A Lenten Treasure Hunt: Fourth Clue

“There are many people who can do big things. But there are very few people who will do the small things.” Saint Teresa of Calcutta

When my children were little, one of the most important lessons that I tried to impart to them was humility. It was very difficult to find that balance of allowing them to feel proud of their accomplishments while not fostering an attitude of arrogance. After all, no one can stand a person with a huge ego. Still, it was important to me to celebrate, rather than diminish, their achievements. I clearly remember a discussion around the dinner table one night. My oldest son was gifted with incredible intelligence. For him, getting straight As was a piece of cake. My two youngest had to put a lot of effort into getting those As. That night, my oldest was acting pretty obnoxious. He claimed that the fact that he could get straight As was not a gift from God, but rather all due to the fact that he studied harder than his siblings did.  My husband and I tried to explain to him that, while he did study and do all his homework, it probably took him a lot less time to learn the material than it did his siblings. For them, getting the same A might entail three hours of studying, whereas, for him, one hour might suffice. He still did not get it. He claimed that, if it took them three hours, it was because they were getting distracted by other things. They could not truly be studying the material the way he did; otherwise, one hour would be enough. It would take a long time, and lots of similar discussions, for him to comprehend that he had a talent, and that even though he should feel very proud of all his triumphs, he also needed to give thanks to God, because not everyone shared his talents. We were thrilled when he became class valedictorian, but felt most proud when we heard him thank God in his speech. It was at that moment that we knew he had learned the lesson of humility.

The fourth clue that will lead us to the treasure is: In order not to succumb to the poison of pride, we must take a big dose of its antidote, humility.

We need to heed St. Peter’s advice: “Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:5–6). Bishop Sheen explains, “That is why He who might have been born in a palace... chose to appear before men in a stable as a child wrapped in swaddling bands. Added to this humility of His birth was the humility of His profession-a carpenter in an obscure village of Nazareth.”[1] Just like pride is the sin from which all others arise, humility is the mother of all virtues, and the foundation of holy living. We cannot be fully holy if we are not humble. As St. Augustine puts it, “The way to Christ is first through humility, second through humility, third through humility.”[2]

Jesus teaches us that humility begins with service, saying “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). Jesus taught us how to serve many times throughout his life on Earth, but the one that stands out to me most happened on Holy Thursday, when He washed the feet of His Apostles. What an incredible act of humility for Jesus to lower himself to that level and wash the feet of those who were supposed to be following Him. But He needed to teach His disciples, and us as well, that “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:26-28).

Jesus’ supreme act of humility was His crucifixion, when “he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Jesus became obedient to death voluntarily and willingly. He freely chose to take our sins to the cross with Him. The One who deserved all power in heaven and on earth chose to die for us in the most humiliating manner. As God, He could have come down from the cross. He could have asked His Father to save Him. But He did not. His humility was pure sacrifice because He loved us so much. The cross is His ultimate act of humility to atone for all our sins. Jesus was truly an example of humility, from His birth until His death.

Our blessed Mother must have been one of those people too, always full of joy. Jesus had a great model of humility in His own mother. If there were anyone truly entitled to feel a lot of pride, it would be our Blessed Mother, Mary. After all, she is the mother of Jesus. She is the mother of God. And yet, what we see in her is not pride, but the complete opposite. The Virgin Mary is our greatest model of humility. I visited Israel a few years ago, and one of my favorite paintings of Mother Mary was located on the back wall of the Church of the Visitation. It’s a beautiful fresco of the Virgin Mary standing on top of the moon with baby Jesus in her arms. I have seen lots of paintings of the Virgin Mary with the moon at her feet, but I did not understand the symbolism. The priest who accompanied us on our pilgrimage explained to us that, just like the moon cannot shine on its own without the help of the sun, Mary cannot shine on her own without the help of the Son. Mary’s humility stems from the fact that she always knew her place: her job was to reflect the light of her Son. The first miracle that Jesus performed was at the behest of our Blessed Mother, who asked for His intervention at the wedding at Cana, but then took a step back. She could not perform the miracle herself. She could only intercede. She always made sure that the glory belonged to her Son. 

God is calling each one of us to help build His kingdom, and He is asking us to do it humbly. Jesus says, “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). We must always remember that all our talents are blessings from heaven. I know that my ability to write is a gift from God. Yes, it is something that I truly enjoy doing, but when I write, I always pray to the Holy Spirit for inspiration. And I know that He is directing my thoughts. It is especially evident when I go back and re-read what I wrote, especially years later. I ask myself, “did I truly write that?” I know that it would not have been possible on my own. Therefore, when someone tells me, “I love your writings,” or “I look forward to reading your blog,” I always must give credit to the One above. Just like I taught my children many years ago, I must remind myself all the time that I am just a little pencil and the author is God. 

[1]Fulton J. Sheen, “The Seven Capital Sins,” (New York: Alba House, 2001), 38.
[2] St. Augustine of Hippo, “The Letters of St. Augustine,” (Letter 118 to Dioscorus), par 22.