One of the hallmarks, if you will, of Plain Catholic spirituality is the virtue of humility. Humble service to God and His Church; humble service to our families; humble service to the land. St. Benedict devoted a major portion of his Rule to the virtue of humility (Rule of St. Benedict). Humility comes from the Latin word meaning "of the earth". The humble person isn't a doormat; rather the humble person is grounded in reality. We live in a culture that promotes self-gratification over all other activities. Plain Catholics seek service to Christ above self. All of the great religious orders in our Church know that humility is the soil in which holiness grows. The Augustinians, the Benedictines, the Carmelites, the Dominicans, the Franciscans and oh so very many others all emphasize this one virtue. Without it we cannot advance in spiritual maturity.
"If you wish to be perfect”
St. Teresa of Avila (1515-82), Spanish Carmelite nun, Doctor of the Church Interior Castle, Mansion 3, Chapter 1
O Jesus! can any one declare that he does not desire this great
blessing, especially after he has passed through the chief difficulties?
No; no one can! We all say we desire it, but there is need of more than that for the Lord to possess entire dominion over the soul. It is not enough to say so, any more than it was enough for the young man when our Lord told him what he must do if he desired to be perfect…
Enter then, enter, my daughters, into your interior; pass beyond
the thought of your own petty works, which are no more, nor even as much, as Christians are bound to perform: let it suffice that you are God's
servants, do not pursue so much as to catch nothing. Think of the saints,
who have entered the Divine Presence, and you will see the difference
between them and ourselves. Do not ask for what you do not deserve, nor
should we ever think, however much we may have done for God, that we merit the reward of the saints, for we have offended him. Oh, humility, humility! I know not why, but I am always tempted to think that persons who complain so much of aridity in prayer must be a little wanting in this virtue…Let us try ourselves, my sisters, or let our Lord try us; he knows well how to do so, although we often pretend to misunderstand him…
If we turn our backs on him and go away sorrowfully like the youth
in the Gospel when he tells us what to do to be perfect, what can God do?
for he must proportion the reward to our love for him. This love, my
daughters, must not be the fabric of our imagination; we must prove it by
our works. Yet do not suppose that our Lord has need of any works of ours; he only expects us to manifest our goodwill…if we continue in it…
doubtless, by persevering in this poverty and detachment of soul, we shall
obtain all for which we strive. But, mark this - it must be on one
condition - that we `hold ourselves for unprofitable servants.’ (Lk 12:48)
That's me away then. May your day be blessed with spiritual graces from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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6 comments:
You have a blessed day too Sister! May I ask, do you attend Mass every day or morning? I know most Catholic Churches offer Mass every day, and was wondering if you do. :)
Are there many plain Catholics in your parrish? If not, what do they think of you? Get any snide remarks?
Hugs,
Dawn
This is so absolutly true. I have read the diary of St Faustina and she spoke of how wonderful humility was. Silence was her biggest joy. Silence is very difficult for me; I constantly have to have some noise, even simply white noise like a fan or the dryer. This is something I ought to work on as well.
Gee, there are so very many things I need to work on! If I try to think about it all, I get so overwhelmed! I simply have to remind myself that I am a work in progress and to keep aiming for the prize!
God Bless!
I'm sorry this doesn't have anything to do with this post, but I have a question. At what age do girls start wearing a kapp? (Did I spell that right?)
I have a baby girl and want her to at least wear a headcovering to Mass, as I do, but I'm not sure at what age to start. I had thought about it being at first communion, but then someone recommended having her get used to it at a younger age.
Thank you so much for your time!
God Bless!
For PandaBean: Re young girls wearing a headcovering, most mothers who value this devotion will start their daughters wearing a mantilla or veil as soon as they have enough hair for securing the veil. If the child wears a prayer kapp, tis easy to start them from infancy if so desired as a prayer kapp has strings.
For Dawn: Aye, we attend on Sundays, Holy Days, and on weekdays. We live quite far from the church so we attend only once or twice on a normal weekday. We always attend Sundays and Holy Days, barring accident or illness. I am the only Plain Catholic in the parish who dresses in cape and kapp yet I am accepted. As with anything, once people know you and understand that your first and foremost thought is that of kindness and love of God, they accept you regardless of outward appearances. They also learn quickly that any snide remark will backfire on them as others who know you will quickly stop any sarcasm.
Oh wow. I've *tried* to read the diary of St. Faustina but it is SO heavy and intense!! I can only take it a page at a time and I havn't finished it.
I was introduced to the unbelievable poetry of St. John of the Cross very recently by John Michael Talbot - I bought one of his CDs, "The Lover and the Beloved." Every time I listen to that CD I immediately get glazed eyes and start praying and praising God. It's intense!!
My spirituality has always been very simple as I slogged through understanding the faith and the bible. But now I'm starting to be able to dig a bit deeper - and I like what I see! It's never ending. I can never grow "bored" with my faith. God is infinate and therefore I shall never reach the end of Him. GOD BLESS!
Thank you so much for answering my question. I have a small veil already made for Amelia, I simply need to get something to secure it to her head.
God Bless!
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