27 December 2021 Seasons of the Soul
I see that all of the seasons of the year converge in your soul: at
times you experience all the dryness, distraction, disgust and boredom of
winter; at other times, all the dew and fragrance of the little flowers in May
time; and again, the warmth of a desire to please God. All that remains is
autumn, and you say that you do not see much of its fruit. Yet it often happens
that in threshing the wheat and pressing the grapes we discover more than the
harvest or vintage promised. You would like it to be always spring or summer;
but no, dear daughter, we have to experience interior as well as exterior
changes. Only in heaven will everything be springtime as to beauty, autumn as
to enjoyment and summer as to love. There will be no winter there; but here
below we need winter so that we may practice self-denial and the countless
small but beautiful virtues that can be practiced during a barren season. Let
us go on our little way; so long as we mean well and hold on to our resolve, we
can only be on the right track.
Saint Francis de Sales
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