Our gospel calls us to live out a life of humility. The opposite of humility is pride which has been seen as the root of all sin.
Saint Thomas More stated of it, “But no matter how high in the clouds this arrow of pride may fly, and no matter how exuberant one may feel while being carried up so high, let us remember that the lightest of these arrows still has a heavy iron head. High as it may fly, therefore, it inevitably has to come down and hit the ground. And sometimes it lands in a not very clean place.”
If we go to the beginning we will encounter Eve who despite being free of the stain of original sin partook of the fruit of the tree. She was lead to believe by the serpent that through such an act she would achieve high results. On the other hand, we have Mary who serves as a saint of true humility (she is after all the New Eve) who stated in the Magnificat, “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.”
Through humility we become the lowly who have been cast down from their thrones. Humility makes us understand that we are simply a servant of God. Despite the shortcoming that are present in our life we must be willing to humbly go before God and be found receptive of His mercy and grace. As Saint Therese of Lisieux had said, “I want to be a saint, but I feel so helpless.”
If we to the saints who have gone before us into eternal life we can see that they were not perfect. They needed the mercy of God and the gift of His grace if they were to preserve until the end. The understood that they could not think too highly of themselves because they were in need of only what God could give.
Through our pride we fail to understand this lesson. Through pride we begin to exalt ourself to high places. In such manner we fail to trust in the mercy of God and we fail to be grounded in the gift of God’s grace. We instead set out as if we are capable of saving ourself for we have been led believe that we don’t need God.
As those who have passed through the waters of baptism we have been oriented towards a much greater path. We are called to be saints and this is only possible if we are willing to be found humble of heart. As Saint Catherine of Siena said, “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”
We can only accomplish such a task if we are found willing to come to know God and desire to serve Him. This understanding can only come about if we are willing to be humble of heart. In all humility participate in the sacrament of confession and be sent forth fortified by His mercy and grace. In such manner we, despite our faults, can persevere unto the end to be numbered among the saints of Heaven.
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