Adapted from St. Francis De Sales Conference 20
Candidate: I am drawn to the religious life but I am not strong enough to do as I want. I’m afraid to begin this journey.
St. Francis De Sales: Courage, my dear daughter, I have 
told you several times that religion is a school in which to learn our lesson. The master does not require his scholars to know their lesson without making a mistake; it is enough if they pay attention to learning it as well as they can. Thus let us do what we are able, and God will be satisfied, and our superiors too.
Do not you see every day persons who are learning a sport? They often fall; as do those who are learning to ride, but they do not for that reason consider themselves overcome, for it is one thing to be sometimes beaten, and another to be absolutely conquered.
Candidate: ” Maybe I am unfit for religious life, because I have strong emotions.”
St. Francis De Sales: No, my dear daughter, this is not the case. Religion does not consider it a great triumph to fashion a mind already formed, a soul sweet and tranquil in itself, but it greatly esteems the reducing to virtue souls that are strong in their inclinations; for those souls, if they are faithful, will outstrip the others, acquiring by the point of the spirit what the others possess without any trouble
Candidate: I have no experience of living the vow of obedience!
St. Francis De Sales:You are very fortunate, my dear daughter, compared to us who are in the world. When we ask the way, one says, “It is to the right,” another, ” To the left:” and indeed they generally mislead us; but as for you, you have only to let yourselves be carried.
You are like those who travel by sea; the ship carries them, and they live in it without care; while they are reposing they make progress, and have nothing to do but to inquire whether they are well on their way; that is the duty of the sailors, who always seeing the beautiful star, that compass of the ship, know that they are in the right course, and say to the others who are in the ship; “Courage, you are making good way, let us go on without fear.”
This divine compass is our Lord: the boat is your rules; those who guide it, are the superiors, who usually say to you, ” Go on, sisters, in the punctual observance of your rules: you will arrive happily at God; He will lead you safely.”