Bringing Advent to Work - Part 6
With Christmas now only a few days away, we'll let our guide, St. Vincent de Paul, wrap up our discussion about bringing Advent to work by means of cultivating the virtue of humility. We begin with his summary of how Our Lord's entire life can serve as an example and
encouragement for each of us to not only understand, but to diligently
and persistently pursue the virtue of humility.
"But above all is it possible that - if we fix our eyes on the model set before us, on that wonderful type of humility of our Lord Jesus Christ - we shall still cherish a good opinion of ourselves, seeing how immensely we fall short of His self-abasement? Shall we dare to rate ourselves before others when He gave place to a murderer? Should we fear that our weakness should be detected, when He who was innocent was treated as an evil-doer and hung between two criminals as though He were guilty? Let us ask God to deliver us from such snares as these! Let us ask Him to give us grace always to be lowly, acknowledging before Him and before our fellowmen that of ourselves we are only sinful and ignorant and vicious: let us hope they will believe it and will despise us."
"...let us never miss a chance of crushing out self with humility: it is not enough to wish to do this and to make a good resolution about it, as many people do; we must put it into practice at whatever cost to ourselves, for it is that putting into practice which is not sufficiently accepted."
"...it is one of the maxims of the Gospel that our Lord has not greater delight than in humbleness of heart and simplicity of word and deed. In these His Spirit dwells and we shall seek in vain for it elsewhere. If you would find it, then you must give up all attempt or desire to shine; all spiritual as well as outward worldliness..."
"What was the life of our Blessed Saviour except perpetual humiliation, active and passive? So highly did he prize it that no moment of His life on earth was lived apart from it. It was His will that after His death the Church should give us His image in the Crucifix, that He might appear to us in a condition of the utmost ignominy, as one hung like a criminal and put to death by the most shameful and degrading method. And why? He did it because He knew the worth of humility and the danger of the sin which opposes it; a sin which - besides increasing other evil - poisons actions that in themselves are harmless, and can corrupt and spoil what is otherwise good and pure...
"Be careful to give no credit to yourself for anything; if you do so you are stealing from God, to Whom alone every good thing it due. Strive to be lowly , to love your own insignificance, and to be ready to accept contempt and disgrace in defiance of human nature, which always longs for success and celebrity. This is the means beyond all other to become the servant of God, and to draw down the special blessing of Heaven upon all your labor."
Could there be any more appropriate message for us Catholic men at work as Christmas approaches? By His grace we will approach the stable in Bethlehem in a spirit of humility, finding Him wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And by the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, may we carry the spirit of humility with us into the New Year.
"But above all is it possible that - if we fix our eyes on the model set before us, on that wonderful type of humility of our Lord Jesus Christ - we shall still cherish a good opinion of ourselves, seeing how immensely we fall short of His self-abasement? Shall we dare to rate ourselves before others when He gave place to a murderer? Should we fear that our weakness should be detected, when He who was innocent was treated as an evil-doer and hung between two criminals as though He were guilty? Let us ask God to deliver us from such snares as these! Let us ask Him to give us grace always to be lowly, acknowledging before Him and before our fellowmen that of ourselves we are only sinful and ignorant and vicious: let us hope they will believe it and will despise us."
"...let us never miss a chance of crushing out self with humility: it is not enough to wish to do this and to make a good resolution about it, as many people do; we must put it into practice at whatever cost to ourselves, for it is that putting into practice which is not sufficiently accepted."
"...it is one of the maxims of the Gospel that our Lord has not greater delight than in humbleness of heart and simplicity of word and deed. In these His Spirit dwells and we shall seek in vain for it elsewhere. If you would find it, then you must give up all attempt or desire to shine; all spiritual as well as outward worldliness..."
"What was the life of our Blessed Saviour except perpetual humiliation, active and passive? So highly did he prize it that no moment of His life on earth was lived apart from it. It was His will that after His death the Church should give us His image in the Crucifix, that He might appear to us in a condition of the utmost ignominy, as one hung like a criminal and put to death by the most shameful and degrading method. And why? He did it because He knew the worth of humility and the danger of the sin which opposes it; a sin which - besides increasing other evil - poisons actions that in themselves are harmless, and can corrupt and spoil what is otherwise good and pure...
"Be careful to give no credit to yourself for anything; if you do so you are stealing from God, to Whom alone every good thing it due. Strive to be lowly , to love your own insignificance, and to be ready to accept contempt and disgrace in defiance of human nature, which always longs for success and celebrity. This is the means beyond all other to become the servant of God, and to draw down the special blessing of Heaven upon all your labor."
Could there be any more appropriate message for us Catholic men at work as Christmas approaches? By His grace we will approach the stable in Bethlehem in a spirit of humility, finding Him wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And by the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, may we carry the spirit of humility with us into the New Year.
Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in our hearts!
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