March 21
Temperance. No one is cured or cleansed from the stains of the body except the one who tries to bring it about. For God's favors are not granted to those who sleep but to those who watch. We must respond to divine grace, which means staying alert, and being quick to reject anything that might turn us away from God.

Our senses are like the doors of the soul. Our spiritual powers are fed by what the senses give them. Therefore, we must guard our senses, so as not to admit into our soul anything harmful.

Temperance is self-mastery. Not everything we experience in our bodies and souls should be given free rein. Nor should we to do everything we can do. It is easier to let ourselves be carried away by so-called natural impulses, but this road ends up in sadness and isolation in our own misery.

To achieve happiness, you need a heart which is in love, not an easy life. If we appeal lovingly to our Lady, as her children, we will grow strong in temperance; and our heart, our senses, our whole life, will be filled with God.