Humility 101: How to Be the Best at Being the Least

Today, as I led a communion service for the elderly folks at Ballard Nursing Home in Des Plaines, IL, I had the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel to a small crowd of about 20 or so people. As a wave of consolation passed over me, I couldn't help but feel so humbled and comfortable (I don't know how else to put it) at proclaiming the Good News.

Of course, it helps that the Gospel message itself was incredibly humbling for me as well. Today's message came from Matthew chapter 20:17-28, a perfect passage Lent. I'll highlight just a couple of sections. First:

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.

What a great glance ahead as we journey through this Lent. Christ Himself warns His disciples of His approaching fate, a fate that we will again witness in a few short weeks. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for Jesus to continue His ministry with the knowledge of His destiny written before Him as it was. The pain that He must have had even leading up to the Passion had to be incredible, and yet Jesus never complained or asked anyone to take the burden away. Instead, as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He pleaded God to let the cup pass Him by, only if it was His Father's will. As I attempt to glean as much spiritual fruit out of this Lent as possible, I can't help but see how utterly I fail at accepting my own cross. Not only do I complain every step of the way, but sometimes I just plain refuse. How frequently I forget that Christ walks behind me, helping me through the burdens of this life--and how quickly I forget to trust.

The Apostles then proceed to learn a great lesson, prompted by the mother of James and John asking Jesus if her sons can sit on His right and left in heaven. (You get an A for effort, mom.) Jesus proceeds to tell them:

Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

I just love this. It perfectly embodies what I feel is my calling to the priesthood, and I could honestly spend my entire life just learning how to adequately live these two sentences from the Gospel. And again, perfectly Lenten. How often do I seek to be the most respected, the most loved, the most acclaimed! This reminds me of the verse in John 12:43: "For they preferred human praise to the glory of God." Life is not about seeking the first place among the men that will someday too pass from this earth--rather, we must seek to humble ourselves, finding greatness in tiny acts of service for our brothers and sisters. If we did the smallest things with great love, there would be no end to the amount of good that this world would see! (I feel like I just plagiarized Mother Teresa...if that be the case, forgive me, Mama T!) Christ could have been the greatest ruler that this world had ever seen, but instead chose to be born in a barn. He proceeded to (literally) spend His life in radical service to His fellow man, ultimately winning a reward for us that surpasses the greatness of anything on this earth. How I long for a part in that glory!

Dear Lord, grant me the grace of charity and 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, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Amen.

--The Litany of Humility, Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val

Life in the Fast Lane

Whew. I think I may have underestimated how busy life gets. Really, it's not a complaint, just more of an observation. I am actually very at peace with where I am in life, which makes the fact that life is flying past me even more frustrating at times. Sometimes, all I want is to be able to slow down and take in the scenes. I want to kick back and enjoy all of the projects and tasks that I'm engaged in.

But that's not how life is--at least not mine. Too often, I feel like I just stepped out into a lane of interstate traffic. But I've recently come to some very important realizations.

First of all, life isn't going to slow down. As much as I'd like it to, it won't. So my options are either: 1) go into early retirement or 2) live with it. And I don't mean "deal with it." I mean live with it, as in find the joy and unexpected surprises that come with a fast-paced life. Life is more enjoyable when you're along for the ride, not pouting in the backseat.

Secondly, focusing on the negative will just not cut it. No one ever brought anyone else to realize their salvation in Christ by whining at them. My life will not become a banner that says: Live a life in Christ and you'll end up just as frumpy as I am!!

Third, it helps to reorient yourself to see Christ as the source and culmination of life itself. It becomes so easy to get lost in yourself, or lost in the moment, but soon enough, you realize that years have passed and it's all been for nothing. But having a specific goal in mind at all times makes the journey so much more enjoyable!

Which leads me to my fourth point: life is about service. When we concentrate on how busy we are, we lose sight of others. Nothing made me realize this more than a little time spent at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels with the Franciscans of the Eucharist. They have such a clear focus in their lives. Arguably much busier than I am, they still manage to make it all about living the Gospel and serving others. When we take the focus off ourselves and give more selflessly to others, the details all work themselves out in the end. We just need to trust. God will take care of the rest.