d. When you find
yourselves thus, lay aside all thinking on your own misery, and meditate
on the infinite mercy of God, and on the inexhaustible merit and grace of
Jesus Christ.

I was once considering what the reason was why our Lord loved humility in
us so much, when I suddenly remembered that He is essentially the Supreme
Truth, and that humility is just our walking in the truth. For it is a
very great truth that we have no good in us, but only misery and
nothingness, and he who does not understand this walks in lies: but he
who understands this the best is the most pleasing to the Supreme Truth.
May God grant us this favour, sisters, never to be without the humbling
knowledge of ourselves.

O Sovereign Virtues! O Ladies of all the creatures! O Empresses of the
whole world! Whoever hath you may go forth and fight boldly with all
hell at once. Let your soldiers not fear, for victory is already theirs.
They only fear to displease God. They constantly beseech Him to maintain
all the virtues in them. It is true these virtues have this property, to
hide themselves from him who possesses them, so that he never sees them
in himself, nor thinks that he can ever possess a single one of them.
Other men see all the virtues in him, but he so values them that he still
pursues them, and seeks them as something never to be attained by such as
he is. And Humility is one of them, and is Queen and Empress and
Sovereign over them all. In fine, one act of true humility in the sight
of God is of more worth than all the knowledge, sacred and profane, in
the whole world.

ON SORROW FOR SIN

It is indeed a very great misery to live on in this evil world where our
enemies are ever at our gate, and where we can neither eat nor sleep in
peace, but are compelled to have our armour on night and day. There is
no rest here, nor happiness, nor will be till we are with the
Everlastingly Blessed. As I write I am seized with terror, lest I should
never escape this sinful life. Pray for me, my daughters, that Christ
may ever live in me: for, otherwise, what security can there be for such
as I am, who have been so wicked. You may sometimes have thought, my
daughters, that those to whom the Lord particularly communicates Himself,
will be henceforth secure of enjoying Him for ever, and that they will
have no need to fear or bewail their former sins. But this is a great
mistake. Sorrow for sin increases in proportion as more and m