2. Our faults do not upset us
a. Effects of sorrow
"Sorrow that is according to God produces penance that surely leads to salvation, whereas the sorrow that is according to the world produces death."
---(2 Cor 7:10)
"True enough, it [sorrow] produces more bad effects than good; for it only has two good effects, namely compassion and repentance. But it has six evil effects, namely, anxiety, sloth, wrath, jealousy, envy and impatience."
---Joseph Tissot
b. The slow pace of progress
"Why do birds and animals remain entrapped in their nets? Because when they have entered tham, they get nervous, they flounder about in an unorganized way. And this makes them increasingly entangled... If we fall into the net of our imperfections, we will not escape from them if we get flustered. We will, on the contrary, entangle ourselves even more."
---St. Francis de Sales, Spiritual Works
"The slow pace of our perfection has to be borne with patience, provided that on our part we always do whatever we can to continue advancing."
---St. Francis de Sales, Talk 10, On obedience
"It is a good thing to repent with a repentance both strong and calm, both constant and serene; but not one which upsets us, causes disquiet or discourages us."
---St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the love of God, 10, 7
c. Being patient, not anxious
"Do not be over-concerned by the outbursts of your self-love, which, doubtless, are frequent. They will never become dangerous if, without getting annoyed with yourself because they are a nuisance, without becoming perplexed because they are so many, you serenely say, "No!" Move on, with simplicity. Do not be so anxious for peace of spirit -- then you will acquire it."
---St. Francis de Sales, Letter to a Mother Superior of the Visitation, 756
"Be patient with the whole world, but, above all, with yourself. I want to tell you not to lose your serenity because of your imperfections, and always have the zest to raise yourself up. It gives me joy to see that each day you begin again. There is no better way to finish life well than to return to the starting point always, and not ever to think that we have done enough."
---St. Francis de Sales, Letter to a lady, 185
d. True and false humility - their fruits
"With true humility, when the soul recognizes evil it becomes sad with a sorrow which is not accompanied by disquiet and agitation. It produces neither darkness nor dryness in spirit, but rather the opposite -- consolation. The soul is afflicted because it had offended God; but on the other hand, it dilates in the hope of his mercy. It has the light to feel ashamed, and to praise God who has suffered so much. Furthermore, in false humility which is given by the devil, there is no light for any good thing. It seems as though God has put fire and sword to everything. This is one of the most pernicious, subtle and cunning inventions of the devil which I have known."
---St. Teresa of Avila, Vie escrite par elle-meme, 30
"To be humiliated by one's own miseries [...] is a good thing and a few people understand it. To become agitated and to lose patience is something which the whole world does, because self-love plays a major part in this kind of disquiet."
---J.J. Allemand
"There are two classes of pride:
1. The one that is satisfied with itself - This is the one which is more usual and less dangerous.
2. The other is the one which is discontented with itself, because it expects a lot of itself and feels cheated in its hope. This second kind of pride is more subtle and more dangerous."
---Frederick Ozanam
e. Gentle treatment for the heart
"Do not torment your heart although it has, in some way, deviated. Take hold of it and return it gently to the straight and narrow."
---St. Francis de Sales, Letter to a nun, 261
"If you have some frustration, do not react; but without losing sight of it, humiliate yourself serenely before God and try to recover the serenity of your spirit. Tell your soul: "Forward! We have taken a wrong step. Let us go ahead slowly and carefully." And every time you fall, do the same."
---St. Francis de Sales, Letter to a lady, 151
"However, if anyone finds that his heart is not sufficiently moved by this mild manner of correction, he may use a sharp, severe reproach and rebuke so as to excite it to a deeper sorrow. This must be on condition that after he has curbed and chided his heart in this rough way, he encloses all his grief and anger with sweet, consoling confidence in God..." (cf Ps 42:5,6)
---St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, 3,9
f. Venial and mortal sin
"It is not necessary to add that in all this advice, so full of love, there should be no word which allows the soul to fall asleep in sin."
---Joseph Tissot
"One day when I was fortunate enough to speak to him on spiritual matters, I told him that venial sins, even if they were small, caused a certain disquiet and perturbation in the heart. I had hardly finished speaking when he replied: "Forgive me, but although we should detest venial sins they ought not to perturb us. For disquiet caused by self-love which is irritated by the work it has to do to practice the virtues and because each day we have to begin again. On the other hand, dissatisfaction is an effect of grace which inspires an aversion to everything which displeases our Creator.""
---Fr. La Riviere, Life of Blessed Francis de Sales, 3, 9
Our faults do not upset us
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