Cæsarius relates that in a certain monastery there was a Religious, upon whom God had so abundantly conferred the gift of miracles, that he cured the sick by the very touch of his habit or girdle. The abbot of the monastery taking notice of it, and not discerning any particular mark of sanctity in the Religious, took him aside, and forced him to discover whence it came, that God worked so many miracles by his means. I cannot conceive the reason, answered the Religious; for I do not fast more than others; I practice no more austerities and penances, than others; I neither work nor watch, nor do I spend more time in prayer and meditation than others do. All in reality I can say of myself is, that I am neither puffed up with prosperity, nor dejected with adversity; so that whatsoever happens, I am never discomposed, or troubled in mind; and in all the misfortunes which are annexed to this life, whether they fall upon me in particular, or my brethren in general, I always, notwithstanding, retain equal temper and peace of mind, as before. But were you not somewhat concerned, replied the abbot, when the enemy put fire to our farm and burnt it down? Not in the least, said the Religious; I was not at all troubled thereat: because I have long since resigned all things into the hands of God: and so, let whatever happen, whether good or bad, great or small, I receive them with equal thanksgiving, as coming from the hand of the Almighty. By this, the abbot clearly understood that doubtless this resignation was the cause of the many miracles which God wrought by this holy man. (Op. Cit. Volume I of III, The Eighth Treatise - Of Conformity to the Will of God).
--St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
