Humility has nothing to do with thinking lowly of ourselves that is low self esteem. To continually put one down has nothing to do with humility and everything to do with a focus on self in an attitude of negativity.
Sincere humility is when we acknowledge that we are nothing in and of ourselves, and recognition of how much we owe God. For we are not the source of goodness, yet we can do good works, we are not the source of hope, yet we live lives full of hope, we are also not the source of love, yet we love and long to be loved, where then is the source?
All that is good proceeds from the Triune Spirit, it is the indwelling Spirit that lights the inner sanctum of our souls which then illuminates our being and leads us to understand that nothing good can proceed from us till we have humbled ourselves before God.
The indwelling Spirit cannot find a home in the soul that is prideful for as Jesus says, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me....I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid."
Until we recognise our poverty of soul our ego's will rule our thoughts and motives in a dysfunctional and deformed understanding of itself. True humility is when we surrender our hearts to the Divine which takes discipline for to live in the Divine Will is to die to our ego and live from the centre of a Christ filled heart.
The first understanding must come when we realise that humility does not have its source in God for God is the Divine Creator upon whom every knee shall bend and every head be bowed. The first steps towards humility is the understanding of God's Majestic and Awesome Love, and how undeserving we are to merit it, having nothing within ourselves to offer back. The second step is to accept this Love in full knowledge that we will never love God with equality; therefore we are humbled at such a Love that came at such a price.
The third step is to discipline our hearts and souls to be mindful of Christ's Teaching and to be obedient as the Son was obedient to the Father, for we too are not here to do our will but to do the Fathers Will. Until we realise that we have much to be humble about, then our spiritual life will remain a constant struggle of ego vs immolation of our self will. As was revealed to St. Faustina of Divine Mercy, "The prayer of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and draws down an ocean of blessings.... Although My greatness is beyond understanding, I commune only with those who are little. I demand of you a childlike spirit."
A childlike spirit does not mean we must behave childishly but it does mean that we must put all our trust in God's Goodness not for what He can give us, but because God is not like man therefore He will never desert His children not even when we are unfaithful to Him, this is a tremendous Love that has been bestowed upon us...how could any not be humbled at such a Love?
It is the humble soul that God finds favour with in that He can work unrestricted within it and then transform the soul to be a living reflection of the Son, who suffered all the inequities of the world in our place. Until we recognise how strong our sense of self is we will never progress towards perfection. As St. Therese instructs us in these words, "I understood that to become a Saint one had to suffer much, seek out always the most perfect thing to do, and forget self. I understood, too, there were many degrees of perfection and each soul was free to respond to the advances of our Lord, to do little or much for Him, in a word, to choose among the sacrifices He was asking. Then, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: My God I choose all! I don't want to be a saint by halves, I'm not afraid to suffer for You, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will; so take it, for I choose all 'that You will!"
What must we do to become humble, as St. Therese just said it is not to do things by halves, it is to live obedient to Christ's Commands. It is then that the indwelling Spirit can work within us and illuminate our minds to live with a sense of immense gratitude for a love that is totally undeserved and is pure Gift.
The knowledge that we cannot return God's Love in equal measure should humble us all, for who is man that God thinks of him?
Peace of Christ to ALL
Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment