Serious Advent Stuff About Humility To Help Us On Our Way To Bethlehem - 4
We continue with our special Advent posts, focused on the virtue of humility.
Humility has been a theme we've focused on over the years during Advent. Most appropriate to Advent, consider Our Lord's birth in a stable in Bethlehem on that first Christmas. Could there be a more poignant and powerful example of humility than this?
And so we call on Father Joseph Schryvers for some lessons in humility as we work our way through Advent. We'll want to apply them to our own individual circumstances - and that includes our time at work. For work, we might examine how we apply ourselves to our tasks and how we respond to whatever success we have, or lack thereof.
If successful, do we get all puffed up? Or do we simply note that we just completed a task well done - as it should
be. In that spirit, we recognize that all our tasks should be done
first for the glory of God, next because we want to diligently
perform all our tasks with fervor and exactness, finally because we
simply have paid a debt to our employer and/or our customers and
clients.
If not successful, we might face the facts. Accept either our shortcomings or failure as somehow part of God's Plan. If criticized for less-than-perfect work, rather than defend our actions, we might simply accept the criticism calmly, without resentment or complaint.
With that in mind, here's our 4th lesson for Advent:“The saints, at the sight of their miseries, had strange fears. St. Vincent de Paul was surprised that the Almighty did not destroy the towns through which he passed. St. Alphonsus believed himself the cause of all the persecutions which were leveled against his Congregation. St. Louis Bertrand counted himself the most abominable sinner the earth ever produced. And we, by way of excuse, soothe ourselves by saying: ‘Ah! But these were saints!’ But did the saints exaggerate? Were they objects of pity? Might it not well be that we are stone blind, while they saw with eyes lighted by the Eternal Truth? Unless pride blinds our eyes, we cannot but see that all human beings are infinitely miserable and sinful. We should understand in a practical way that from every point of view as creatures, we depend on God for everything – our essence, our existence, and our conservation, together with all the conditions of our development. We should keep before us our innumerable transgressions, doubled in gravity by their ingratitude and frequent relapse. We should also realize our present actual shortcomings, attachments, cowardice, fickleness, peevishness and vexation.
“Oh, Jesus! How perverse we are, and how little we suspect it! Have mercy on me, Good Master, for I am afraid of the vice of pride. I want to be of the number of those who are meek and humble of heart. Make my heart like Yours. But our Good Master knows full well the clay of which we are formed, and the foolish pretensions of our fallen nature. He is satisfied and He loves us when He sees us perplexed at the sight of our misery, and, in spite of it, ever full of confidence in His goodness and resolved to acquire humility at any cost, for ‘God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.’ (James 4:6)” - Fr. Joseph Schryvers, C.SS.R. (1876-1945)
We conclude with the beautiful, traditional Advent aspiration:
Divine Infant of Bethlehem
Comments