By Faith Addington, Catholicism Columnist
Of the ten commandments presented in the book of Exodus, Jesus marks two commandments as the most important: “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,39). While these are primarily commandments of love, they cannot be achieved without humility. Similar to love, humility is putting others before yourself; it is the practice of obedience to God, submissiveness and modesty. Practices that were modeled to a degree of perfection by our Lord, Jesus Christ.
When Jesus was born, He came to humanity as a lowly carpenter, birthed inside a manger. The King of Kings could have come to earth as a king or emperor, but alas, He chose to be born as a common folk. One of us. So that He could truly model for humanity how to live the Christian life. A life that is not one of wealth, power, or grandeur. A life of suffering, sacrifice and obedience.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus, Lord of the Universe, continually placed Himself before humanity’s castaways and servants. He ate with sinners, He washed the feet of His disciples, He allowed another to baptize Him; there was never an ounce of pride in Him, nor His actions. He knew that everything He was and did came from another:: from God.
Even unto his death, he modeled the same faithfulness to the will of His father. He was ridiculed, tortured, and crucified, accepting it with His perpetual grace and humility. How many of us can say that in the most challenging moments of our day, week or life that we have accepted it with no complaints, no blaming and no despairing? Jesus modeled for us this perfect humility in His final breaths; “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do… into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:34,46).
As humility is the antithesis of the deadliest sin, pride, it is inarguably one of the most important virtues to maintain. Pride is ubiquitous in the society in which we live; from our disordered fixation with the opinions of others, the tendency to be critical of ourselves and those around us, an unwillingness to forgive, even an over-sensitivity to the things around us. The best combatant to these habitual sins is the practice of introspection, being able to look within ourselves and reflect on the true purpose behind our actions. The life of a Christian was never meant to be easy because our hardships are intended to bring us closer to God by sharing in the suffering of Christ as the sacrificial lamb for humanity.
The Saint 