4th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Zeph 2: 3; 3: 12-13; 1 Cor 1: 26-; Mt 5: 1-12a
Dc. Larry Brockman
When St. Augustine was asked to name the three most important virtues, he gave an interesting answer: First, he said, humility; second, humility; third, humility. Humility is God’s favorite thing; he longs to find it in us. But just what is humility.
There are all kinds of interesting stories about truly humble people. Here is just one: It seems there was a cocky, successful, young French businessman traveling by train to Paris, many years ago. He was sharing a compartment with on old man who looked like a peasant – simple clothes, short hair, and a weather-beaten face. The up-and-coming businessman noticed the rosary gripped in the old man’s hands, and the devotion and concentration expressed on his face. The young man thought he would have some fun, so he said, “I see that you still believe in that medieval bunk about praying your beads. Do you also believe in all the other myths the priests try to teach us?” “Yes, indeed”, the old man answered, “Don’t you?” “Me? Do I believe in all that ridiculous superstition”? The young man laughed out loud; then he said: “I gave that up in college. And if you want to be smart, you should throw those beads out the window and start studying some real, scientific truth.” The old man answered, “I don’t understand what you mean. Maybe you could help me”. The young whippersnapper felt he had been a little harsh, so he answered, “Well, I could send you some articles, if you like. Do you know how to read”? “More or less”, the old man answered. “Good – so where should I send the material?” The old man fumbled in his coat pocket and then handed over a card. It bore a simple inscription: Louis Pasteur – Paris Institute for Scientific Research.
Clearly Louis Pasteur’s humility didn’t hinder his greatness. So, humility is not shying away from and denying ones talents. Rather what true humility is can be understood by discovering the unifying idea that undergirds the eight Beatitudes, which we just heard, and which summarize Jesus’ teaching about how to live. Looking carefully, we see a common denominator: The person who is blessed is the person who is not thinking about himself all the time. The poor in spirit and those who suffer persecution They gracefully realize that they are not the center of the universe – God is. The clean of heart realize that other people don’t exist just for the sake of their pleasure. The peacemaker is concerned about the needs and problems of others. The merciful is concerned about the suffering of others. The mournful is concerned about the damage his sin does to the Church, the world, and other people. The meek care more about getting things done than getting credit for doing things. Those who hunger for righteousness realize that their life has a higher purpose, that it’s part of a bigger story. So, underlying all the Beatitudes is this fundamental attitude that puts God and others ahead of self. It looks out at the world instead of staring in, fixated on self.
Now if the essence of humility is thinking more about God and others than about oneself, Growing in humility means training ourselves to do just that, and it is a life-long project. Prayer is essential here, by turning our attention towards God. Reading the Bible is essential as well, because it presents us with Christ’s perfect example of humility. But I want to talk about one other way to express our humility: Praying for the souls in Purgatory. Something all of us need to realize is that very, very, few people die so full of the Love of Christ that they are ready to see the face of God. Rather, most of us die without having been completely purified from our self-centered habits and desires, no matter how old we have gotten. If we die in friendship with Christ, we will enter eternal life with him in heaven. But we can’t make that entry until the last remnants of self-centeredness have been purified. Purgatory is the name the Church gives to that process of purification. The Church has also taught us that we can pray for the souls in Purgatory, and we can even help speed up their purification. We can help the souls in Purgatory, relieving their suffering and speeding up their entry into heaven, in many ways. Simply lifting our hearts to God, and offering our daily sufferings up for the souls in purgatory will help them, if we desire it. Certain prayers, like an act of faith, the Rosary, or the Creed, can be offered up in this way as well. Teaching someone about Christ or Christian doctrine, doing an act of kindness with a spirit of faith, or giving up a small pleasure (like sugar in our coffee, or salt on our French Fries), are all actions that we can offer up for someone else. So, like a good mother, the Church has made it easy for us to help our brothers and sisters in Purgatory. And whenever we do, we are opening our hearts to God and to others, thereby exercising the pivotal virtue of humility, the key to holiness and happiness.
This week, let’s give God the pleasure of doing our part to grow in his favorite thing, humility.[1]
[1] Homily material taken extensively from e-priest notes for January 30th, 2011
