Let them know —and prove it— that you play on their team, that their lives are especially important to you, that their problems are your problems, that, in a certain way, their mistakes in their improvement are your failures as a formative agent. Let them feel that you are deeply committed to their Christian struggle, to their spiritual growth, no matter what it takes, no matter what you sweat. In that climate of trust, and only there, a demanding sincerity emerges from both sides.

Perfect growth can only be achieved in the balance between demand and affection.