… As to the temptations that have come

… As to the temptations that have come to you now and those that might come in the future, pay them no particular attention, but take heed that you bear temptation with patience and thanksgiving, praying for those who offend you and calling upon their prayers. You need not fear temptation, for the God Who allows them to befall us will also preserve us amidst them. One must have a good disposition and fervor toward temptations, for through them Christ’s Cross is shown forth upon us; through them we are protected from vices; through them we are preserved in the virtues; and only by means of them is grace given. Do not justify yourself excessively before others, for even the Lord – Truth Himself and Righteousness

Himself – when He was standing before the Jewish high priests and Pilate, did not hide the truth from them, so as not to give them a cause for error. But, having said it in few words, He did not justify Himself further, but bore slanders and torments in silence, giving us an image of how to deny ourselves and bear the Lord’s Cross, that is, the afflictions sent by the Lord.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov