I used to think "humiliation" and "humility" went together and that I couldn't have one without the other. They are related words, both based in the Latin word humus, meaning "earth". Even in English, both imply being low on some scale. While humility is a virtue, however, humiliation implies a vice. Definitions Humiliation is the … Continue reading Humiliation vs. Humility
Humility
Draw Me
Draw me after you! Let us run!Song of Songs 1:4 Dedicated to Miss Marcel. 🙂 Crack the Whip When I was young, we played a game called "Crack the Whip". All the children hold hands in one straight line, and the leader starts running in random directions, pulling everyone along behind him. By strength and … Continue reading Draw Me
Temptation
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry.Matthew 4:1-2 The Spirit Jesus received in Baptism led Him into the desert to fast and be tempted. In our own Baptisms, we have become eligible … Continue reading Temptation
A Fool to the World
We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of … Continue reading A Fool to the World
A Christmas Sneeze
We humans do many things we don't mean to do, some of us more than others. But I have known no man who has escaped the Sneeze. Though it comes in various forms--the Sneeze of Suspense, the One That Sneaks Up On You, explosive, silent, painful, relieving--all sneezes are uncontrollable. You can learn to yawn … Continue reading A Christmas Sneeze
Seat of Wisdom
Seat of Wisdom is one of the titles of Mary. It is a significant title to me, because it reminds me that someone, at least, has achieved the perfect balance between wisdom and love. Balance When I was young, my life was balanced. I lived in the present. I was growing in wisdom, but just … Continue reading Seat of Wisdom
Time
Inspired by a homily by Fr. Thaddeus Hanes. Money Once a man inherited a very large sum of money from his rich, eccentric relative. A strange stipulation was on the inheritance. Every morning at 5:00 a.m., the man was to receive from the bank $86,400 in cash. He was to use the money as he … Continue reading Time
False Humility
About myself I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. Although if I should wish to boast, I would not be foolish, for I would be telling the truth. But I refrain, so that no one may think more of me than what he sees in me or hears from me because of the abundance … Continue reading False Humility
The Inefficiency of Love
This culture [of death] is actively fostered by powerful cultural, economic and political currents which encourage an idea of society excessively concerned with efficiency… The first to be harmed are women, children, the sick or suffering, and the elderly. The criterion of personal dignity—which demands respect, generosity and service—is replaced by the criterion of efficiency, … Continue reading The Inefficiency of Love
Love Is Come Again
In the grave they laid Him, Love by hatred slain, Thinking that never He would wake again. Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen: Love is come again, like wheat arising green. Easter Carol Now the Green Blade Rises ____________ Love Is Come Again For me this Easter, finding humility was a lot like … Continue reading Love Is Come Again