1. How sorrowful are you, my soul? And why are you embarrassing me? Trust in God, for we will confess to Him: (You are) the salvation of my face, and my God (Ps. 43:5). Why, O Lord, have you retreated far from me and despised me, who am in sorrow (Ps. 9:22)? Do not forsake me, O Lord my God, do not depart from me (Ps. 37:22). Everyone who works for You knows truly, Lord, that this life, if it is under trial, will be crowned, and if it is in sorrow, it will receive deliverance, and even in decay itself will not pass away by Your mercy. You do not rejoice over our destruction, but after the storm and waves you provide calm, and after crying and tears you pour out joy. Blessed be Thy name forever, O God of Israel!
Bring to memory also Christ the Lord, Who in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, due to immeasurable suffering, felt Himself abandoned by His Heavenly Father, and, feeling yourself in your present situation, existing on the cross, cry out from your heart with His words:
Thy will be done, Lord! Let it be, not as I want, but as You (Matt. 26:39)!
2. Lord my God! Look upon Thy servant, and Thy will be done on me. I know and confess that the truth of Your words is sure and Your promises are not false. And trusting in them, I stand without wavering on Your path.
When you are in difficulty, do not take any step without first lifting your eyes to Christ the Lord crucified on the cross. There you will see written in capital letters how you should behave in the sorrow you encounter. Blame this on yourself, not in letters, but in your actions, namely, when you feel attacks of self-loving self-pity, do not listen to them and do not come down from the cross in cowardice, but resort to prayer and endure with humility, trying to overcome your will and desire with a firm will, that God’s will be done on you. If you leave prayer with such fruit, rejoice and triumph. If you do not achieve this, then your soul will remain fasted, without tasting the food characteristic of it.
3. Lord! I will follow You wherever You go.
4. Lord, enslave all my freedom to love for You. Take for yourself my memory, my mind, my will. Grant me a heart that thinks only of what is Yours, a thought that loves You, a memory that is occupied with You, a mind that thinks of You.