Salmos 143

Salmos 143:4

Let that foe of yours upbraid you, but do you not upbraid him. Regard his words as a training ground in which to exercise philosophy. If you have not been pierced, you are still unwounded, and, if your spirit suffers some injury, confine the hurt within yourself; for the psalmist says, "my heart within me is troubled," that is, he gave no outward expression of his feelings but repressed them, as a wave that breaks against the shore and subsides. Quiet your heart, I beg you, when it howls and rages. Make your passions honor your reason, as an unruly boy respects the presence of a venerable man. — HOMILY