- To resist discouragement is to resist pride.
- Notice your great frailty, which you very often experience in trivial matters.
- I'm nowhere near the man I want to be or hope to be.
Ch. 56: The Cross is how we must deny ourselves and imitate Christ. Without the Way, there is no going; without the Truth, there is no knowing; without the Life, there is no living (Jn 14:6). Christ is the Way to follow, the Truth to believe, the Life to hope for. If you would possess (enjoy) the blessed life, despise the present life (Jn 12:25).
Grant that I may imitate you in being looked down upon by the world (Jn 10:24). The life of a good monk is a Cross, but it leads to Paradise. [Contradiction and juxtaposition of Jn 14:6 with those who avoid Christ, cf. in Ch. 54. it is bet. nature and grace. No such thing as "my truth" and "your truth." True life, living, consolation, joy, peace, doesn't exist outside of Christ.]
Ch. 57: A person must not be too downcast when he fails in certain areas. [I want to be courageous, but I will fail. So easy to be discouraged when I've failed in virtue, when I've chosen sin. I'm nowhere near the man I want to be or hope to be. Overcome discouragement, which is always a sign of pride. I need to bear patiently with my own faults and my own failures.] Patience and humility in times of adversity are more pleasing to me than much consolation and devotion when things are good. Why does some accusation upset you? Notice your great frailty, which you very often experience in trivial matters. Grant a good end. Grant a happy passage from this life (out of this world).
We all like to think we’re stronger than we are—until life proves otherwise. Persevere with courage whenever we fall short or face adversity, trusting that God’s grace always meets us in our lowest moments to strengthen and renew us.
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