Aug 10 Sat
Is humility the source of peace for the soul?
As Christians, we must be sowers of peace and joy. Peace is a consequence of humility. It is the inner harmony that comes from the awareness of our shortcomings as well as of God's gifts. Humble people are realistic in the interior struggle: they know they make mistakes, and admit them; they attribute to God alone the divine effectiveness of their labors.
“If you center your attention on yourself, you are not only taking the wrong road, but besides, you will lose Christian happiness in this life. You will lose that joy and cheerfulness which are nonetheless incomplete, because happiness will only be complete in heaven."
Pride takes away peace because it makes us live in a false world, far from God. If the soul imagines that it can achieve something unaided, then the failure that it is bound to experience causes it to be uneasy, restless, and anxious. Humility, on the other hand, leads us to God, and to his Son, Jesus Christ. And there we find peace.
The effort to acquire humility does not entail a brutal, tense, or anxiety-filled struggle; it means asking God to make us humble, and recognizing that in the concrete reality of our day, we can do nothing by ourselves, but with God's help we can do all things.
We must have peace in the interior struggle and in the face of difficulties. Yet “Getting closer to God, without a deep basis of humility, could lead to presumption, to the corruption of true hope, to pride, and, sooner or later, to spiritual ruin, on being faced with the unexpected experience of one's frailty."
“I usually give the example of the dust which is stirred up by the wind until, high in the sky, it forms a golden cloud, as it reflects the light of the sun. In the same way, divine grace raises souls very high, and we reflect all the marvel of goodness, wisdom, power, and beauty that is God. If we realize we are but dust and wretchedness - completely worthless - God will do the rest. This is something which greatly consoles me."
Neither should we get upset by exterior trials because, as St Augustine teaches, grace is given to those who hope in God. Cry out under the hand of the enemy. Ask God for his help. If there is one who fights against you, there is also one who fights for you, who looks down upon the battle and will come to your aid in the combat.
“We all make mistakes, even in areas where we have been fighting for years and years. If our ascetical struggle disheartens us, then we are proud. We must be humble, and we must want to be faithful. We are indeed unworthy servants, but with those unworthy servants God can do great things in this world if we, on our part, do one thing: if we make the effort to stretch out our hand and take the hand which God, with his grace, offers us from heaven."
Today, the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence on the grille.
Video: