\GIVEN the temper of the times, what
with all the
increasing differences and conflicts we have in practically all
aspects of our life, we need to be heavily armed with humility.
Otherwise, there’s no way but to be carried away by our errant and
wayward impulses which are made worse because we can always justify
them with all sorts of excuses.
These differences and conflicts usually cause us to feel
provoked, and therefore to feel urged to react. Without humility, our
response will most likely be at the mercy of our emotions and passions
alone. We will fail to see the bigger picture and will just react by
shooting from the hip.
Our usual defense mechanism is, of course, to fight back,
to give tit for tat, following the law of Talion that many times ends
up making us all blind and toothless. So, instead of clarifying,
simplifying and solving things, we make matters worse.
We can never over-emphasize the need for humility. We have
to remind ourselves more strongly of this need because it is now often
taken for granted, or considered as irrelevant. Humility seems to be
extinct today, and people seem to be quite happy with that. We can
almost hear them deride, ‘Good riddance!”
But humility will never be obsolete. In fact, the more we
grow and improve in status, and the more complicated life becomes, its
importance and urgency also grow.
And what is most important about this virtue is that it is
what would lead us to be like Christ who is supposed to be our “way,
truth and life.” No one can be like Christ without humility. Pride,
arrogance, vanity, etc., are the antithesis of Christ. And when these
vices are pursued under the cover of a self-proclaimed righteousness,
then they become the very substance of the antichrist.
Christ is the very personification of humility. He said
so: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt 11,29) And
this can be seen all throughout his life, from his very conception in
Mary’s womb all the way to his death on the cross.
St. Paul expressed this truth very beautifully when he
said that Christ “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being
made in the likeness of men…He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto
death, even to the death of the cross.” (Phil 2,7-8)
We can never have enough of it. The moment we say we have
it, be ready also to lose it and again and again to go through the
process of recovering it. It’s a very slippery virtue that requires
constant interior renewal and conversion.
If we only can reconcile ourselves completely with this
reality and act accordingly, then much of the problem of the world
will just vanish! But that’s a big if. Just the same, no matter how
quixotic the pursuit of this virtue may be, we just have to try and
try, helping one another to live it, because it is indispensable in
our life.
Humility makes us see the truth objectively. It wipes away
fantasies, illusions and delusions. It is the foundation of many other
virtues, the good ground on which the seed of virtues can grow.
Without it, good intentions cannot prosper, and what may begin as a
good deed would soon turn into an evil one, dripping with malice.
Humility makes us see who we really are, in our most
radical self. That is to say, it makes us realize we are first of all
creatures of God who created us in his image and likeness and who has
adopted us with his grace as his children.
It enables us to be patient amid trials, difficulties,
differences and conflicts with others. It protects us from
temptations. It facilitates repentance. It enables us to bear the
burden of others, just like Christ bore all the sins of men. With it,
we can follow Christ’s example of even washing the feet of his
apostles.
It disciplines our instincts, emotions and passions, and
especially our higher faculties of intelligence and will. It connects
us with God and with others easily. With it, we would know how to
react properly when provoked or even when insulted and mocked.
Everyday, we have to find ways of how to grow in humility,
forgetting ourselves as we immerse ourselves increasingly in the will
of God and in the affairs of others. We have to follow Christ’s
attitude of wanting to serve and not to be served.
In the end, we need to pray and continually ask for God’s
mercy for humility to be alive in us.
increasing differences and conflicts we have in practically all
aspects of our life, we need to be heavily armed with humility.
Otherwise, there’s no way but to be carried away by our errant and
wayward impulses which are made worse because we can always justify
them with all sorts of excuses.
These differences and conflicts usually cause us to feel
provoked, and therefore to feel urged to react. Without humility, our
response will most likely be at the mercy of our emotions and passions
alone. We will fail to see the bigger picture and will just react by
shooting from the hip.
Our usual defense mechanism is, of course, to fight back,
to give tit for tat, following the law of Talion that many times ends
up making us all blind and toothless. So, instead of clarifying,
simplifying and solving things, we make matters worse.
We can never over-emphasize the need for humility. We have
to remind ourselves more strongly of this need because it is now often
taken for granted, or considered as irrelevant. Humility seems to be
extinct today, and people seem to be quite happy with that. We can
almost hear them deride, ‘Good riddance!”
But humility will never be obsolete. In fact, the more we
grow and improve in status, and the more complicated life becomes, its
importance and urgency also grow.
And what is most important about this virtue is that it is
what would lead us to be like Christ who is supposed to be our “way,
truth and life.” No one can be like Christ without humility. Pride,
arrogance, vanity, etc., are the antithesis of Christ. And when these
vices are pursued under the cover of a self-proclaimed righteousness,
then they become the very substance of the antichrist.
Christ is the very personification of humility. He said
so: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt 11,29) And
this can be seen all throughout his life, from his very conception in
Mary’s womb all the way to his death on the cross.
St. Paul expressed this truth very beautifully when he
said that Christ “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being
made in the likeness of men…He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto
death, even to the death of the cross.” (Phil 2,7-8)
We can never have enough of it. The moment we say we have
it, be ready also to lose it and again and again to go through the
process of recovering it. It’s a very slippery virtue that requires
constant interior renewal and conversion.
If we only can reconcile ourselves completely with this
reality and act accordingly, then much of the problem of the world
will just vanish! But that’s a big if. Just the same, no matter how
quixotic the pursuit of this virtue may be, we just have to try and
try, helping one another to live it, because it is indispensable in
our life.
Humility makes us see the truth objectively. It wipes away
fantasies, illusions and delusions. It is the foundation of many other
virtues, the good ground on which the seed of virtues can grow.
Without it, good intentions cannot prosper, and what may begin as a
good deed would soon turn into an evil one, dripping with malice.
Humility makes us see who we really are, in our most
radical self. That is to say, it makes us realize we are first of all
creatures of God who created us in his image and likeness and who has
adopted us with his grace as his children.
It enables us to be patient amid trials, difficulties,
differences and conflicts with others. It protects us from
temptations. It facilitates repentance. It enables us to bear the
burden of others, just like Christ bore all the sins of men. With it,
we can follow Christ’s example of even washing the feet of his
apostles.
It disciplines our instincts, emotions and passions, and
especially our higher faculties of intelligence and will. It connects
us with God and with others easily. With it, we would know how to
react properly when provoked or even when insulted and mocked.
Everyday, we have to find ways of how to grow in humility,
forgetting ourselves as we immerse ourselves increasingly in the will
of God and in the affairs of others. We have to follow Christ’s
attitude of wanting to serve and not to be served.
In the end, we need to pray and continually ask for God’s
mercy for humility to be alive in us.
No comments:
Post a Comment