Those who have treated us should say of us what their contemporaries said of the Lord: he went about doing good.... Our life should be full of works of charity and mercy, sometimes so small that they will not cause much noise: smiling, encouraging, joyfully rendering those small services that are part of living together, excusing the errors of our neighbor for which we will almost always find a good excuse.... This is a sign before the world, because by charity it will know us as disciples of Christ. It is also a reference for ourselves, for if we examine our posture before others, we will be able to ascertain promptly our degree of union with God.
If the nature of scandal is to break and destroy, charity composes, unites and heals, and itself facilitates the path that leads to the Lord. Good example will always be an effective way of counteracting the evil that, perhaps without realizing it, many sow in life. At the same time, it prepares the ground for a fruitful apostolate. "Let us never lose sight of the fact that the Lord has promised his efficacy to kind faces, to affable and cordial manners, to clear and persuasive words that direct and form without wounding: beati mites quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram, blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. We must never forget that we are men who deal with other men, even when we want to do good to souls. We are not angels. And, therefore, our appearance, our smile, our manners, are elements that condition the effectiveness of our apostolate".
If scandal tends to separate souls from God, the finest charity will push us to bring them to Him, to see to it that many find the door to Heaven. St. Teresa said that "He (God) appreciates a soul more if by our industry and prayer we could win it through his mercy, than all the services we can do for him "18. Let us never remain indifferent to evil. In the face of this moral sickness, our desire to make reparation and atonement to the Lord must increase, and our zeal for the apostolate must be reaffirmed. The greater the evil, the greater must be our eagerness to sow good. Let us also pray to the Lord for those who cause others to turn away from good, and for the souls who may be harmed by those words, that article, that television program.... The Lord will hear our prayer and St. Mary will give us special graces. When at the end of our lives we stand before Him, those acts of reparation and atonement will constitute a good part of the treasure we gain here on earth.