This, my sisters, is what I would have us strive for—to offer our petitions and to practice prayer, not for our own enjoyment but to

Let us endeavor to do our best: beware of the poisonous reptiles— that is to say, the bad thoughts and aridities which are often permitted by God to assail and torment us so that we cannot repel them. Indeed, perchance we feel their sting! He allows this to teach us to be more on our guard in the future