The Visitation shows Mary’s humility and charity

St. Frances de Sales shows how the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth illustrates the truth that humility and charity go together. 

Our Lady was not satisfied with having humbled herself before the divine Majesty, for she well knew that humility and charity are not in their perfection until they are transmitted to their neighbor. From the love of God proceeds love of neighbor, and the great apostle says that the greatness of your love for your brothers will be directly proportioned to the greatness of your love for God (see Rom 13:8; Gal 5:14; Eph 5:1–2). St. John teaches us this when he writes: “How can it be that you love God, whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor, whom you do see” (1 Jn 4:20)? 

If we then wish to prove that we do indeed love God, and if we wish others to believe us when we assure them of this, we must love our brothers well, serve them, and assist them in their necessities. Now the holy Virgin, knowing this truth, set out promptly, says the evangelist, proceeding in haste into the hill country of Judah (see Lk 1:30), into the town of Hebron or, as others say, Jerusalem (it matters little), to serve her cousin Elizabeth in her advanced age and pregnancy. 

In this she manifested great humility and charity; for as soon as she saw herself Mother of God, she humbled herself to the point of immediately setting out on the road to go help and assist that good woman. —St. Francis de Sales, Sermon for the Feast of the Visitation

Thigpen, Paul. A Year with Mary: Daily Meditations on the Mother of God (p. 425). Saint Benedict Press. Kindle Edition. 

When pride takes hold

 

April 29, 2022

“You... proud? About what?”

You... proud? About what? (The Way, 600)

When pride takes hold of a soul, it is no surprise to find it bringing along with it a whole string of other vices: greed, self-indulgence, envy, injustice. The proud man is always vainly striving to dethrone God, who is merciful to all his creatures, so as to make room for himself and his ever cruel ways. We should beg God not to let us fall into this temptation. Pride is the worst sin of all, and the most ridiculous. If, with its multiple delusions, it manages to get a hold, the unfortunate victim begins to build up a facade, to fill himself with emptiness, and becomes conceited like the toad in the fable which, in order to show off, puffed itself up until it burst. Pride is unpleasant, even from a human point of view. The person who rates himself better than everyone and everything is constantly studying himself and looking down on other people, who in turn react by ridiculing his foolish vanity. (Friends of God, 100)

https://opusdei.org/en/dailytext/you-pride-about-what/

Felix culpa! ‑‑ O happy fault!

 

April 28, 2022

“Ask for true humility”

Humility is born of knowing God and knowing oneself. (The Forge, 184)

Those periods of depression, because you see your defects or because others discover them, have no foundation ... Ask for true humility. (Furrow, 262) Let us flee from the false humility which is called comfort-seeking. (Furrow, 265) Lord, I ask for a gift from you: Love, a Love that will cleanse me. And another gift as well: self‑knowledge so that I may be filled with humility. (The Forge, 185) The saints are those who struggle right to the end of their lives, who always get up each time they stumble, each time they fall, and courageously embark on their way once more with humility, love and hope. (The Forge, 186) If your mistakes make you more humble, if they make you reach out more urgently for God's helping hand ‑‑ then they are a road to sanctity. Felix culpa! ‑‑ O happy fault!, the Church sings. (The Forge, 187) Humility teaches each soul not to lose heart in the face of of its own blunders. True humility leads us to ask for forgiveness. (The Forge, 189)

https://opusdei.org/en/dailytext/ask-for-true-humility/

“Where there is humility, there is wisdom”

 

April 27, 2022

“Where there is humility, there is wisdom”

Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae -- because he has looked graciously upon the lowliness of his handmaid ... I am more convinced every day that authentic humility is the supernatural basis for all virtues! Talk to Our Lady, so that she may train us to walk along that path. (Furrow, 289)

If we turn to Sacred Scripture we will see that humility is absolutely necessary when we are making ready to listen to God. ‘Where there is humility, there is wisdom’, says the book of Proverbs. Humility means looking at ourselves as we really are, honestly and without excuses. And when we realise that we are worth hardly anything, we can then open ourselves to God’s greatness: it is there our greatness lies. How well Our Lady, Jesus’ Holy Mother, understood this! She, the most exalted of all God’s creatures that have existed or ever will exist upon this earth! Mary glorifies the power of Our Lord, who ‘has put down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly’. And she sings of how his divine providence has once again been fulfilled in her: ‘because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid, behold henceforth all generations shall call me blessed’. Mary becomes transformed in holiness in the depths of her most pure heart on seeing the humility of God: ‘the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you; and therefore the Holy One to be born of you shall be called the Son of God’. The Blessed Virgin’s humility is a consequence of that unfathomable depth of grace which comes into operation with the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity in the womb of his ever Immaculate Mother. (Friends of God, 95-96) https://opusdei.org/en/dailytext/where-there-is-humility-there-is-wisdom/

How things are...

 

April 26, 2022

“It is a great thing to know oneself to be nothing before God”

It is a great thing to know oneself to be nothing before God, because that is how things are. (Furrow, 260)

Allow me to remind you that among other evident signs of a lack of humility are: --Thinking that what you do or say is better than what others do or say; --Always wanting to get your own way; --Arguing when you are not right or -- when you are -- insisting stubbornly or with bad manners; --Giving your opinion without being asked for it, when charity does not demand you to do so; --Despising the point of view of others; --Not being aware that all the gifts and qualities you have are on loan; --Not acknowledging that you are unworthy of all honour or esteem, even the ground you are treading on or the things you own; --Mentioning yourself as an example in conversation; --Speaking badly about yourself, so that they may form a good opinion of you, or contradict you; --Making excuses when rebuked; --Hiding some humiliating faults from your director, so that he may not lose the good opinion he has of you; --Hearing praise with satisfaction, or being glad that others have spoken well of you; --Being hurt that others are held in greater esteem than you; --Refusing to carry out menial tasks; --Seeking or wanting to be singled out; --Letting drop words of self-praise in conversation, or words that might show your honesty, your wit or skill, your professional prestige ... ; --Being ashamed of not having certain possessions ... (Furrow, 263) https://opusdei.org/en/dailytext/know-yourself-to-be-nothing-before-god/

Acquire humility

 

Imitate the humility of Mary

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . . How do I respond to words of praise from others? Do I imitate the humility of Mary? 

CLOSING PRAYER From a prayer of St. Bernard of Clairvaux: You, Mary, are the beautiful garden in which God has planted all the flowers that adorn the Church—among others, the violet of your humility, the lily of your purity, the rose of your charity. With whom can we compare you, O mother of grace and beauty?

Thigpen, Paul. A Year with Mary: Daily Meditations on the Mother of God (pp. 405-406). Saint Benedict Press. Kindle Edition. 

The Four Types of Pride and How to Root Them Out

 The Four Types of Pride and How to Root Them Out (catholicexchange.com)

The least speck

 

Cowardly Leadership

I don't know where to put this reflection on today's Palm Sunday gospel - so here I will put it here. This is an important cautionary tale to leaders. Be careful of the cowardly, tendency to acquiesce to the demands of the mob.  If you know what is right to do, than do the right thing - that is the call to courageous leadership. 

Initially, Pilate knows the right thing to do and resists the crowd saying "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him, nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us. So no capital crime has been committed by him. Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.”

But the crowd demands the blood of this man and Pilate relents. How many times in our current times do we see the same cowardly behavior in leadership, in media, in ourselves? Be brave!! We know the right thing to do, we only need to be courageous enough to do it. God help us! God save us! Amen.

On hearing this Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean;
and upon learning that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction,
he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time.
Herod was very glad to see Jesus;
he had been wanting to see him for a long time,
for he had heard about him
and had been hoping to see him perform some sign.
He questioned him at length,
but he gave him no answer.
The chief priests and scribes, meanwhile,
stood by accusing him harshly.
Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked him,
and after clothing him in resplendent garb,
he sent him back to Pilate.
Herod and Pilate became friends that very day,
even though they had been enemies formerly.
Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people
and said to them, “You brought this man to me
and accused him of inciting the people to revolt.
I have conducted my investigation in your presence
and have not found this man guilty
of the charges you have brought against him,
nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us.
So no capital crime has been committed by him.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.”

But all together they shouted out,
“Away with this man!
Release Barabbas to us.”
— Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion
that had taken place in the city and for murder. —
Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus,
but they continued their shouting,
“Crucify him!  Crucify him!”
Pilate addressed them a third time,
“What evil has this man done?
I found him guilty of no capital crime.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.”
With loud shouts, however,
they persisted in calling for his crucifixion,
and their voices prevailed.
The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted.
So he released the man who had been imprisoned
for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked,
and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.

Palm Sunday Readings

And furthermore, "The Master has need of it"

accept the gift of Jesus Christ’s healing love

This is the No given because we want to make the world for ourselves and are not ready to accept it as a gift from God. “Sooner remain in debt than pay with a coin that does not bear our own portrait—that is what our sovereignty demands”, as Nietzsche once said. The camel will not go through the eye of the needle; it sticks its proud hump up, so to speak, and is thus unable to get through the gate of merciful kindness. 

I think we all ought to ask ourselves, right now, whether we are not just like those people whose pride and vainglory will not let them be cleansed, let them accept the gift of Jesus Christ’s healing love. 

Besides this refusal, which arises from the greed and the pride of man, there is, however, also the danger of piety, represented by Peter: the false humility that does not want anything so great as God bending down to us; the false humility in which pride is concealed, which dislikes forgiveness and would rather achieve its own purity; the false pride and the false modesty that will not accept God’s mercy. 

But God does not wish for false modesty that refuses his kindness; rather, he desires that humility which allows itself to be cleansed and thus becomes pure. This is the manner in which he gives himself to us.

Ratzinger, Cardinal Joseph. God Is Near Us (pp. 31-32). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition. 

charity will come to life