'We must not leave off our prayers because of distractions and restlessness of mind, although it seems useless to go on with them. He who perseveres for the whole of his accustomed time, gently recalling his mind to the subject of his prayer, merits greatly.'
-St. Philip Neri
"Thus with various scruples he (the devil) keeps them in constant alarm, seeking to distract them from their exercises, as if God has forgotten or forsaken them. Nothing can be more false than to believe this, for the advantages arising from distractions, spiritual dryness, and the like, are innumerable, provided the soul comprehends and complies with what God expects of her in those cirsumstances. And God only expects patience and perseverance. For the prayers and exercises of a soul, deprived of all satisfaction in what she does, is the delight of the Almighty, according to St.Gregory."
- Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat and A Treatise on Peace of Soul.
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