Therefore, the Lord waits, so that he may take pity on you. And therefore, he will be exalted for sparing you. For the Lord is the God of judgment. Blessed are all those who wait for him.
And you arrived and stood before me in this house, where my name is invoked, and you said: 'We have been freed because we carried out all these abominations.'
And I will give them one heart. And I will distribute a new spirit to their interior. And I will take away the heart of stone from their body. And I will give them a heart of flesh.
So may you remember and be confounded. And it will no longer be for you to open your mouth, because of your shame, when I will have been pacified toward you over all that you have done, says the Lord God."
And after this, the sons of Israel will return, and they will seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they will be terrified by the Lord and by his goodness, in the last days.
And he prayed to the Lord, and he said, "I beg you, Lord, was this not my word, when I was still in my own land? Because of this, I knew beforehand to flee into Tarshish. For I know that you are a lenient and merciful God, patient and great in compassion, and forgiving despite ill will.
'The Lord is patient and full of mercy, taking away iniquity and wickedness, and forsaking no one who is harmless. He visits the sins of the fathers upon the sons, to the third and fourth generation.'
So then, notice the goodness and the severity of God. Certainly, toward those who have fallen, there is severity; but toward you, there is the goodness of God, if you remain in goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
For within a great experience of tribulation, they have had an abundance of joy, and their profound poverty has only increased the richness of their simplicity.
May the eyes of your heart be illuminated, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and the wealth of the glory of his inheritance with the saints,
May their hearts be consoled and instructed in charity, with all the riches of a plenitude of understanding, with knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and of Christ Jesus.
But it was for this reason that I obtained mercy, so that in me as first, Christ Jesus would display all patience, for the instruction of those who would believe in him unto eternal life.
Instruct the wealthy of this age not to have a superior attitude, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who offers us everything in abundance to enjoy,
who had been unbelieving in past times, while they waited for the patience of God, as in the days of Noah, when the ark was being built. In that ark, a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.
And let the longsuffering of our Lord be considered salvation, as also our most beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
The Lord is not delaying his promise, as some imagine, but he does act patiently for your sake, not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting all to be turned back to penance.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will hear my voice and will open the door to me, I will enter to him, and I will dine with him, and he with me.