WITH CHARITY AND PATIENCE
My good Jesus,
I know that
love of you should never be separated from true love of our neighbour. …
And so, from now on,
all that God has given me I will no longer consider as my own,
but all of it granted me to be used for the benefit of my neighbour.
Life, health and talent, thoughts, words and actions,
things I possess and whatever I may have in future,
I will use for the benefit and relief of my dear brethren. …
I will hold the youth most dear to my heart.
I will especially care for those girls who are most dissipated and most far from you.
Such girls I will tirelessly pursue
and try by all means to gain their confidence
and then win them over to you.
If my loving attentions are of no avail,
I will not give up but rather redouble my efforts
and with a holy concern I will follow close at their heels,
and not desist till I see every one of them safely yours.
Regarding the illiterate,
I will spare no pains.
With charity and patience,
I will teach them all the little I have learnt.
Nor will I hesitate to go myself
to seek all those persons who are in need of instruction:
I will use the kindest attentions towards such as these.
– VOW OF CHARITY (1829) OF ST. BARTOLOMEA CAPITANIO,
