"God said, 'This is that sin which is never forgiven, now or ever: the refusal, the scorning, of my mercy. For this offends me more than all the other sins they have committed. So the despair of Judas displeased me more and was a greater insult to my Son than his betrayal had been.'" -St. [...]
"Most assuredly the sin of rash judgments is a spiritual jaundice, which makes everything look amiss to those who have it." Source: St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Random House, Inc., 2002.
"It would be better not to receive the body of Our Lord than to take It into our heart, if stained with habitual sins. He enters but with disgust. We do violence to Him. He is bound, and He obeys us. But at the hour of death, we shall see His vengeance! His voice will [...]
"If you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain good. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself." Source: Thomas a’ Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Dover Thrift Editions, 1940. [...]
"Some there are who seek to excuse and justify themselves to their own conscience, by assuming readily that others are guilty of the same faults, or as great ones, vainly imagining that the sin becomes less culpable when shared by many." Source: St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Random House, Inc., [...]
"Having lied to the Holy Spirit in Confession by hiding or disguising some sin, he dares, this wretch, to take his place among the faithful about to eat this bread, with a hypocritical look of respect! Ah! no, no, nothing prevents the monster; he goes forward to bring about his reprobation... Ah! is it not [...]
"One of the most evil dispositions possible is that which satirizes and turns everything to ridicule. God abhors this vice, and has sometimes punished it in a marked manner. Nothing is so opposed to Charity, much more to a devout spirit, as contempt and depreciation of one’s neighbor, and where satire and ridicule exist contempt [...]
"The first inducement to attain this second purification is a keen and lively apprehension of the great evils resulting from sin, by means of which we acquire a deep, hearty contrition." Source: St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Random House, Inc., 2002.
"Be sure, my daughter, that if you seek to lead a devout life, you must not merely forsake sin, but you must further cleanse your heart from all affections pertaining to sin; for, to say nothing of the danger of a relapse, these wretched affections will perpetually enfeeble your mind, and clog it, so that [...]
"I once saw three monks receive the same type of injury at the same time. The first felt it keenly, but did not speak; the second was delighted by the thought of the reward the injury would bring him and felt compassion for the wrongdoer; the third wept fervently at the thought of the harm [...]