Humility
Today's Gospel reading: Matthew 20:17-28
" . . . the Son of Man to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The Lord uses this instance of naked ambition to teach true greatness: humility.
But what is humility? We can be tempted to think that humility is about low self-esteem or running ourselves down, but humility has more to do with having a sense of God's greatness and of our fallenness – not in a way that crushes but in a way that puts the focus on God.
What truly keeps us humble is the gift of self-knowledge: an awareness of our faults, sins and weaknesses. Padre Pio said, "Humility and purity are the wings which carry us to God and make us almost divine. Remember that a bad man who is ashamed of the wrong things he is doing is nearer to God than the good man who blushes at the good that he is doing."
Chris
(from Bible Alive)
" . . . the Son of Man to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The Lord uses this instance of naked ambition to teach true greatness: humility.
But what is humility? We can be tempted to think that humility is about low self-esteem or running ourselves down, but humility has more to do with having a sense of God's greatness and of our fallenness – not in a way that crushes but in a way that puts the focus on God.
What truly keeps us humble is the gift of self-knowledge: an awareness of our faults, sins and weaknesses. Padre Pio said, "Humility and purity are the wings which carry us to God and make us almost divine. Remember that a bad man who is ashamed of the wrong things he is doing is nearer to God than the good man who blushes at the good that he is doing."
Chris
(from Bible Alive)
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