I needed to hear this....
"It is better to punish our own impatience and pride than to correct the boys. We must be firm but kind and patient with them. Take as a model the charity of Paul which he showed to his new converts. They often reduced him to tears and entreaties when he found them lacking docility and even opposing his loving efforts.
"See that no one finds you motivated by impetuosity or willfulness. It is difficult to keep calm when administering punishment, but we must do so if we are to keep ourselves from spilling out our anger.
"Let us regard the boys as our own sons. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better. This was the method Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a kindness and affection that caused some to be shocked, others to be scandalized, and still others to hope for God's mercy. And so he bade us to be 'gentle and humble of heart.'
"They are our sons, and so in correcting their mistakes we must lay aside all anger and restrain it so firmly that it is extinguished entirely.
"There must be no hostility in our minds, no contempt in our eyes, no insult on our lips. We must use mercy for the present and have hope for the future, as is fitting for true fathers who are eager for real correction and improvement."
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