"This is why I told you earlier that if those who eat at the table of penance are not truly humble, and if their penance becomes their chief concern rather than an instrument of virtue, they will often, by this sort of grumbling, sin against their very perfection. So they should not be foolish, but [...]
"Our personal sins are another source of profound humility and humiliation. I am a sinner, more of a sinner than all other men, for I could have and I might have done all that they have done. With as many graces as I, they would not have been so wicked as I. That is the [...]
"I began to fear more the terrible danger of pride if I did well than the disgrace if I did badly. There I was at a crossroad between fear and charity, not knowing which way was safe to take. If I spoke to any profit about humility I feared to be found lacking in it; [...]
"If you want to avenge yourself on the devil and free yourselves more quickly from temptation, ask the superior, as soon as a temptation comes to you, to give you some lowly office to do, or do some such thing, as best you can, on our own initiative, studying as you do it how to [...]
"When I say that compliments have no effect upon me, Mother, I am not referring to the love and confidence you have shown me; that, on the contrary, touches me deeply, but I feel that I need not be afraid of praise anymore and can enjoy it in all simplicity, attributing all that is good in me [...]
"Renounce self, then. Know for certain and for all time that of yourself you can never accomplish anything, neither here nor there, neither today nor to morrow, neither for this one nor for that one, and go ask God's help before beginning- anything whatsoever. This is true humility; to omit it, is stupidity." Source: [...]
"Nevertheless, there is a difference between humility and abjection; for abjection is the poverty, vileness, and littleness which exist in us, without our taking heed to them; but humility implies a real knowledge and voluntary recognition of that abjection. And the highest point of humility consists in not merely acknowledging one’s abjection, but in taking [...]
"So let silence or a holy argument for virtue be in your mouth to discourage vice. And when you think you discern vice in others, put it on your own back as well as theirs, acting always with true humility. Then if the vice is truly there, such people will change their ways all the [...]
"Here is the first-class humility that we ought to imitate… Let us then, refer all to God. Return to Him His graces, which He lends you only that you may make them fructify to His profit and glory. Do not pride yourselves on God's gifts. Do not appropriate them, as if they came from yourself, [...]
"I would not affect either folly or wisdom; for just as humility deters me from pretending to be wise, so simplicity and straightforwardness deter me from pretending to be foolish; and just as vanity is opposed to humility, so all affection and pretense are opposed to honesty and simplicity." Source: St. Francis de Sales, [...]