ndoubtedly, it often happens that you try to correct certain depraved and dishonest people who are under your care, but every effort and concern is in vain. They are incorrigible, so they have to be put up with.

Such incorrigibles are already in the Church. How then will you separate yourself from them so that you are no longer burdened by them? Rather, be close to them: speak, exhort, coax, threaten, and correct them.

Prayer. Lord, hear my prayer, and let my soul not fail under your protection.

From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Augustine Day by Day: Minute Meditations for Every Day Taken from the Writings of Saint Augustine. Catholic Book Publishing Co. New York, 1986.

HTML text prepared by David P. Steelman