In the third letter you speak of the spitefulness,
intrigues, and untruths which have surrounded you on every side. I am not at
all surprised at this, no matter how much worse it might be. On the day you
decide, resolve, and bend every effort to work for the glory, honor, and service
of God our Lord, at that moment you join battle with the world and raise your
standard against it. You undertake to cast down what is lofty and embrace what
is lowly, resolving to accept equally exaltation or humiliation, honor or
dishonor, wealth or poverty, affection or hatred, welcome or repulse—in short,
the world's glory or all its insults.
We cannot give much importance to insults in this life when they are only words. All the words in the world will never hurt a hair of our heads. Malicious, vile, and wounding words cause us pain or contentment only through our own desires in their regard. If our desire is to possess the unconditional honor and esteem of our neighbors, we will never be solidly rooted in God our Lord, or remain unscathed when we meet with affronts.
Thus, to the very extent that I once took satisfaction at the world's offering you insults, I was pained to hear that your adversities, suffering, and hardships have driven you to have recourse to medicines. May it please the Mother of God that—so long as you maintain complete patience and steadfastness by considering the greater insults and affronts undergone for our sakes by Christ our Lord, and so long as there is no sin on the part of others—you might meet with even worse affronts so that you may merit more and more. If we fail to attain this patience, we have greater cause to complain of our own sensuality and flesh, and of our own failure to be as mortified and dead to worldly things as we ought, than of the persons who affront us. The latter are giving us an opportunity for greater profits than anyone can earn in this life, and greater wealth than anyone can amass in this world . . .
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