If any man will come after me, let him deny himself.... Besides accepting the Cross that comes to meet us, often without expecting it, we must seek other small mortifications to keep alive the spirit of penance that the Lord asks of us. In order to progress in the interior life, it will be of great help to have several fixed small mortifications, planned in advance, to do them every day.
These mortifications, sought out out of love for God, will be invaluable in overcoming laziness, the selfishness that surfaces at every moment, pride, etc. Some will make our work easier, taking into account details, punctuality, order, intensity, care of the instruments we use; others will be oriented to better live charity, especially with the people with whom we live and work: to know how to smile even if it costs us, to have details of appreciation towards others, to facilitate their work, to attend them kindly, to serve them in the small things of daily life, and never to turn on them, if we have it, our bad mood; other mortifications are oriented to overcome comfort, to keep the internal and external senses, to overcome curiosity; concrete mortifications in the food, in the care of the personal arrangement, and so on. It is not necessary that they be very great things, but that one acquires the habit of doing them with constancy and for the love of God.
Since the general tendency of human nature is to shun anything that involves effort, we must be very specific in this matter, so as not to remain only in good desires. For this reason, it will sometimes be very useful to write them down, so that we can review them during the exam or at other times of the day and not let them be forgotten. Let us also remember that the mortifications most pleasing to the Lord are those that refer to charity, to the apostolate and to the most faithful fulfillment of our duty.
Let us tell Jesus, at the end of our dialogue with Him, that we are ready to follow Him, carrying the Cross, today and every day.