Words from Fr Ed (From August 29th, 2010 Bulletin)

…take the lowest place.

Our readings this week point to the humility that is needed in God’s kingdom. Jesus advises us, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor…Rather…go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’” This movement is the opposite of our ego-driven world. We can easily fall into the trap of seeking recognition, praise and honor. We have to go against this ancient wound that came with the fall of Adam and Eve.
One of the most powerful litanies that I’ve seen is the Litany of Humility. Its petitions may seem odd to you, or even impossible. But we are secure in the dignity that God desires to give us, if only we will humble ourselves.

Litany of Humility
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I should…

Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/humility.htm

St. Benedict’s Twelve Steps of Humility
From a Homily by St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547 AD)
Holy Scripture proclaims to us brothers: "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted" (Lk 14:11). It tells us that all self-exaltation is a form of pride, against which, the prophet tells us, he guarded: "Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes lifted up; neither have I walked in great things nor in wonders above myself. But to what purpose if I did not think humbly but exalted my soul? As a child weaned from his mother, so will you reward my soul" (Ps 131:1-2).
Therefore, brothers, if we wish to reach the highest peak of humility and soon arrive at the heavenly heights, we must, by our good deeds, set up a ladder like Jacob’s, upon which he saw angels climbing up and down. Without doubt, we should understand that climbing as showing us that we go up by humbling ourselves and down by praising ourselves. The ladder represents our life in the temporal world; the Lord has erected it for those of us possessing humility. We may think of the sides of the ladder as our body and soul, the rungs as the steps of humility and discipline we must climb in our religious vocation.
The first step of humility is taken when a man obeys all of God’s commandments–never ignoring them, and fearing God in his heart.
(For the rest of this homily see:>http://www.saint-mike.org/library/rule/excerpts/steps_to_humility.html)