Beaudenon's "Formation to Humility": Jesus Humble
How am I to Meditate on the Humility of Jesus.
Jesus wishes to train us in his examples (demonstrates His humility), lessons (by words and comments on His examples) and secrets (reserves His humility of heart for those who are and seek to be little).
The heart is a source of warmth and illumination; use affective meditation (prayer of love). Seek for grace, as it is a surer source of illumination than emotions.
"O Holy Ghost, Creator, create in me a new spirit, renew my will. Teach me Jesus: grant me those things that are of Jesus. I would be humble like Him and through Him."
Jesus was not humble merely in appearance but in fact.
The Lord's actions and sentiments are not too remote from our present situation; they serve as example today. Two questions about Jesus' sufferings and humiliations:
1) Did He really suffer, being Divine, and did he have truly humble thoughts since He is so great? Was the sole aim of His sufferings to be as an example for us?
2) Since Christ had Divine virtue to endure sufferings, and infinite power and fortitude, how can we, made of weakness, attain such heights in our lives?
Two conditions were essential for Jesus in feeling the shame of sufferings with natural repulsion and to accept them as being just: feeling and acceptance. Jesus' soul resembled ours as did His body. Jesus felt His humiliations and accepted them out of love.
Two differences arise: Jesus felt more keenly that we, and being more virtuous He accepted more lovingly. In life, the more grievous sufferings are for the choice souls. Being greater and more refined as souls, they see further and are more sensitive; being more constant they forget less. But Jesus went out to meet humiliation and suffering, and loved them. "With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you."
Thus, great love makes acts of virtue easier, but at the same time gives them greater intensity and perfection, and consequently, greater merit.
Christ's human nature was more sensitive and accessible to suffering than ours. But He is offered for our imitation. Two examples show the humility of effacement and of action: hidden within the Heart of Jesus are the humility of nullity--that of the sense of His nothingness. This humility is becoming to all creatures. It was to be Adam's in the Garden of Eden and ours in Heaven; it is the attitude of nothingess toward infinity. But to go further is the humility of abjection. This humility is that of deformity and vile baseness. This humility is the work of sin, as evil is a deformity that sinks lower than nothingness.
In attempting to see ourselves as base, we do not have a compelte awareness of vileness and do not feel inclined to abase ourselves. Because we cannot abase ourselves due to our pride, Jesus, without sin, took the place of sinful men and took upon Himself human ingnominy. He was able then to see Himself absolutely wretched, abject, worhty of all contempt.
Is abasement a counsel or a requirement for humility? Does this require us to be convinced that we are the least of men? At the Last Supper, Jesus kneels at the feet of the apostles and declares that we must do as He has done. St. Paul says, "In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves." All the saints have observed this rule of conduct; we see so-called "excess" not only justified, but glorified.
Humility is having a sense of our defects and faults. This sentiment, when alive, pervades our souls, and blinds us to the defects and faults of others, makes us sincerely seek the lowest place as being the only one worthy of our wrethed condition.
Humility is the best protection of charity. Charity can only expand in the space created by humility.
Abasement, then, becomes a requirement of humility. We may despise no one and may not prefer ourselves to any other person. Beyond this attitude, abjection is a counsel and limits are sent only by prudence. In meditation we will learn how to form a conviction of abasement, how it may become sincere. A true appreciation of oneself can be based on one's whole life which we are incapable of judging in the past activities or of knowing the future ones.
Does perfect humility require us to consider ourselves numerically the last of men? No, for while we should think lowly of ourselves, realistically that spot can be held by only one. But the practical and essential sense of our lowliness remains the basis of humility.
Jesus wishes to train us in his examples (demonstrates His humility), lessons (by words and comments on His examples) and secrets (reserves His humility of heart for those who are and seek to be little).
The heart is a source of warmth and illumination; use affective meditation (prayer of love). Seek for grace, as it is a surer source of illumination than emotions.
"O Holy Ghost, Creator, create in me a new spirit, renew my will. Teach me Jesus: grant me those things that are of Jesus. I would be humble like Him and through Him."
Jesus was not humble merely in appearance but in fact.
The Lord's actions and sentiments are not too remote from our present situation; they serve as example today. Two questions about Jesus' sufferings and humiliations:
1) Did He really suffer, being Divine, and did he have truly humble thoughts since He is so great? Was the sole aim of His sufferings to be as an example for us?
2) Since Christ had Divine virtue to endure sufferings, and infinite power and fortitude, how can we, made of weakness, attain such heights in our lives?
Two conditions were essential for Jesus in feeling the shame of sufferings with natural repulsion and to accept them as being just: feeling and acceptance. Jesus' soul resembled ours as did His body. Jesus felt His humiliations and accepted them out of love.
Two differences arise: Jesus felt more keenly that we, and being more virtuous He accepted more lovingly. In life, the more grievous sufferings are for the choice souls. Being greater and more refined as souls, they see further and are more sensitive; being more constant they forget less. But Jesus went out to meet humiliation and suffering, and loved them. "With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you."
Thus, great love makes acts of virtue easier, but at the same time gives them greater intensity and perfection, and consequently, greater merit.
Christ's human nature was more sensitive and accessible to suffering than ours. But He is offered for our imitation. Two examples show the humility of effacement and of action: hidden within the Heart of Jesus are the humility of nullity--that of the sense of His nothingness. This humility is becoming to all creatures. It was to be Adam's in the Garden of Eden and ours in Heaven; it is the attitude of nothingess toward infinity. But to go further is the humility of abjection. This humility is that of deformity and vile baseness. This humility is the work of sin, as evil is a deformity that sinks lower than nothingness.
In attempting to see ourselves as base, we do not have a compelte awareness of vileness and do not feel inclined to abase ourselves. Because we cannot abase ourselves due to our pride, Jesus, without sin, took the place of sinful men and took upon Himself human ingnominy. He was able then to see Himself absolutely wretched, abject, worhty of all contempt.
Is abasement a counsel or a requirement for humility? Does this require us to be convinced that we are the least of men? At the Last Supper, Jesus kneels at the feet of the apostles and declares that we must do as He has done. St. Paul says, "In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves." All the saints have observed this rule of conduct; we see so-called "excess" not only justified, but glorified.
Humility is having a sense of our defects and faults. This sentiment, when alive, pervades our souls, and blinds us to the defects and faults of others, makes us sincerely seek the lowest place as being the only one worthy of our wrethed condition.
Humility is the best protection of charity. Charity can only expand in the space created by humility.
Abasement, then, becomes a requirement of humility. We may despise no one and may not prefer ourselves to any other person. Beyond this attitude, abjection is a counsel and limits are sent only by prudence. In meditation we will learn how to form a conviction of abasement, how it may become sincere. A true appreciation of oneself can be based on one's whole life which we are incapable of judging in the past activities or of knowing the future ones.
Does perfect humility require us to consider ourselves numerically the last of men? No, for while we should think lowly of ourselves, realistically that spot can be held by only one. But the practical and essential sense of our lowliness remains the basis of humility.
posted by The Catholic Hermit | 5:19 PM
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