Do not expect to acquire any one virtue without any sorrow and pains of the soul.
When you think of God multiply your prayers, so that God will remember you when you forget Him. In everything may your teacher be Our Lord Jesus Christ, looking upon Him with the eye of your mind ask yourself more often: in this case what would Jesus Christ have thought, said, or done? Be meek, quiet, humble, be silent and endure by the example of Jesus. He will not lay a cross upon you, which you are not able to carry. He Himself will help you carry your cross. Do not expect to acquire any one virtue without any sorrow and pains of the soul.
St. Platon, Bishop of Kostroma
