On Holy Humility

On Holy Humility
Thoughts of Blessed Charles de Foucauld
Part Two

“Where has he learnt these things? …Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:2-3).

You took only three years to teach the Truth to the world, O my God, to establish Your Church, to form Your Apostles; but you did not consider it too long to consecrate thirty years to preach the example of humility, of abasing Yourself in a hidden life to men…

“Quid est homo…” How is it possible that God has need of us, who can give Him nothing except that which He has given us? How is it possible to believe that we are in a position to be useful to Him, we, who can do nothing without Him, He, Who can do everything without us?

Let us throw ourselves into abjection, into poverty, into the humble manual labour of Our Lord: love demands imitation: let us love and imitate: “The servant is not greater than the master”; we are little like Jesus. Jesus tells us to follow Him: let us follow Him, share in His life, His works, His occupations, His abasement, His poverty, His abjection; let us be workers, poor workers despised together with Him! Let us wear the same crown of scorn and disdain on our head which He wore. “He who follows me will not walk in darkness;” let us follow Him, imitate Him and be for Him as little brothers who live like Him in all things: “I am the way, the truth and the life”; let us follow this way, let us live the life of Jesus, let us do His works, which are truth…

“I have come to save the world”; we have also the same aim and we must not ransom mankind, but work for its salvation; let us engage the same means as He Himself engaged. Now, these means are not human wisdom, surrounded by luxury and splendor and seated in the first place, but rather Divine Wisdom, concealed under the appearance of a poor Man, a Man who lives by the work of His Hands, a man Who is wise and full of knowledge, but Who is despised, abject, Who has never studied in the schools of men, but Who has been before their eyes and they have known Him as One Who lived humbly, performing lowly work.

Let us follow this Divine example; we are the faithful images of Jesus… We are truly, sharing His whole life, the little brothers of Jesus… Let us never separate ourselves from His work, from His abjection, from imitating Him just like St. Paul, who was filled with love for Him: “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.”

From De vita Contemplativa – Franciscan Sisters of The Immaculate (Umbria, Italy) - Contribution and translation: Francesca Romana - This is the second and last of a two part series.

Thank You Rorate Caeli for your thought provoking Posts!!