“I find afflictions to be good for me. I have always found them so. Afflictions are happy means in the hands of the Holy Spirit to subdue my corruptions, my pride, my evil passions, my inordinate love to the creature. Afflictions soften my hard heart, bring me to my knees, increase faith, increase love, increase humility, increase self-denial. Afflictions make me poor in spirit, and nothing in my own eyes.”
![“May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down my face make me more radiant: may my hidden weeping bloom… How we waste our afflictions!... [T]hey're really our wintering foliage, our dark greens of meaning…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7c7/rainer-maria-rilke-193_abode_may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and_52479.jpg)
