We who are alive today have lived in extraordinary times. Never in history were so many ordinary people lured off the narrow way by so many lying signs, technological wonders and temptations. Few of us have walked through it unwounded.

There is little romanticism in not being a hero. Many of us men and women crawl through our own failures, betrayals and sins, and only very slowly rise from it all into painful consciousness and confrontation with oneself. When the fullness of time comes we learn that while we are not by any stretch perfect we can begin walking and stumbling forward instead of backwards, we can love and stay close to Christ in the Gospels and Sacraments, do penance and pray for any whom we may have hurt —as well as for all other penitents who are likewise awakening everywhere.

All of this in the end is sign of the grace of Christ who does not forsake any who cling to His Cross.

The regrets which come late in life, painful as these can be, are proofs of a conscience illuminated by the Light of the world. We have only not to resist.

Proverbs 24:16 “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”

—See The Christian May Not Despair

Steadying Calm

“…Whensoever you urgently desire to be delivered from any evil, or to attain some good thing, strive above all else to keep a calm, restful spirit, steady your judgment and will, and then go quietly and easily after your object, taking all fitting means to attain thereto. By easily I do not mean carelessly, but without eagerness, disquietude or anxiety; otherwise, so far from bringing about what you wish, you will hinder it, and add more and more to your perplexities. “My soul is alway in my hand, yet do I not forget Thy Law,” David says.

-Examine yourself often, at least night and morning, as to whether your soul is “in your hand;” or whether it has been wrested thence by any passionate or anxious emotion. – See whether your soul is fully under control, or whether it has not in anywise escaped from beneath your hand, to plunge into some unruly love, hate, envy, lust, fear, vexation or joy. And if it has so strayed, before all else seek it out, and quietly bring it back to the Presence of God, once more placing all your hopes and affections under the direction of His Holy Will.-Just as one who fears to lose some precious possession holds it tight in his hand, so, like King David, we ought to be able to say, “My soul is alway in my hand, and therefore I have not forgotten Thy Law.”-Do not allow any wishes to disturb your mind under the pretext of their being trifling and unimportant; for if they gain the day, greater and weightier matters will find your heart more accessible to disturbance.

-When you are conscious that you are growing anxious, commend yourself to God, and resolve steadfastly not to take any steps whatever to obtain the result you desire, until your disturbed state of mind is altogether quieted;–unless indeed it should be necessary to do something without delay, in which case you must restrain the rush of inclination, moderating it, as far as possible, so as to act rather from reason than impulse.” — St. Francis de Sales,  Introduction to the Devout Life

Psalm 103

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor requite us according to our iniquities.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

13 As a father pities his children,
    so the Lord pities those who fear him.

14 For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust

“May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world— St. Paul, Galatians 6:14

“Love covers a multitude of sins” — 1 Pet. 4:8

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” — Mark 1:14,15

— Saint Francis de Sales’ Consoling Words on Forgiveness and Self knowledge

“The persons for whom I write are those who are determined not to commit any fault deliberately, but who may stumble through surprise, inadvertence, and weakness, notwithstanding their resolution.

It usually happens that such persons are astonished and troubled at their faults, conceive a false shame for them, and fall into vexation and discouragement. These are the effects of self-love, and are much more pernicious than the faults themselves. We are surprised at falling: an evident mark that we scarcely know ourselves. We ought, on the contrary, to be surprised at not falling more frequently, and into more grievous faults, and to return thanks to God for the dangers from which He preserves us. We are troubled every time that we are beguiled into some fault, lose interior peace, are agitated, and spend hours, even days, thinking of it.

We should never be troubled; but when we find ourselves on the ground, arise tranquilly, return to God with love, ask His forgiveness, and reflect no more on what has occurred, unless when it is necessary to accuse ourselves of it.

We have a false shame for our faults; we can hardly venture to discover them to our confessor. “What idea will he have of me after so many promises, so many assurances, I have given him?”

If you declare your faults simply and humbly, he will have more esteem for you. If you have a difficulty in telling them to him, his confidence in you will diminish on account of your want of sincerity.

But the worst of all is that we are vexed at being vexed, and impatient at being impatient. What a misery! Should we not see that this is pride, that we are humbled on finding ourselves less holy than we had imagined, that we aspire to be exempt from imperfections and faults only in order to applaud and congratulate ourselves on having spent one day or week without much matter of reproach?

In fine, we are discouraged… we abandon our exercises one by one; we give up prayer … What will this constraint, we say, this continual watching over oneself, this struggle after recollection and mortification, avail us, since we correct nothing, fall incessantly, and never become better? There is not a craftier snare of the demon than this.

Would you wish to be protected from it? Never be discouraged, and no matter what fault you happen to commit, say: Though I should fall twenty times, or a hundred times, a day, I will arise at every fall, and pursue my course. What does it amount to, after all, that you should have met with some accidents on the way, provided you safely reach the journey’s end? God will not reproach you after your recovery.” — From Consoling Thoughts on Trials of an Interior Life” by St. Francis de Sales

—- The Christian May not Despair

John Paul II: “To do penance means, above all, to re-establish the balance and harmony broken by sin, to change directions at the cost of sacrifice” ( John Paul II, Reconciliation and Penance, 26)

“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being;
    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow…

Hide thy face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.”…

Then I will teach transgressors thy ways,
    and sinners will return to thee. … – Psalm 51

“Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” — DT Niles