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 showers of  rain  and  thunderstorms,  but  at  the  summit, which is  raised  above  the  middle  region  of  the  atmosphere, there  is  a  perpetual  calm. In a  word,  they  are like Jesus  our  Saviour,  who,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  sorrows and  ignominies  of  his  Passion,  suffered  no  diminution of  his  peace. The more  the  saints  suffer,  the  more they rejoice  in  spirit,  knowing  that  in  accepting  their sufferings they  please  their  Lord,  whom  only  they  love. This David  experienced  when  he  said:  Thy  rod  and  thy staff,  they  have  comforted  me.  St.  Teresa  says:  "And  what greater  good  can  we  acquire  than  a  testimony  that  we please  God?" Father Avila  has  written:  "One  Blessed be  God,  in  adversity,  is  of  greater  value  than  a  thousand acts  of  thanksgiving  in  prosperity."

But such  a  religious  says:  I  accept  all  the  crosses  that come to  me  from  God,  such  as  losses,  pains,  and  infirmities; but  how  can  I  bear  so  much  maltreatment and such  unjust  persecutions? They that  thus  persecute me  are  certainly  guilty  of  sin,  and  God  does  not will sin. But, dear  sister,  do  you  not  know  that  all comes from  God? ''Good things  and  evil,  life  and  death,. . .  are  from  God.''  Prosperity  and  adversity,  life  and death, come  from  the  Lord. It is  necessary  to  know that in  every  action  there  is  a  physical  entity  which  belongs to  the  material  part  of  the  action,  and  a  moral entity that  appertains  to  reason:  the  moral  entity  of  the action, or  the  sin  of  the  person  who  persecutes  you,  belongs to  his  malice,  but  the  physical  entity  appertains  to the  divine  concurrence;  so  that  God  wills  not  the  sin, but he  wills  that  you  suffer  the  persecution,  and  it  is  he that  sends  it. When his  cattle  were  taken  away  from Job, God  did  not  will  the  sin  of  the  plunderers,  but  he willed  that  Job  should  suffer  the  loss. Hence, Job  said: