"Recite the Salve Regina every day and meditate on death"

"Father, I would like to change my life, but temptation is too strong for me."

Saint Philippe Neri looked at this young man of good will and gently encouraged him:

"Take courage, my child. I recommend only that you do two things: Recite the Salve Regina every day, and meditate on death. Force yourself to imagine your body decomposing deep in the earth, with two hollow sockets in the place of your eyes already devoured by worms. And ask yourself: Is it for this that I am running after physical pleasures and losing Heaven?"

Following both pieces of advice, the young man prayed every day to the Virgin of mercy, life and hope, and pondered upon death. With God’s grace he learned how to resist temptation until the very end.

Taken from: 365 jours d’espérance avec François-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, éditions du Jubilé.