St. John the Evangelist, towards the close of his life, exhorted his brethren not to deny one another this support, but to foster mutual charity, which prompts the Christian to help his neighbour, and is one of the chiefest precepts of Jesus Christ, Who, true Lamb of God, endured, and carried on His shoulders, and on the wood of the Cross, all our sins--an infinitely heavy burden, nor to be borne by any but Him. The value set by our Blessed Father on this mutual support was marvellous, and he went so far as to look upon it as the crown of our perfection. He says on the subject to one who was very dear to him: "It is a great part of our perfection to bear with one another in our imperfections; for there is no better way of showing our own love for our neighbour." God will, in His mercy, bear with him who has mercifully borne with the defects of his neighbour. _Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you. Good measure of_ blessings, _and pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall they give into your bosom_.[2] [Footnote 1: Gal. vi. 2.] [Footnote 2: St. Luke vi. 37, 38.] UPON FRATERNAL CORRECTION. Speaking, my dear sisters, as he often did, on the important subject of brotherly or friendly reproof, our Blessed Father made use of words profitable to us all, but especially to those who are in authority, and have therefore to rule and guide others. He said: "Truth which is not charitable proceeds from a charity which is not true." When I asked him how we could feel certain that our reproofs were given out of sincere charity, he answered: "When we speak the truth only for the love of God, and for the good of our neighbour, whom we are reproving." He added: "We must follow the counsels of the great Apostle St. Paul, when he bids us reprove in a spirit of meekness.[1] "Indeed gentleness is the intimate friend of charity and its inseparable companion." This is what St. Paul means when he says that charity is _kind_, and _beareth all things_, and _endureth all things_.[2] God, who is Charity, guides the mild in judgment and teaches the meek. His way, His Spirit, is not in the whirlwind, nor in the storm, nor in the tempest, nor in the voice of many waters; but in a gentle and whispering wind. _Mildness is come upon us_, says the Royal Psalmist, _and we shall be corrected_.[3] Again Blessed Francis advised us to imitate the Good Samaritan, who poured oil and wine into the wounds of the poor wayfarer fallen among thieves.[4] He used to say that "to make a good salad you want more oil than either vinegar or salt."