- The Homily from Sunday August 22 is in the Library>>>
- This Sunday's readings are available at usccb.org>>>
- I am presiding at 4pm Mass on August 28th and 9:30 Masson August 29th
Let's Get to the Bottom of This!
What I am hearing in the scriptures for this weekend is an invitation to humility. As a virtue humility can sound like a contradication. What I mean is that the word "virtue" comes from the root word "strength" or "power" and of course the common interpretation of humility is pretty much "weakness" or "timidity"
Actually humility as a virtue is closely connect to honest truth. The truly honest peron knows himself with his gifts and his limitations. The work "humus" or dirt is related to humility and the connection is that we are aware of the "clay" or the simple essence of ourselves. The humble man is strong in his clarity of what he is and who God is.
The old one-liner..."there is one God, and you're not Him" should be a beginning spot for all of our reflections. We human beings get caught in the trap of comparing ourselves to one another instead of seeing ourselves in the light of God. It isn't long until we are "my dog is bigger than your dog" type of childish competition and self-aggrandizement.
Truly knowing yourself and loving yourself as God loves you is the beginning of all true human intercourse. In the face of our brothers and sisters we can forget who we aren't and start acting like someone we shouldn't and couldn't be.
This hitting anyone where it hurts?
5 comments:
Wow, such Truth!!! So plain and simple and easily understood, wow!!! Reminds me of last week's homily of we're asking the wrong questions. And it's funny about humility...easier to say what it is NOT versus what it is, so I appreciate the clear message.
Your words and thoughts remind me of Popeye's "I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam." Yuck-yuck-yuck!!!
Exceptionally striking words. . . The truly honest person knows himself with his gifts and his limitations. Those who lack humility don't know themselves, strengths AND weaknesses, and for myself I didn't realize this is a big, no -- HUGE -- part of spiritual growth. My Dad used to say, know yourself, be honest with yourself. I had no clue. And so many of the saints say in one form or another of "Know yourself".
Very striking words. . . We human beings get caught in the trap of comparing ourselves to one another instead of seeing ourselves in the light of God. For the longest time I didn't see all the goodness of God within myself. I would see it in others, but not acknowlege it in myself . . . this ALSO is not humility! We were taught not to think well of ourselves or to be proud of ourselves, but this ALSO is not humility.
SUCH A TRUTH . . . Can never, EVER be plumbed deeply enough . . . Truly knowing yourself and loving yourself as God loves you is the beginning of all true human intercourse. WOW!!!
On track, Wow, can relate to it so much, with so many conversations I've had with friends, can't wait to hear more . . .
When I decided to commit myself to prayer and reflection, I started to figure out who really am, with the consequent dislike of myself from head to toes. No humble at all!
It is the confidence that I have in God now that I can face myself whitout fear of who really I am. ( and not everyday!)
God knows me so well that I can't hide my "secrets" from Him. As I continue with my journey and a little bit closer to His heart, it reaches a point that I do not care much about who I am, because someone loves me very much and is there for me whenever I need consolation. I care more about how much He loves me than who really I am.
Is this humility? I have not idea. Do I have this acceptance every day? No way.
This is a long journey that takes a lot of trust and acceptance.
Knowing oneself is the most painful task in life!!!
I suppose the Matador’s reflection could “hit where it hurts,” but I found it to be more “comforting” than “hurtful.” I think life is more difficult when we try to be who we’re not. When we embrace fully who we are and rely on others for who they are, life is a little easier. There is a popular “gift assessment” tool these days produced by the Gallup Organization – it’s called “StrengthsFinder.” The instrument they use for this assessment produces a report that tells you your top 5 strengths – or “Signature Themes” – as they call them. The interesting thing about it is that the instrument doesn’t give you any feedback on the strengths BELOW your top five, because the premise is that it’s not helpful to waste time and energy on areas that are not your gift. They explain that your talents are natural to you – so you either have a particular talent…or you don’t! And once you know your gifts, you SHOULD spend time and energy improving those, understanding them, discovering how they can work in conjunction with other people who have other gifts. They make the point that by discovering our gifts and nurturing them, we are really showing a deep appreciation for the people God made us to be – we celebrate who we are – we recognize that there are good things for us to accomplish with the gifts we have. There is a great quote by Mother Teresa (a model of humility) that fits nicely with this message of the Matador’s reflection, “What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” What a saint!
"Truly knowing yourself and loving yourself..."
How does one do that?
Anon1
Thanks for recommending the strength finder. I not only bought it for myself but there is one for 10-14 year olds. Thanks.
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