Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child, and she is now in her sixth month. With God, nothing is impossible” (Luke I:36-37)
Let us pray: God, our Father, we come to You with confidence that You will enlighten us with Your grace and love. Today as we worry about the world’s miseries, where love is disappearing among families and neighbors, where we find disunity everywhere, where love and respect for Your Son Jesus Christ are no longer seen, we implore the intercession of our Blessed Mother so that we may find light and power in You. Loving God, we ask You to enlighten the abandoned, the handicapped, and those deprived of true love from a father and a mother. With Your mercy, may they find peace, hope, and unity. We ask You to help us to be like Mary who does not forget her children, always caring, helping and watching over us. We hope to be relieved from our burdens and sufferings. Please help us Your children to experience the love and unity You want in every home. May we also be a model of kindness by showing us the way to establish good relationship with our neighbor, which is an excellent way of promoting unity in oneness of heart. O Eternal Father, we praise and thank You for the graces You bestowed upon us, especially the Blessed Virgin Mother. Trusting in Your love and mercy, we hope to obtain the favor we earnestly ask through her, the grace to love and die in Your love.
Jesus, for our salvation You willingly humbled Yourself, becoming Man in the womb of the Virgin Mother, grant me through the mystery of Your holy Incarnation the virtue of humility that I may ever please God as Your Mother did, by meekness and lowliness in this world, and be exalted by You in eternity.
Mary, dear Mother of my Savior, I greet you and I thank you for having received the message of the Archangel Gabriel: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” (Luke I:28) and for having answered with your assent, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) Intercede for me that God the Father, who accepted you as His Daughter and the Mother of His Son because of your humility at the Annunciation, may accept me as humble child. Amen
2nd Saturday of Lent – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast
As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.
Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”
Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…
From the Holy Gospel of St. Luke 15:1-3,11-32
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’
What word made this passage come alive for you?
What did you sense the Lord saying to you?
Once more give the Lord an opportunity to speak to you:
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’
What did your heart feel as you listened?
What did you sense the Lord saying to you?
Once more, through Him, with Him and in Him listen to the Word:
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’
What touched your heart in this time of prayer?
What did your heart feel as you prayed?
What do you hope to carry with you from this time with the Lord?
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen
Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
Episode 3 -Stations of the Cross: Reflections with Deacon James Keating
The Stations of the Cross – one of the most powerful devotionals alive in the heart of the Church. Reflecting and deeply meditating on the Passion of the Christ, Deacon Keating guides us through the 6th station (Veronica wipes the face of Jesus), the 7th station (Jesus falls a 2nd time), and the 8th station (Jesus encounters the women of Jerusalem) along the Way of the Cross.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
The Cross of Christ Unites. . .Us in the Work We Have to Do
Steps to Take as You Follow Christ
Ask—How can dying to myself help me to know God’s purpose?
Seek—Ask others to describe what your gifts are, and where they see you as being most authentic in your life. Resolve to see everyone who crosses your path as the servants that God sends to obtain fruit from the harvest.
Knock—Meditate on Revelation 22:1–2.
Then the angel showed me the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear down the middle of the city street. On either side of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the pagans.
How has your Baptism changed the curse of original sin in your life into the blessing of the mission that God gives you in Christ? When you receive the Eucharist, imagine that Christ is grafting you to himself, so that his life, his healing, his strength flow through you.
Transform Your Life—Ask Our Lord to reveal to you any areas of your life where you might be serving false gods. Ask him to help you to abandon yourself to God’s will in your life in the same way that he did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Believe in God’s providential care for you, no matter what has happened in your life in the past or present.
Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
A Lenten Spiritual Journey with Discerning Hearts: From Ashes to Glory – Discerning Hearts Podcast
Day 17: “God’s Steadfast Love and Forgiveness”
Scripture Reading (Jerusalem Bible):
Micah 7:18-19 “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in showing steadfast love. He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Reflection:
Today’s scripture draws us into the heart of God’s steadfast love and mercy. “He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in showing steadfast love.” These words from the prophet Micah remind us of the boundless mercy of God, who longs not to condemn but to forgive, to heal, and to restore.
God’s forgiveness is not something we earn; it is a gift freely given. Yet, this gift calls for a response from us—a willingness to turn back to Him with contrite hearts. Lent is a time to embrace this call to repentance and to trust in God’s promise to “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” No matter how far we may feel from Him, His mercy is always greater.
The Desert Fathers knew that the path to forgiveness often began with humility and the courage to face one’s own weaknesses. Abba Moses the Black said:
“The one who knows his sins is greater than the one who raises the dead.” (Apophthegmata Patrum, Alphabetical Collection, Moses 11)
Similarly, St. Faustina Kowalska, the Apostle of Divine Mercy, reminds us:
“The greater the sinner, the greater the right they have to My mercy.” (Diary of St. Faustina, 723)
God’s mercy is not limited by our failures. It is infinite, waiting to embrace us when we turn to Him in trust. As we reflect today, let us ask: How can we open our hearts more fully to God’s forgiveness? And how can we extend that same mercy to others, reflecting the love we ourselves have received?
Reflection Questions:
How does God’s steadfast love and forgiveness inspire us to return to Him with trust?
What areas of our lives are in need of healing and repentance?
How can we reflect God’s mercy in our relationships with others, especially those who have hurt us?
Closing Prayer:
Lord, You are rich in mercy and delight in showing steadfast love. Teach us to trust in Your forgiveness and to turn back to You with humble hearts. Cast away our sins and fill us with Your healing grace. May Your mercy transform our lives so that we may reflect Your love and compassion to the world. Amen.
This reflection is written by Kris McGregor of Discerning Hearts®. The Scripture passage is taken from the Jerusalem Bible (1966 edition), used with permission. No unauthorized use or reproduction is permitted without prior written consent.
The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. (Luke 1:35)
Let us pray:
Father, true to Your promise, You sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and to call us out of darkness into Your wonderful Light. Help us to remember this whenever we are beset with life’s perils and miseries. Fill us with hope and faith in Your providence. As we journey through life, give us the strength to courageously encounter suffering. Send us Your love and mercy when we are on the verge of quitting. Help us to know that Your Kingdom will come and bring an end to our ills. Anoint us with Your Spirit so that we may become credible bearers of the Good News to our brothers and sisters who are lonely and brokenhearted. We ask this through Christ our Lord, and the intercession of Our Lady of the Annunciation, the Mother of Light.
Jesus, for our salvation You willingly humbled Yourself, becoming Man in the womb of the Virgin Mother, grant me through the mystery of Your holy Incarnation the virtue of humility that I may ever please God as Your Mother did, by meekness and lowliness in this world, and be exalted by You in eternity.
Mary, dear Mother of my Savior, I greet you and I thank you for having received the message of the Archangel Gabriel: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” (Luke I:28) and for having answered with your assent, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) Intercede for me that God the Father, who accepted you as His Daughter and the Mother of His Son because of your humility at the Annunciation, may accept me as humble child. Amen
2nd Friday of Lent – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast
As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.
Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”
Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…
From the Holy Gospel of St. Matthew 21:33-43,45-46
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.
What word made this passage come alive for you?
What did you sense the Lord saying to you?
Once more give the Lord an opportunity to speak to you:
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.
What did your heart feel as you listened?
What did you sense the Lord saying to you?
Once more, through Him, with Him and in Him listen to the Word:
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.
What touched your heart in this time of prayer?
What did your heart feel as you prayed?
What do you hope to carry with you from this time with the Lord?
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen
Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
A Lenten Spiritual Journey with Discerning Hearts: From Ashes to Glory – Discerning Hearts Podcast
Day 16: “Blessed Are Those Who Trust in the Lord”
Scripture Reading (Jerusalem Bible):
Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Reflection:
Trust in the Lord is the foundation of a life rooted in grace. The prophet Jeremiah paints a beautiful image of this trust: “like a tree planted by water,” drawing sustenance from the stream. Even in times of drought, when life feels barren or uncertain, the tree remains alive and fruitful. In the same way, when we place our trust in God, His grace sustains us, even through trials.
Yet trusting in God can be difficult. We often rely on our own strength, trying to control situations or solve problems on our own. Self-reliance, while seemingly virtuous, can be a subtle yet severe temptation to pride. When we trust only in ourselves, we risk shutting God out, believing that our abilities alone will carry us through. This is the danger of self-reliance—it leads us away from the humility of depending on God and places the weight of life’s burdens squarely on our own shoulders.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux warns of this temptation:
“The man who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in the Lord will never be confounded.” (Sermon on the Song of Songs, 61.3)
Trust in God is not passive—it requires an active surrender, choosing again and again to place our lives in His hands. The Desert Fathers understood this well.Abba Poemen said:
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for it belongs to God. Leave it in His hands.” (Apophthegmata Patrum, Alphabetical Collection, Poemen 26)
St. Francis de Sales, known for his gentle spirituality, echoed this trust in his Introduction to the Devout Life:
“Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day.”
Lent invites us to recognize the places where we are still clinging to control. This is why taking time in silence and deep listening to the Lord in prayer is vital—it is an everyday discerning of His guidance, a continual surrender to His wisdom and direction. Are we trusting in God’s providence or in our own plans? Do we allow Him to lead us, or do we insist on charting our own course? To grow in trust means to surrender—not just in our words but in the very way we live.
As we reflect today, let us ask ourselves: Where is God calling me to let go? What areas of my life am I holding onto too tightly? How can I rest in the knowledge that He is always faithful?
Reflection Questions:
What areas of your life feel uncertain or barren, and how can you entrust them to God?
How can you remind yourself of God’s faithfulness when doubts arise?
What practical steps can you take to deepen your trust in the Lord each day?
Where might self-reliance be keeping you from experiencing the freedom of true dependence on God?
Closing Prayer:
Lord, You are the source of life and hope. Teach us to trust in You, even when the path ahead feels uncertain. Help us to surrender our fears and to place our lives in Your loving hands. May we draw strength from Your promises, like a tree planted by the water, and bear fruit in every season.
Amen.
This reflection is written by Kris McGregor of Discerning Hearts®. The Scripture passage is taken from the Jerusalem Bible (1966 edition), used with permission. No unauthorized use or reproduction is permitted without prior written consent.
We waste a lot of time thinking something is owed us. We brood over injury. We are not self-contained. Lent helps us remember the real truth about ourselves and our situation. The wisdom of the saints, like St. Bernard, helps us see our actual situation. His teachings suggest we can be free of brooding and find a new kind of self-possession when we allow the Lord to preoccupy us with his immeasurable love. We are, in fact, loved so much more than we deserve, but we can only see this as God leads us out of ourselves and into Him.
For St. Bernard, conversion happens when we allow God’s love for us to cause a constantly expanding desire for Him in our hearts. We allow God to stir this growing desire whenever we act on what God’s love prompts us to do in our hearts. Growing in love in this way is infallible because God’s desire for our conversion never changes. The result is as we desire God more, our freedom to act and to love grows ever stronger.
This next statement is a little paradoxical. Our freedom reaches its fullness in mature humility. The paradox resolves itself, at least partially, if we bear in mind the kind of only kind of freedom Bernard believes in – the freedom to love. Mature humility is like a mountain top of self-possession or self containment for St. Bernard. Love demands this kind of self-containment because to really love freely takes the full force of our being. In mature humility, the heart rests content in God’s bountiful love. It is a strange contentment because it demands constant vigilance, ongoing conversion. Bernard calls this spiritual warfare. It involves a constant struggle against our former way of life, against the gravitational pull of our big fat egos. Another way he looks at it is that this kind of contentment to be sustained in the Lord must keep vigil against them movements of pride.
For those who want to climb to union with God, Bernard teaches that there is one great truth of which we must come to complete acceptance. In his Ladder of Pride, he explains how we constantly work to fully accept God’s love for us. This love is not commensurate with anything we think we have done to earn it. The moment we start thinking we are owed something is the exact instant we climb the ladder of pride and fall out of the heights of humility.
There are probably a lot of people who think that this is psychologically unhealthy to think about. They would probably conjecture that any awareness one has of being loved more than he deserves is really just poor self-esteem. But humility is the virtue that regulates self-esteem. It is singularly unhealthy to esteem one’s self more or less than the truth about who one is.
St. Bernard would say that in truth, each of us is uncommonly loved by God, eventhough we have done nothing to deserve such love. We do not know why we are loved in this way. But we are, in all our unworthiness. It is humility to accept this. Paradoxically, progress is made in the spiritual life through the growing awareness of our own unworthiness in the face of God’s incalculable love.
In the heights of humility, however, we must fight against one uncharitable preoccupation which, while not seeming to be vicious, can uttlerly destroy our ability to learn to love. He calls it curiousity, but what he means seems to be closer to ambition. Biblically, it is the pursuit of “making an name” for oneself. Think of Babel or the history of Israel. The ambition to lord over others and to draw attention to oneself always leads away from God. St. Bernard, pride begins with the way that we look at our brothers and sisters, and it ends in a total rejection of God. His bottomline is that the heights of humility are a protected place as long as we we are humble in our dealings with one another. But the gravity of pride constantly pulls at us and, he explains, this pull can only be resisted through prayer, fasting, and humble acceptance of those trials which come our way.
Prayer, fasting and the acceptance of trial helps us realize that our true value is in God’s love for us and in his love for those he has entrusted us. Real self-esteem is rooted in this realization. Our lives are meant to co-inhere: to co-inhere in God and to co-inhere in one another. This means the joys and sorrows of God and my brothers and sisters belong to me, are the proper place for my heart to dwell. Preoccupation with making a name for myself takes my heart out of this kind of self-possession. For Bernard, the self does not fully exist isolated from God or from others. The self, the human “I,” ought to be in communion with God and others, or it is less than itself. Thus, to be self-contained, means for Bernard, that our only concern has become communion with one another in Christ.
An interesting application with the observance of Lent presents itself. Traditionally, Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In other posts I hope to address the connection of Bernard’s insight with Lent’s prayer and fasting. Here, just a word on almsgiving which is not unconnected with the importance of bearing the trials that come our way. In giving alms to those in desparate need what we are really doing, according to Bernard’s perspective, is containing ourselves in a very small way. Our gift is a kind of sharing in the struggles of our brothers and sisters. Think of the poor plight of those in Chile or Haiti or even the homeless mentally ill on our own streets. Their sufferings are always connected to us because of who they are, and humility, knowing the truth about ourselves and how we are connected to them, does not afford us the luxury of ignoring their plight. Their plight is ours. For St. Bernard, to see it any other way is just pride.
Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of Saint Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, California. For over twenty years he served the Church in Northern Colorado where he joined and eventually served as dean of the founding faculty of Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Through the years, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful have benefited from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.
The Cross of Christ Unites. . .Those Who Suffer for Justice
Steps to Take as You Follow Christ
Ask—What does God ask me to do for those who suffer?
Seek—Look for opportunities to help someone who needs it (and who cannot help you back). Stand up for someone who is being brought low.
Knock—Meditate on Romans 8:18.
I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us.
As members of the body of Christ, if one member suffers the entire body suffers. How can you make that suffering redemptive?
Transform Your Life——Read the accounts of the martyrs, those who gave the supreme witness to the gospel with their lives. Many monastic communities read about the lives of the martyrs every day, to inspire those seeking to grow in the Christian life.
Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
2nd Saturday of Lent – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast
Steps to Take as You Follow Christ
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2nd Friday of Lent – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast
