……from your Pastor’s Desk
A Lesson in Humility
The Litany of Humility is a prayer worth pondering. As it is a long litany the following are only excerpts:
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.
The litany continues
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.
The second part of the prayer is:
That others may be loved more than me,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
(The Litany of Humility was prayed by Cardinal del Val (1865-1930), Secretary of State to Pope Saint Pius X.)
I am sure you will agree that it is a challenging prayer if we really mean it. I was reminded of this prayer by today’s Gospel and Jesus’ encounter at the home of a leading Pharisee regarding who shall sit where at a banquet. The Litany of Humility is a prayer the Pharisee in our Gospel could do well to pray and practice.
All of us can be Pharisaical at times. Therefore, the Gospel is relevant for each of us. The reading from Sirach furthers this point in its opening verse: ‘My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.”
There are no favorites in the eyes of God. The Pharisee had forgotten that. The world may consider people great because of their power or success or money or fame but those things do not count for greatness to God. Rather, the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind – and all those who cannot repay – are most dear in God’s eyes. In the Gospels, what counts for greatness is if you serve.
How far our world has wandered from the spirit of the Gospel. Jesus is the greatest model of humility and service. Jesus was executed as a common criminal. But through his death he won life for all of us. The Son of Man came to serve not to be served.
As we think about Jesus’ encounters and criticisms of Pharisees, the Litany of Humility, and the humility and service of Jesus, we are left with a question. What about us -Do we need to grow in humility and service?
In the eyes of the Gospel there is no reason to look down on anybody else. The world may consider you great for many different reasons: success, fame, money, achievements, etc. The Gospels consider you great for a different reason; you are great if you humbly serve.
Father Ron
