“The grace of forgiveness is larger than the horror of losing a child or the betrayal of adultery. It’s so large as to be unimaginable until (and even after) the moment that it is offered.
Perhaps one reason that Hamilton couldn’t imitate St. Therese and flee temptation is that he had no idea what he would be running toward. The largeness of God’s mercy (and his wife’s) was too much to be believed until he experienced it.
Unless we can have faith in the unimaginable depth of mercy, there’s nowhere to run from temptation. Sin will seem to exceed the power of salvation. When Hamilton falters, he begs for the will to say “No” to his temptation, but he leaves out any plea for something to say “Yes” to in his marriage.”