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The glory of a good man is the testimony of a good
conscience. Therefore, keep your conscience good and
you will always enjoy happiness, for a good
conscience can bear a great deal and can bring joy
even in the midst of adversity. But an evil
conscience is ever restive and fearful.Sweet shall
be your rest if your heart does not reproach you.
Do not rejoice unless you have done well. Sinners
never experience true interior joy or peace, for
"there is no peace to the wicked," says the Lord.1
Even if they say: "We are at peace, no evil shall
befall us and no one dares to hurt us," do not
believe them; for the wrath of God will arise
quickly, and their deeds will be brought to naught
and their thoughts will perish.
To glory in adversity is not hard for the man who
loves, for this is to glory in the cross of the Lord.
But the glory given or received of men is short
lived, and the glory of the world is ever companioned
by sorrow. The glory of the good, however, is in
their conscience and not in the lips of men, for the
joy of the just is from God and in God, and their
gladness is founded on truth.
The man who longs for the true, eternal glory does
not care for that of time; and he who seeks passing
fame or does not in his heart despise it, undoubtedly
cares little for the glory of heaven.
He who minds neither praise nor blame possesses
great peace of heart and, if his conscience is good,
he will easily be contented and at peace.
Praise adds nothing to your holiness, nor does
blame take anything from it. You are what you are,
and you cannot be said to be better than you are in
God's sight. If you consider well what you are
within, you will not care what men say about you.
They look to appearances but God looks to the heart.
They consider the deed but God weighs the motive.
It is characteristic of a humble soul always to do
good and to think little of itself. It is a mark of
great purity and deep faith to look for no
consolation in created things. The man who desires no
justification from without has clearly entrusted
himself to God: "For not he who commendeth himself is
approved," says St. Paul, "but he whom God commendeth."(2)
To walk with God interiorly, to be free from any
external affection -- this is the state of the inward
man.
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