Christian Virtue Is Not For Sissies
Our Lord answers prayer. So much so that as an evangelical Christian "we" all knew to never pray for patience. After all, one does not gain the virtue of patience when things are going swimmingly. On the contrary, patience is cultivated only in trying circumstances. So what do you think would happen if someone were to pray the following prayer regularly?
Litany of Humility
O Jesus meek and humble of heart, hear me.From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being being extolled, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be more esteemed than I, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it. Amen.
by Rafael Cardinal Merry de Val
And just in case I was thick-headed and not getting it.....I was thick-headed and not getting it by the way.....I read this in the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska.
In order to purify a soul, Jesus uses whatever instruments He likes. My soul underwent a complete abandonment on the part of creatures; often my best intentions were misinterpreted by the sisters, a type of suffering which is most painful; but God allows it, and we must accept it because in this way we become more like Jesus. There was one thing which I could not understand for a long time: Jesus ordered me to tell everything to my Superiors, but my Superiors did not believe what I said and treated me with pity as though I were being deluded or were imagining things.
And just in case I wasn't getting the message....and I wasn't...as I was praying, it "occurred" to me that the nitty gritty of humility really only starts if your best intentions are being misinterpreted. It's one thing to accept one's just punishment with quiet humilty, but if we want to be like Jesus that kind of humilty really only starts when we are UNjustly accused. So if we pray for humility, we can COUNT on being unjustly accused.
Doesn't THAT just make you want to pray for more humility? Brace youselves. Christian virtue is NOT for sissies.
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