9781644135945

The Time After Pentecost
whose talents and endeavors appear almost negligible, are blessed with tremendous success
in their undertakings! Such is the mystery of humility, of distrust of self, of trust in God and
His grace. God imparts His grace to the humble. “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
In humility we must look for the secret of strength; herein lies the strength and invincibility of
the Church. Living by the Spirit of the Lord and in the spirit of humility and submission to God,
she expects everything from God. “To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul; in Thee, O my
God, I put my trust; . . . for none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded” (Offertory).
Oppressed on all sides, persecuted and calumniated, she is confident of victory. She knows
only one source of power: prayer and humble submission to God, “who worketh all in all”
(Epistle). She is the praying Church, relying on God’s mercy, grace, and aid: “When I cried to
the Lord, He heard my voice” (Introit). The prayers of the humble overpower God; He cannot
leave them unheard.
The secret of our strength lies in the spirit of humility; for God gives His grace to the humble.
The more humble we are, the more room is there for God to work in our soul. Whatever is
good and great in a man’s soul can grow and thrive only under the cloak of humility.
The cause of our weakness, our faults, and relapses is our self-reliance, which causes us to
forget that God worketh “both to will and to accomplish, according to His good will” (Phil
2:13). “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Prayer
O God, who dost manifest Thy almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity; increase
Thy mercy towards us, that we, seeking the way of Thy promises, may be made partakers of Thy
heavenly treasures. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Tuesday
“Every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”
(Gospel). Let us return again to the picture of the Pharisee and the publican. The one exemplifies
self-love, boasting of its own excellence and ignoring God and His grace; the other exemplifies
the love for God which makes man forget himself because of God and causes him to put his
whole trust in God’s mercy and grace. It is the picture of pride and humility in another form.
Pride is the spirit of this world; humility, the spirit of Christ and His Church.
Pride is the spirit of this world, the pagan spirit. Whoever follows his own spirit and will, is a
proud man. A man in his pride turns away from God, refusing to place the talents, faculties, and
powers of his body and soul at the disposal of God. He wants to be his own master; not even God
may claim any right over him. Pride, the refusal to submit to God, is the beginning of every sin;
pride is the beginning and the root of all evil. It is the leaven which infects the good in man and,
as it grows, corrupts the whole. It is the greatest obstacle to union with God; it encourages the
passions and human concupiscence. These are the characteristics of worldliness: neglect of God,
self-love, and pride. The world has no need for God, no need for a Redeemer, a Church, prayer, or
the sacraments. It considers itself able to remain pure, patient, and charitable by its own strength.
This spirit of the world, of pride and self-glorification, often enters even the hearts of Christians.
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