Little faults become great in our eyes in proportion as the pure light of God increases in us, just as the sun in rising reveals the true dimensions of objects which were dimly and confusedly discovered during the night. Be sure that, with the increase of the inward light, the imperfections which you have hitherto seen will be beheld as far greater and more deadly in their foundations than you now conceive them, and that you will witness, in addition, the development of a crowd of others, of the existence of which you have not now the slightest suspicion. You will find the weaknesses necessary to deprive you of all confidence in your own strength; but this discovery, far from discouraging, will but serve to destroy your self-reliance, and raze to the ground the edifice of pride. Our faults, even those most difficult to bear, will all be of service to us if we make use of them for our humiliation without relaxing our efforts to correct them. We must bear with ourselves without either flattery or discouragement, a mean seldom attained. Utter despair of ourselves, in consequence of a conviction of our helplessness and unbounded confidence in God, is the true foundation of the spiritual edifice. Discouragement is not a fruit of humility, but of pride; nothing can be worse. Suppose we have stumbled, or even fallen, let us rise and run again; all our falls are useful if they strip us of a disastrous confidence in ourselves, while they do not take away a humble and salutary trust in God. Carefully purify your conscience from daily faults; suffer no sin to dwell in your heart; small as it may seem, it obscures the light of grace, weighs down the soul, and hinders that constant communion with Jesus Christ which it should be your pleasure to cultivate; you will become lukewarm, forget God, and find yourself growing in attachment to the creature. The great point is never to act in opposition to the inward light, but be willing to go as far as God would have us. Motives. God does not so much regard our actions as the motives of love from which they spring, and the pliability of our wills to His. Men judge our deeds by their outward appearance; with God, that which is most dazzling in the eyes of men is of no account. What He desires is a pure intention, a will ready for anything and ever pliable in His hands, and an honest abandonment of self; and all this can be much more frequently manifested on small than on extraordinary occasions; there will also be much less danger from pride, and the trial will be far more searching. Indeed, it sometimes happens that we find it harder to part with a trifle than with an important interest; it may be more of a cross to abandon a vain amusement than to bestow a large sum in charity.