These are the ripe fruits of the mortified soul: tolerance and understanding for the defects of others; intolerance for one's own. (The Way, 198)
Penance means being very charitable at all times towards those around you, starting with the members of your own family. It is to be full of tenderness and kindness towards the suffering, the sick and the infirm. It is to give patient answers to people who are boring and annoying. It means interrupting our work or changing our plans, when circumstances make this necessary, above all when the just and …