Presuppose that we are going to commit many faults: if a child does not want to begin to walk for fear of failing, he will never learn to walk.

Be persuaded that we will have to feel the painfulness and the distastefulness of our faults; therefore these effects should never take us by surprise, but we should learn to bear them as penance for our faults and it will not be without great merit.

Pride too has its own manner of repenting, but such repentance consists in a useless sadness, which does not come from God and is not for God, but springs rather from not knowing our weakness and misery. Be aware that in such a case we waste our time, and sometimes we commit venial sins on account of imperfections.

Be aware that after a fall the evil spirit makes it seem difficult to return to ask God for forgiveness, and almost impossible to correct the fault. On the contrary, the good spirit reduces the difficulty, makes it easy to obtain forgiveness, gives us energy, and encourages us, persuading us at the same time that we cannot be without faults, but that by means of these we must humble ourselves the more, and seek pardon from God.

Separate the two parts in man; let the interior part examine, without having any regard for the animal part of man, the sourness and sensible disgust caused by our faults, and it will see that the sense of such great difficulty in asking forgiveness of God arises because we do not want to humble ourselves before his divine majesty, nor recognize our own miseries, nor give God the glory of being good and mercifully forgiving with us, as one who never wearies of granting pardon, and thus we will bear these disturbances with patience.

Hold as most certain that he gives great delight and honor to God who goes to him asking forgiveness.

Venerable Pio Bruno Lanteri (+1830) was an Italian priest who founded the Oblates of the Virgin Mary.