I think we all know how important humility is in attaining sanctity. St. Gregory said "whoever accumulates the other virtues without humility is like one throwing chaff into the wind." So we know our goal is to increase in humility. But how do we get humility?
First I would recommend praying for it. Every time you pray your rosary you should dedicate the first joyful mystery for the increase of the virtue of humility because our lady humbled herself to receive the Lord in her womb. Her "Fiat" was a perfect example of this virtue. Another method of increasing in humility is by obedience. I have been striving to become more obedient at work and at home and I admit, it has given me much peace. I would have never guessed that obedience can increase peace to the degree it has in my life. There is much freedom in knowing you are doing Gods will and I pray from this blog you can learn a little about how to glean more of it. The first point that I want to expound on, is the importance of obedientia sine mora, or obedience without delay as St. Benedict says. It is easy to say to your superior "yes" and come to postpone or forget to do what you were asked. I know that I have readily consented in my heart to accomplish what i was asked, but I finished what I was doing at the time and forgot to perform the task given. In Psalm 17:45 we see "As soon as he heard, he obeyed Me" and to teachers, which is all of you parents "He who hears you, hear me" (Luke 10:16). We see from these scriptures that it is good to drop what you are doing, and perform the will of the one you have heard. If we continue with our project we are working on and decide to delay what was asked until later, we are indicating that our will is better and more important than that of him who is over us; this is disobedience. As a resolution pray that you will be swift in fulfilling the command of your superiors. This reminds me of a lesson I learned a long time ago growing up. I was a teenager and my mother asked me to do the dishes. I decided I would do them later and left them there. Later on my father came into the room asked me to do the dishes and I said "no, I will do them later." this pretty much infuriated him and he made it very clear to me with the extreme change in temper that that was not acceptable. That scene was burned into my memory banks and it is a lesson that I should recall often. I would assume we have all been in similar circumstances.
Another aspect of this virtue that I have learned, is that it is more of an attitude than it is an act. It is an attitude of submission to authority out of love. Yes love! Love for Christ. It is love for our lord that we submit, because it is our Lord that you are ultimately working for. If this is at the forefront of our minds and we truly believe it, work becomes love. It becomes an expression of our affection for Jesus. "For this is the charity of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not heavy." (1John 5:3-5).
The second motive that I would like to remind you is that if you are Catholic, then you are bound to obey. We are baptised into the Church and with that we are under the hierarchy of the Church. This is significant for us Traditional Catholics who can very easily slip into a spirit of disobedience to our current magesterium. That does not mean we are to revert to a resigned submission, much less an unwilling submission, but a thoughtful ready compliance. If we just give lip service to God and say we love Him, while we do not fulfill our duties, then we are not fulfilling our call as Christians.
One motivation that drives me from time to time is also the fear of Hell. "Is not hell the lot of the disobedient?" (G. A. Simon) Sin is disobedience to God. Based on this statement, any sin we perform is disobedience. Our whole life, everything we do is dependent on whether we obey God, the Church, our Spouse, our supervisors and even ourselves. We must be whipped into submission by ourselves through penance and frequent mortification's.
The last motivation would be our final hope; life with God in Heaven. This reward is only for those who have set aside their own will and led a life replete with obedience in all its forms.
We should pray that we do not fall into lassitude over time and start backtracking into our old prideful habits.
One of the best examples to encourage us and to remind us of our duty is to look to Jesus. He is our perfect model for obedience. He says "I am not come to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (John 6: 38). The Gospels is nothing but a record of the Jesus doing the will of His Father.
I would also like to remind you of the petition we make to the Father daily when we say the Lords prayer: "Thy will be done". How else is this will to be done, if we do not obey? I still sometimes ask myself, what God will is, even though I know it is simple tasks that are right in front of me.
The practice of this virtue manifests itself incessantly. There is always something to be done, but it is the spirit in which we do it that transforms it to an act of love for God.
I recommend we pray for in increase of desire for the virtue of obedience because this leads to peace, joy and humility. To put an bow on this, remember that Jesus "humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:8) Let us follow our Lord.
Pax Tecum
P.S. I don't think this would be complete without a few more quotes from the saints. So here's a few for you:
The Devil doesn't fear austerity but hold obedience. - St. Francis de Sales
A single instant passed under simple obedience is immeasurably more valuable in the sight of God than an entire day spent in the most sublime contemplation. - St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
Obedience is the true holocaust which we sacrifice to God on the altar of our hearts - St. Philip Neri
Naturally we all have an inclination to command, and a great aversion to obey; and yet it is certain that it is more for our good to obey than to command: hence perfect souls have always had a great affection for obedience, and have found all their joy and comfort in it. - St. Francis de Sales
Another aspect of this virtue that I have learned, is that it is more of an attitude than it is an act. It is an attitude of submission to authority out of love. Yes love! Love for Christ. It is love for our lord that we submit, because it is our Lord that you are ultimately working for. If this is at the forefront of our minds and we truly believe it, work becomes love. It becomes an expression of our affection for Jesus. "For this is the charity of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not heavy." (1John 5:3-5).
The second motive that I would like to remind you is that if you are Catholic, then you are bound to obey. We are baptised into the Church and with that we are under the hierarchy of the Church. This is significant for us Traditional Catholics who can very easily slip into a spirit of disobedience to our current magesterium. That does not mean we are to revert to a resigned submission, much less an unwilling submission, but a thoughtful ready compliance. If we just give lip service to God and say we love Him, while we do not fulfill our duties, then we are not fulfilling our call as Christians.
One motivation that drives me from time to time is also the fear of Hell. "Is not hell the lot of the disobedient?" (G. A. Simon) Sin is disobedience to God. Based on this statement, any sin we perform is disobedience. Our whole life, everything we do is dependent on whether we obey God, the Church, our Spouse, our supervisors and even ourselves. We must be whipped into submission by ourselves through penance and frequent mortification's.
The last motivation would be our final hope; life with God in Heaven. This reward is only for those who have set aside their own will and led a life replete with obedience in all its forms.
We should pray that we do not fall into lassitude over time and start backtracking into our old prideful habits.
One of the best examples to encourage us and to remind us of our duty is to look to Jesus. He is our perfect model for obedience. He says "I am not come to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (John 6: 38). The Gospels is nothing but a record of the Jesus doing the will of His Father.
I would also like to remind you of the petition we make to the Father daily when we say the Lords prayer: "Thy will be done". How else is this will to be done, if we do not obey? I still sometimes ask myself, what God will is, even though I know it is simple tasks that are right in front of me.
The practice of this virtue manifests itself incessantly. There is always something to be done, but it is the spirit in which we do it that transforms it to an act of love for God.
I recommend we pray for in increase of desire for the virtue of obedience because this leads to peace, joy and humility. To put an bow on this, remember that Jesus "humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:8) Let us follow our Lord.
Pax Tecum
P.S. I don't think this would be complete without a few more quotes from the saints. So here's a few for you:
The Devil doesn't fear austerity but hold obedience. - St. Francis de Sales
A single instant passed under simple obedience is immeasurably more valuable in the sight of God than an entire day spent in the most sublime contemplation. - St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
Obedience is the true holocaust which we sacrifice to God on the altar of our hearts - St. Philip Neri
Naturally we all have an inclination to command, and a great aversion to obey; and yet it is certain that it is more for our good to obey than to command: hence perfect souls have always had a great affection for obedience, and have found all their joy and comfort in it. - St. Francis de Sales
No comments:
Post a Comment