My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23: 11-12). Humility is the most basic of all of the Christian virtues. In order to believe in God, we need to humble. Humility allows us to believe in someone greater than ourselves. In order to love, we need to be humble. Humility allows us to forget ourselves and love our neighbor. What is humility? If we were to research a proper definition, we would find that there are a number of definitions of this fundamental virtue.Of all of the definitions that I have come across, I find the definition from St. Theresa of Avila the most helpful. She said that humility is living in the truth (andar en la verdad). When you consider this definition carefully, it makes a lot of sense. We are supposed to live in the truth in our relationship with God, ourselves, and our neighbor. First of all, we need to remember that God is God and we are not. We live out our relationship with God by being lovingly obedient. Secondly, we live in the truth with ourselves by being just who we are and not trying to be something that we are not. Finally, we live in truth with our neighbor through mutual respect, kindness, and acceptance. Humble people are delightful to work with and easy to live with. Humble people make great friends and are always fun to be with. The opposite of the virtue of humility is pride. Pride is a very ugly sin that causes terrible disharmony, division and sadness. Humble people are people filled with joy and peace. Humble people know how to build community and be team players. Humble people are wonderful to be with because they are forgetful of themselves. Humble people are kind and compassionate to all those around them. The proud cultivate an inflated notion of their own consequence. They attribute to themselves those personal traits, abilities, or attributes that they may not really possess. Those who are ruled by pride yearn to be accounted superior to all others, to dominate them, to impose their own ideas upon them. Proud people constantly strive to be singled out, seeking honors and privileges that will set them apart from more commonplace people. The proud desire the esteem of other people. They thirst voraciously for adulation, and they thrive on it. They boast of their own qualities and achievements; ostentatious and pompous in their relationships with others, the proud are prone to hypocrisy, assuming the appearance of virtue in order to cover their vices. The only remedy for pride is the virtue of humility. Many of the ills that afflict our society can be resolved with a big dosage of humility. We always need to be on guard and never be dominated by the sin of pride. It is the sin that caused Lucifer to fall from heaven. M. Ignacia is an example of humility. She centered her life on the suffering Christ and tried to imitate him through a life of service and humility. She prayed earnestly to God and performed penances to move God to have mercy on them. Her spirituality of humble service was expressed in her capacity to forgive, to bear wrongs patiently and to correct with gentleness and meekness. This spirituality was manifest inpeace and harmony in the community, mutual love and union of wills, witnessing to the love of Christ and the maternal care of the Blessed Mother. As we recall Mother Ignacia submitted the 1726 Constitutions to the Archdiocesan office for approval. After the approval was given in 1732 by the FiscalProvisor of Manila, she decided to give up her responsibility as superior of the house. She lived as an ordinary member until her death on September 10, 1748 . The Jesuit, Murillo Velarde saw this as a great sign of her humility. She had no desire to command and control. In his estimation, she was a “true valiant woman” who overcame the great difficulties which she met in the foundation from the beginning to the end. She was “mortified, patient, devout, spiritual, zealous for the good of souls.” As devotees of Mother Ignacia we are called to imitate her way of life. Se is a paragon of humility. Let us gaze upon her example and live it in our daily lives. Life would be a lot easier if we all acquired this fundamental virtue. The only way that we can get into Heaven is by being humble. The door of life is a door of mystery. It becomes slightly shorter than the one who wishes to enter it. And thus only he who bows in humility can cross its threshold. The Litany of Humility O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being loved... From the desire of being extolled ... From the desire of being honored ... From the desire of being praised ... From the desire of being preferred to others... From the desire of being consulted ... From the desire of being approved ... From the fear of being humiliated ... From the fear of being despised... From the fear of suffering rebukes ... From the fear of being calumniated ... From the fear of being forgotten ... From the fear of being ridiculed ... From the fear of being wronged ... From the fear of being suspected ... That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I ... That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease ... That others may be chosen and I set aside ... That others may be praised and I unnoticed ... That others may be preferred to me in everything... That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should… Amen. Yours for the cause of Venerable Mother Ignacia, Ignacio Pecore MIM of USA
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 15:16:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015