What a mercy is humiliation to a soul that receives it with steadfast faith! Our Lord bestows His grace upon the humble.
Humility renders us charitable towards our neighbor; nothing will make us so tender to the faults of others as a view of our own.
Humility produces charity. The soul that has seen its own faults clearly — cannot be harsh toward others. The forgiven soul loves much. The 500 denari soul knows this from the inside.
Two things produce humility when combined:
The first is a sight of the abyss from which the all-powerful hand of God has snatched us, over which He still holds us suspended in the air.
And the other is the presence of that God who is ALL.
Scougal's two kinds of humility in Fénelon's words. The abyss below — and the Infinite above. The creature suspended by the all-powerful hand. Both views necessary. The abyss alone: despair. The presence alone: presumption. Together: humility. The midnight in Lubbock — the abyss. The mornings with the Word — the presence of God who is ALL. Both produce the humility that lasts.
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.
Our faults, even those most difficult to bear, will all be of service to us.
They are! Repent, God forgives and teaches you to do better! 🙏
Le's response is the most practical theology in the journal: repent, God forgives, He teaches you to do better. No wallowing. No discouragement. The fault is seen. The repentance is real. God forgives. And the teaching comes through the failing itself. The fault becomes the classroom. This is not cheap grace — Le says repent. The fault is taken seriously. But taken to God — not carried alone. God does what only God can do: forgive and teach. Both. Together. Always.
It does no good to be discouraged; it is the result of a disappointed and despairing self-love.
The true method of profiting by our faults is to behold them in all their deformity, without losing our hope in God, and without having any confidence in ourselves.
Discouragement is disappointed self-love. Not humility. Self-love. The soul that expected better of itself — and the expectation was pride. Every I should be past this is pride's voice. True humility sees the fault and does not flinch — but hopes in God and places no confidence in self. The fault is real. The hope is in God. The confidence in self is gone. That is the balance Le lives: repent, God forgives, He teaches you to do better. 🙏
"Repent, God forgives and teaches you to do better!"
Le · Caldas da Rainha · July 15, 2026 · No wallowing — the fault becomes the classroomThe Abyss and the ALL
Two things produce humility: the abyss from which God snatched us, and the presence of God who is ALL. Together: humility.
Faults That Serve
Even the hardest faults serve us — if used for humiliation without relaxing correction. Repent, God forgives, teaches you to do better.
Disappointed Self-Love
Discouragement is not humility — it is disappointed self-love. Every "should" is pride's voice. True humility hopes in God alone.
Tender Toward Others
Nothing makes us so tender to the faults of others as a view of our own. Humility produces charity. The forgiven soul loves much.