"My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection. In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces. The devil, instead, tries to inject in us discouragement and internal depression in those circumstances, which is, in fact, nothing else than our pride surfacing again. If we knew the depth of our poverty, we would not be at all surprised by our falls, but rather astonished, and we would thank God, after sinning, for not allowing us to fall even deeper and still more frequently.” (St. Maximillian Kolbe) 

To fall into sin shows our human weakness when we depend on our own strength and power to overcome the Evil One. To rise quickly and return to the Lord depends not on our own ability but on the grace of God. The longer we stay in sin the greater the hold of Satan has over us. The quicker we return to the Lord, repentant of our weakness, the surer is the love of God holding us up. We can only avoid sin because of the grace and mercy of God, who loves us beyond measure. Remain in his love and you will remain free from sin.