I must consider those failures of mine which are usually called small, and which are generally overlooked. These are the cause of the slow, halting progress of my spiritual life. It is not a question of greater or less condescension or kindness on the part of God, it is a question of man's co-operation with him. His graces are always available; it is our failings which prevent their being of use to us.
--Pope St. John XXIII, Journal of a Soul
