Rejoice that you are what you are; for our Lord loves you very dearly. He loves the whole of you, just as you are. In spite therefore of all your troubles, troubles about people and things, remain at peace. Drop all of your spiritual anxieties and do not goad yourself to efforts which will only overburden and overstrain you. Such efforts are not only useless but even harmful, for they war against that peace which the Christ-God demands: the peace which, in this world, must always exist in the midst of our imperfections: the imperfections of things, the imperfections of people. Imitate the calm of the sailor standing on the deck of his ship, which is in itself never still…
Be reassured and comforted. Rejoice from the bottom of your heart at this assurance I am giving you, as if it came from the Lord Himself.
Letters of Direction, Abbe De Tourville