When I think of some lovely qualities like gentleness, kindness, humility, love, generosity and others, I think we are blest if we have them.
But nearly each of these can be misused by another person. If I am gentle then someone can try to dominate me or bully me.
If I am kind, someone can take advantage of my kindness. If I am humble, someone can abuse me or try to put me down.
They say that to love is to make one vulnerable. And we see examples too often – whether it is in relationships, deceit, take advantage and some use it as a power game.
The one quality I am thinking about there is humble, its definition is: ‘having or showing a modest or low estimate of ones importance and an eg: I feel very humble in their presence. A person who is humble needs to be a person who is very comfortable with themselves.
They don’t have to prove anything to anyone. If someone mistakes this for weakness they find themselves very challenged and wanting in any discussion or circumstance.
Anyone that I know who I would call humble are just beautiful people. If I may start with my Dad. He worked for the Victorian Railways. It was a modest job which he did very dutifully. But he managed to bring in enough money to raise and educate six children obviously with Mum’s watchful eye on buying.
He cut our hair (five boys), he mended our shoes, he and Mum spent little on themselves.
He was very prayerful with a great devotion to Mary and the Rosary. He was rather quiet but had an amazing inner strength – for me he was a humble man.
I think of people like Neale Daniher. A gifted footballer now a man who is pushing himself, as he slowly dies, to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease.
Everyone sees him as a beautiful, brave and humble man who is on a mission and he rallies people to help him on his cause.
I think of Pope Francis, again a beautiful, humble man but by no means a weak person.
He has the strength to lead the Catholic Church. He shows humility as he welcomes the stranger, hugs the prisoner and kisses the handicapped. A man who can leave the ‘ivory tower’, the Vatican for his humble flat and sneak out at night to go mix with the poor. A man of strong convictions, who lives the gospel message in all humility.
Would we call ourselves a humble country?
I know it is a sweeping statement but my reason for writing on this topic is because in one of my daily reflection books it made the comment, ‘it means to do ones task, no matter how humble’.
We would ask ourselves what sort of menial tasks would I be prepared to do? Whether to help someone, because the boss asked me to or take on a job just so I could be employed and not be on the dole. There are many jobs today, go begging, or we go overseas because Australians won’t do them.
This is a ‘real’ problem when the local orchardist etc can’t get workers, yet many are unemployed. How many would say, I am not going to lower myself to do those sorts of jobs.
How does my opening definition fit in here?
How do we see our own importance? If we can love ourselves and know for certain that we are loved by God who created us as we are, then the little things, the menial things, the kind things they are our strength and help us to understand or view things in a different light.
Jesus is the perfect example of what it means to be humble. A man who loved all; nothing was too much trouble; nothing below his dignity – he raised things up and gave them dignity.
‘He was humbler yet even accepting death, death on a cross.’ Phil 2:7
Fr Michael
Parish Priest
Sacred Heart Parish
Tatura
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