THE INSTRUMENT

Wherever you may be, give thanks to the Lord, for the instrument of purification.

No one lives without it.

Here, it is the husband who is difficult to get along with.

Further on, it is the wife of a disagreeable presence.

There, it is the rebellious son.

Then again, it may be the irresponsible daughter.

Today, it is the friend who has surrendered himself into an attitude of incomprehension.

Tomorrow, it will be the stern boss.

Next, it will be the inattentive subordinate.

Now, it is the fellow worker who has deserted you.

Later, it will be the adversary, forcing you to affliction.

Keep silent, benefit by it, and go forward.

The stone receives from the hammer that shapes it, the dignity with which it is rendered suitable for use in construction.

The metal owes the purity, which is proper to it, to the blazing crucible that martyrizes it.

Do not forget that the body is the shrine of divine possibilities, in which you temporarily take refuge in order to garner the lesson of progress.

Each road gives way to another road.

Each experience leads to a greater experience.

All struggle is spiritual bread and all grief is an impulse to sublime ascension.

Let us learn, then, to treasure the gifts of life, respecting the lessons the world imposes on us, with the certainty that with humility and work, we shall some day reach the heights of eternal glory.

Scheilla