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
No comments:
Post a Comment