Humility is a Virtue

From the Desk of Father David

Dear Friends in Christ

             In last week’s homily, I talked about two enemies that rob us of peace and living life abundantly, anger and lack of forgiveness.  Another deadly enemy is pride.  Pride which sneaks into our lives in so many different ways must always be uprooted.  This Sunday’s Gospel challenges us to be humble.  Humility is the virtue that replaces pride and poor self-esteem.  The following definition from the Modern Catholic Dictionary can help us properly understand humility.  “Humility is the moral virtue that keeps a person from reaching beyond himself. It is the virtue that restrains the unruly desire for personal greatness and leads people to an orderly love of themselves based on a true appreciation of their position with respect to God and their neighbors. Religious humility recognizes one’s total dependence on God; moral humility recognizes one creaturely equality with others. Yet humility is not only opposed to pride; it is also opposed immoderate self-abjection, which would fail to recognize God’s gifts and use them according to his will.” 

This definition reminds us that humility is about recognizing the truth about who we are in relationship to God, others and ourself.  May the Lord Jesus, who humbled Himself for our sake, bless us with true humility, so that our families and parish may become places of peace and love.

Peace and healings,

Fr. David