431. Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

Meditations no. 382 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Humility is the foundation for the whole of the Christian life.

We read in the Gospel a parable of our Lord that summarizes two possible responses to our Creator. Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

The Pharisee, although he thanks God for his situation, is blinded by his pride, which leads him to consider he has a right to scorn others. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” Jesus’ commentary is eloquent: I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Our “divinization” is bad if it blinds us, if it keeps us from seeing clearly that our feet are made of clay, since the touchstone for distinguishing good divinization from bad is humility. Therefore, our Founder wrote, our divinization is good if we don’t forget that it’s a gift, a grace from God; but it’s bad if we attribute to ourselves - to our deeds, our merits, our own excellence - the spiritual greatness bestowed on us.

Humble: always be humble, my children! For we know we are partly made of clay, and have some inkling of our pride and wretchedness… though we don’t know all of it. May we discover whatever is impeding our faith and our hope and our love!

Humility is essential for Christian life, for it is the dwelling place of charity. St Augustine wrote: If you ask me what is most essential in the religion and discipline of Christ, I will tell you: first, humility, second, humility, and third, humility. Without humility, there can be no interior life. And the fruit of our dedication and apostolate would only be a vain illusion. Our Father wrote: The foremost man of letters from Castile said that humility is the foundation for all the virtues. Without it, no virtue is worthy of the name.

Are you truly humble, my child? our Father asks us. Are you capable of mortifying your self-love for the sake of charity? Are you capable of accepting the humiliations that God asks from you, in small matters that don’t jeopardize the truth? Ask our Lord now to grant you humility, because over the years pride increases if it’s not remedied in time.

Imitating Christ’s example of humility.

The Gospel teaches us a clear lesson: We shouldn’t believe that we are the centre of the universe and that everything ought to revolve around us. And the worst thing is that if you fall into this defect, when someone tells you that you’re proud you won’t believe it. For while the humble person thinks he is proud, the proud person thinks he is humble.

Throughout his life, Jesus set us a constant example of humility. Although all-powerful, he wanted to appear as just another of the people of his day, like them in everything except sin. Each of you should also have this aspiration, my children: to pass unnoticed, to imitate Christ, who lived in obscurity for thirty years as the carpenter’s son. And also to imitate Mary, who, although the Mother of God, liked to call herself his slave: ecce ancilla Domini.

God wants us to be humble. But humility doesn’t mean you don’t strive to advance in your profession, in your ordinary work and, of course, in your spiritual life. It’s important to advance, but without seeking yourselves, and with an upright intention. We don’t live for earthly glory, nor for our own honour, but for the honour of God, for the glory of God, for the service of God. This alone moves us.

Therefore, I advise you, our Father stressed, not to look for praise, even when you deserve it. It is better to pass unnoticed, and to let the most beautiful and noble aspects of our actions, of our lives, remain hidden… What a great thing it is to become little! Deo omnis gloria! - All the glory to God. And the humility which Jesus has taught us to practise will bring us closer to God each day. Look how the tax collector prays in the temple. As St Augustine comments: He stood far off, and therefore God drew close to him. Not daring to raise his eyes to heaven, he possessed the one who created heaven and earth. Whether he is far away or not depends on you. Love, and he will draw near to you; love, and he will take up his abode in you.

Our Lord’s example leads us to forget about ourselves and give ourselves without reserve to others: you need a deeper dedication, so that you disappear through humility and mortification, and Christ comes to live in you: non ego, vivit vero in me Christus (it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me).

To be effective, we have to learn to be humble. It’s the ego, pride, that ruins everything. May you be concerned about the others, and forget about yourselves. Christ, the good of souls, the Church, and the Work all require this of you.

Knowledge of our own weaknesses should lead us to grow in humility.

Are you worried, our Founder asked, that your sins are so many that our Lord will not listen to you? It is not so, because Jesus is full of mercy. But if despite this marvellous truth you still feel how wretched you are, go to him like the publican did, and say, “Lord, here I am. It’s up to you.”

We can never forget that we are creatures, that we have nothing and can do nothing without our Creator. But with him, we can do all things. Therefore, we should lean firmly on God. Don’t be alarmed to know yourself as you are, made of clay. Don’t worry. For you and I are children of God, which is the good divinization. We are chosen by divine call from all eternity: He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. We are chosen vessels of God, instruments of his despite our poor wretchedness. But we will only be effective if we don’t lose our humility, if we don’t lose sight of our weakness.

Given our frequently-repeated experience of failing to be humble and our almost innate tendency, due to original sin, to overrate our own excellence and to underestimate virtue in others, we have to ask God to grant us deep and abiding humility, true self-knowledge, which will enable us to see ourselves as we really are. We can do so today using a prayer composed by our Father: Good Jesus, if I am to be an apostle, you will need to make me very humble.

Everything the sun touches is bathed in light. Lord, fill me with your clarity, make me share in your divinity, so that I may identify my will with your adorable Will and become the instrument you wish me to be. Give me the madness of the humiliation you underwent, which led you to be born poor, to work in obscurity, to the shame of dying sewn with nails to a piece of wood, to your self-effacement in the Blessed Sacrament.

May I know myself: may I know myself and know you. I will then never lose sight of my nothingness.

Jesus is waiting for us to draw close to him, so that he can fill us with his grace and make us humble. 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? If we seek the intercession of his Mother, who is our Mother as well, God will grant us the humility we need to grow in holiness and reach heaven.