I have my faults, each one around me has hers. The desire for perfection did not transform us into seraphim at the beginning of our novitiate. It is only by daily striving that the edifice of perfection is erected. Just as I must admit that I still have faults, so I must expect that my neighbor has his foibles and limitations even after long years in religious life.
Consequently we must bear with one another.
That is one of the first exigencies of community life. Sometimes it happens that all live in cordial harmony without any serious disagreement or friction. Thank God for that, but remember it does not happen frequently. More often God permits incompatibility of temperaments, many little occasions of disagreement and frequent divergencies of opinion. It is all excellent for the general practice of patience.
I must not be surprised or scandalized, or use it as an excuse for never forming an opinion of my own. I must have enough virtue to smooth down my own rough comers and to overlook the unintentional sharpness of others so that I do not suffer excessively from them; I must have enough human kindliness and religious spirit to develop a healthy optimism and always to take things in good part.
And if I must get angry sometimes, let it be with myself and not with others.
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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
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