the fruits of difficulties

...Our Lord always has more complete plans....

These early Christians were fervent, firm, coherent in their faith, full of goodness.... If the world hates you, know that is hated me first of all (John 15:18)... they would be given grace to face their difficulties....

These trials and difficulties can differ considerably....In any case, we should understand...that God is very close to us.  He helps us, with more graces, to mature in virtue.... God wants to purify us like gold in the furnace...leaving [our soul] more refined and valuable....

We must struggle against the current, relying on a life of personal prayer, strengthened by the presence of Jesus Christ in the Tabernacle... One of the greatest fruits we must draw from difficulties...is the need to be more aware of the Lord, to be more generous in prayer and sacrifice....

If...we were to give way in the face of difficulties, our soul would then retrogress....become full of sadness.... The devil usually makes good use...to intensify his attacks, and the soul can either draw nearer to God...or draw away from him.... The same difficulty...will have different effects according to the dispositions of the soul.... Fortitude is a key...virtue.

...we should be...serene and cheerful.... When we feel the weight of the Cross, our Lord invites us to go to him.... And then, by the side of Christ...everything that can be annoying and difficult becomes lovable....
Unity with God through adversity... is a grace that God is always willing to grant us...

We must not reject the means that God places within our reach.  We must be prepared to open our hearts in spiritual guidance if...the Cross gets particularly heavy.  "A gentle wind is not the same as a hurricane...."

Our Lord waits for us in the Tabernacle, to encourage us always....Alongside him we learn how to carry peacefully..."Everything may collapse and fail.... But nothing is gained by being perturbed."

~In Conversation With God, Volume 2