Grace Blending the Subtle with the Gentle

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Matthew 10:16

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the middle of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.…

Grace knows how to pick the good out of the evil, the jewel out of the oyster shell, the diamond from the dunghill, the sagacity from the serpent; and by a Divine chemistry it leaves the good which it takes out of the foul place as good as though it had never been there. Grace knows how to blend the most gentle with the most subtle; to take away from prudence the base element which makes it into cunning, and, by mingling innocence with it, produce a sacred prudence most valuable for all walks of life.

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