The practice of Humility - 44

Go to your prayer aware of your unworthiness and vileness, with holy awe for the presence of the supreme Majesty to whom you dare to speak to: “Shall I be so bold as to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes” (Gen 18:27). If you receive any extraordinary favor, consider yourself unworthy of it; do not be vain, attributing it to your merits; God granted it to you out of generosity and compassion. If you do not receive any singular gift, do not feel at all disgruntled; rather, reflect on how much you still have to do to deserve it; consider how good and patient is God only to bear you at his feet, like a beggar crouching for hours at the door of the rich man to obtain a little alms, the relief of his misery.

J. Pecci (later Pope Leo XIII)