Concerning your “failure” to guide your brother in his marriage and personal life, well, there are certain things that are beyond our control, one of which is one’s free will and thinking. Recall that our Lord could not even prevent Judas Iscariot from betraying Him or that He failed to convert His countrymen so that He wept, in frustration, over Jerusalem!
Someone made the analogy. You can lead a horse to a stream but you cannot force him to drink. How much more with humans? Perhaps you just have to wait until the horse has a thirst for water or, in the case of your brother, until he gets enlightened.
Here’s what St. Bonaventure says: “Do not become upset or impatient at the defects of other, for it would be foolish if upon seeing some fall into a ditch you should throw yourself into another uselessly.”
Don’t give up on one thing: Prayer. St. Monica prayed for the conversion of her son for almost 20 years – and her prayers bore fruit.
If a person does not change, change your attitude towards him. One of the hardest things to do in this world is to change the character of a person As a Chinese proverb goes: “It is easier to reshape a mountain or a river that a person’s character.” So better change yourself or lower you expectations.
When gloomy and negative thoughts pop up in our mind, vanish them. One way of doing it is to keep busy or to fill you mind with happy, optimistic thoughts.
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