1. to recognise that all good comes from God. If there by any good in you at all, it comes from God. So if you do, think or say anything good, know for certain that this proceeds from God.
2. to recognise that all good comes to us through grace. If you have any good from God, if you have any at all, you did not obtain it by yourself, but by grace and the mercy of God. All the good you have from God is not from your own works, but from the mercy of God.
3. to see the virtues of others and to be blind to one’s own. There are many who know that all good comes from God and through His grace, but think that they are more blessed than others. They are full of themselves, and are like the pharisees.
4. to recognise one’s own faults. We must not only realise that we are lacking in good, but that we are full of self-love, bad inclinations, and passions, and that we have sinned greatly. 'Who art Thou, my God, and who am I?', questioned St. Francis. We are nothing.
5. to see oneself as the vilest …More