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128 ened himself beforehand with the practice of the contrary virtue.

This advice, however, must not be followed when sins of the flesh are concerned, of which we have before spoken more particularly.

HAT you should accept the opportunities which present themselves of acquiring virtue is not enough, beloved; you should also sometimes seek them, as things of great price and value, and ever embrace them joyfully as soon as they appear; and the more distasteful they are to nature, the more dear and precious should they be esteemed. This, by the Divine assistance, you will be enabled to do, if you will bear in mind the following considerations.

One is, that opportunities are means adapted, nay, necessary for acquiring virtues. Hence, when you are seeking virtues from the Lord, you are by a necessary consequence asking also for opportunities, else your prayer would be vain, and you would be contradicting your own