A child is not afraid and places all its trust and certainty in God's promises, in God's faithfulness, in His love. Therefore, there is no room for discouragement or despair – such an attitude stems from self-love and resists the path of humility and poverty. Whenever we lose courage due to our imperfection and fall into despair, we harm ourselves more than through our falls because we thus deprive ourselves of the means that would allow us to rise again. Discouragement also shows how fragile our trust in God is.
(Mary David Totah, OSB /1957–2017/, Joy of God)
