Saint Francis de Sales
The blessed Seraphino the Capuchin was once in company with his Superiors and a young secular, who, seeing him so simple, humble, and imperturbable, took a fancy to tyrannize over him and to go so far as to slight, insult, and even strike him. Brother Seraphino, unmoved by all these insults, only said, with perfect amiability: "Ah, my little Saint! my little Saint!" (It was by this name that he would call those who insulted him.) "Let us do good in the service of God." One of the Fathers of the Desert used to imagine Jesus Christ standing by his side in his tribulations, and saying to him: "You are My brother, and are you not ashamed to make any difficulty about suffering this, when you know how much I have suffered for you?"
- 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