If you let your peace of mind depend on any particular person, my son, because you enjoy his affection and companionship, you will live an unsettled life and get entangled in your own feelings; but if you have recourse to the Truth that lives and remains forever, your friend will not make you sad even though he leaves you or dies. The love you have for your friend ought to rest on me; it is for my sake that they must be loved, those whose goodness appeals to you, those most dear to you in this life. Without me, no friendship will hold fast or endure; in every genuine and sincere love I am the connecting link. You ought to be so mortified in the affection you have for those you love that, as far as you are concerned, you could wish to do without human companionship altogether. The further a man goes from any comfort upon earth, the nearer he draws to God; the deeper he goes down within himself, the lower he sinks in his own estimation, so much the higher does he climb in his ascent towards God.
A man who attributes any goodness to himself puts up a barrier against the coming of God's grace, because it is always a humble heart that the grace of the Holy Ghost looks for. If only you would reduce your self-seeking to nothing, and empty your heart of love for anything created, my grace would be bound to flood your heart in fathomless streams. So long as you gaze at things created, you lose sight of him who created them. It is for the sake of that Creator that you must learn to overcome yourself in everything; you will then be enabled to come to the knowledge of God. If the love and interest you have for anything, no matter how trivial, is lacking in restraint, it is holding you back from attaining you highest goal, and doing you harm.
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