humility

"Only struggle a little more. Carry your cross without complaining. Don’t think you are anything special. Don’t justify your sins and weaknesses, but see yourself as you really are. And, especially, love one another."
(Saint Seraphim Rose)

This is sincere humility-- anchored in both honesty and compassion. Accept, admit, and confess that you are indeed a sinner, you are not special nor exempt from common pain, and you must struggle much to become holy. But none of that can coexist with self-hatred! Despite the most crushing meekness, virtues always blossom into love. Your sins cannot be justified, but they can be forgiven. You can do penance, with love. That is the gracious blessing, the gold vein hidden in the rock. In the end, for a Christian, the struggle becomes so sweet, despite its ache, for it is transformed through the Cross-- carried with love, for love, in love. There, we find purest joy, and the road to heaven.