Words of wisdom from our saint for March 31

March 31 is the Feastday of St  Innocent of Alaska.   While he was mostly a 'man of action' his work  Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven is a written guide for a spiritiually healthy life.  Here is an excerpt...

In time of sorrow do not seek comfort from people. Most people are not experienced
in affairs of salvation and are poor advisors. Make the Lord your only helpmate,
comforter, and tutor, and from Him alone ask help. The man to whom the Lord sends
afflictions is blessed a hundredfold, because it is afflictions that cure our souls. In
enduring sorrows, a Christian is likened to Jesus Christ, who suffered for us. We
should consider sorrows a gift from the Lord and a sign of His care for our salvation.
If you bear your cross with perseverance and seek comfort only from Him, then He,
through His mercy, will not abandon you but will touch your heart and will impart to
you the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is then that you will feel an indescribable delight, a
wonderful inner peace and joy such as you have never experienced before, and at the
same time you will feel an influx of spiritual strength; prayer will become easier and
your faith stronger. Then your heart will be kindled with love of God and all people.
All these are gifts of the Holy Spirit.

When the Lord decides to honor you with such gifts, do not consider them as rewards
for your labors, and do not think that you have attained perfection. Such thoughts
come from pride. The comforts and grace of the Holy Spirit are not rewards but gifts
of divine mercy. Occasionally the Lord allows us to get a foretaste of future blessings
so that we will put forth a greater effort in seeking His eternal Kingdom.

 - Life of St. Innocent