The proud are those who constantly cast their head upwards to the point that they become the center of attention. The humble of heart are able to cast their head downward for they have realized that everything does not revolve around them. In Dante’s great work the Purgatorio the punishment of the proud is to have a stone hung around their neck. This stone keeps them looking down as they study the great moments of humility throughout the history of the world. The greatest of these lessons is found through our Blessed Mother and the Annuciation where she came to humbly say yes unto the angel Gabriel.
Our Gospel gives us an example of both of these realities. We discover the proud through the Pharisee and we come to discover the humble through this tax collector. Through his humility the tax collector was able to accept the fact that he was a sinful man who was in need of the infinite mercy of God while this Pharisee was so filled with pride that he could not profess that he was a sinful man who was in need of God’s mercy.
There are some who cannot fathom that they are able to sin. Nevertheless, we are told in the Book of Proverbs: “A righteous man falls seven times a day.” It was said of Saint John Paul II that he would make a confession every day of his life. If this was true he could not walk into the confessional and state that he was a perfect man, but instead he would have to come with the realization of his sinfulness and thus the sins which he had committed since his last confession.
Confession is a beautiful gift that has been entrusted to the Church’s care by Christ our Lord. Nevertheless, so many never make use of this infinite font of our Lord’s mercy. To think that in the Garden God came to Adam and Eve and asked them to confess their sin. They could not be humble of heart and they thus did not fess up to what they had done. The same can be said of Cain when he slew his brother Abel. He was unable to fess up to the sin that he had committed.
Sin has nothing to do with our social status. The lowly as well as the haughty are inclined to sin. Nevertheless, we do not have to stay in this state. All of us are invited by our Blessed Lord to chase over holiness in our everyday life. We can only chase after holiness when we perfect the virtue of humility to the best of our ability. Nothing can be perfected within us without the assistance of the Lord. If we humble ourself in His sight we let go of that pride which blinds our eyes to the point that we cannot see clearly.
In her autobiography Saint Therese of Liseux states the little way that we can grow in holiness. The secret to the perfection of the Little Way is humility. The Little Way makes one realize that their actions to not need to be seen for their to be value. Her Little Way makes us see that unjust criticisms against us aid us in humility. Saint Therese leads us to glance downward with this tax collector and cry out in a true spirit of humility.
