If you are doing God’s work, how is it that you feel discouraged? The more difficult things become, the happier you should be, just as Peter and John were after they had been flogged: “They left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name.”(Acts 5:41)
When you are successful, give thanks to God. When you fail, likewise give thanks to God, for it is when you fail that he tests your commitment to his work. In fact, to be joyful and courageous during times of failure is much more difficult than being joyful in times of good fortune: you can count the number of heroes of the first kind with the fingers of one hand.
Card. François-Xavier Van Thuan
The Road of Hope
New City, London, 200 p.114