Fear, insofar as it is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, has nothing in common either with the fear which seizes us in the presence of danger, or with the apprehension of sin which torments the scrupulous soul, or even with the Christian fear of the torments of hell. The fear of which we speak is a gentle fear, inspired by love and reverence for the eyes of God which are fixed upon us. For the sole reason that we love God, we are afraid, but without being troubled by it, that something may displease Him . . . This fear fills it [the soul] in prayer with a deep piety which banishes from it all languor and all pusillanimity, and which fixes the frivolity of mind in a state of recollection.
-- Hamon,
Meditations
