Tag Archive for: virtues

The Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary—The Most Humble Person who ever Lived

We know that the Blessed Virgin Mary was, without doubt, the perfect disciple of Jesus in the practice of all virtues. Ironically, the most profound and important of all the virtues, the actual bedrock of their very existence, is the virtue of humility. We never really hear of this virtue in relation to Our Lady even though it is the one virtue that places her above all other creatures (excluding Her Son) from the beginning to the end of time. St. Bernard says, “Humility is the foundation and guardian of the virtues, and with good reason, for without it no other virtue can exist in a soul.”

For some reason, the great feast of Our Lady of Humility is not celebrated very much today. Matthew 11:29 reads, “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am Meek and Humble of Heart …” The first true disciple of Jesus is His very own Mother.

Humility is probably the most difficult virtue of recognizing because the more profound it is in a person, the less visible it presents itself; willingly and quietly going to the back of the line so others can go first might be an example. In our present-day world, we are aware that exaltation and devotion are given to our Blessed Mother. However, her life on earth was not that way at all. And this is where we must look so we can understand the virtue of humility as practiced by the Mother of God. That is because all virtues for our common Catholic/Christian life can be found in Mary.

If we look at Our Lady’s life, we can see that everything she ever did was predicated on grace. Her words to the Angel Gabriel were, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.”  

A handmaid is a servant and Mary immediately gave herself over as the “handmaid of the Lord.” From that moment forward she would do only what her God asked and would remain ever ready to fulfill any further wishes, never using her unique position to promote herself or her own ambitions.

How many of us have undertaken personal quests because we are driven by our pride? We might perceive ourselves as “great” singers, or athletes, or writers, or doctors, and even become jealous of those who attain loftier positions or more praise than we do. Even priests and religious have aspired to lofty positions, not because of grace but rather, because of their own vanity.

There are many sets of virtues within the Catholic faith. Among those virtues are the Contrary Virtues. Foremost among these are humility against pride. The great evil of pride is that it causes us to be unable to detach ourselves from the good works we are actually doing. For example, knowing the public praise you might receive for completing a certain project becomes your motivation to help others, causing you to become a slave to your own pride. The “good work” was not done for the glory of God but rather, for the aggrandizing of yourself.

If we step back and do our best to look at the Blessed Mother’s humility, we see that all she ever did was to love and serve God: always, and at every moment. She was a selfless homemaker taking care of her husband and her son. She quietly and dutifully observed her position and her Jewish faith. She knew who she was and was aware of what her purpose had become. She was with Jesus as he went through His passion and death. She was at the foot of the Cross when He died for us. She held His lifeless body, cradling His bloodied head in her motherly arms.

There are “good works” for which we are not called. Pride steps in and drives us to do things that may lead to impatience, criticism of others, gossiping, back-biting, and other sinful things. If we work on building our humility we can grow to fear this type of behavior.

How can we build and reinforce our humility? We should immediately turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is our Mother and will help us. Her example is one of selflessness — always selflessness. Everything she did was out of obedience and for the glory of God. Let us contemplate Our Lady more each day. Let us also strive to follow, even though unattainable, her virtue of Perfect Humility.

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Humility, also known as The Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is July 17.

Our Lady of Humility, pray for us.

Copyright 2018 Larry Peterson

Jean Heimann and Seven Saints – CWG April Book Blast

This month, the Catholic Writers’ Guild is touring Guildie Jean M. Heimann’s book, Seven Saints for Seven Virtues. It’s been awarded the CWG Seal of Approval. Check out this collection of seven stellar saints who model heavenly virtues that inspire us to lead holy lives.

Seven Saints for Seven Virtues

Jean M. Heimann

Summary: To live a virtuous life might seem like a daunting task, but we are fortunate to have examples to follow—the saints who have faced sin through the embodiment and exemplification of virtue. In this book, the reader will meet seven saints who lived seven virtues, and will discover concrete ways that they can live those virtues in their own lives. Each chapter will include:

  • A quote from the saint
  • A personal reflection on each saint
  • A brief biography
  • A discussion on the spirituality of each saint, and concrete examples how to emulate this saint and grow in the virtue that saint models
  • A prayer to conclude each chapter, asking for the intercession of that saint

Seven Saints for Seven Virtues covers a wide range of spirituality and life circumstances, demonstrating that everyone, in every role of life, has the opportunity to live a virtuous life.

Find it Amazon — http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Saints-Virtues-Jean-Heimann/dp/1616368454

Or Servant Books — http://catalog.franciscanmedia.org/Product.aspx?ProductCode=T36845

Check out Jean’s blog, Catholic Fire: http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/, to learn more about the saints.

Freedoms We Hold Dear – Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience

The United States was founded by numerous groups fleeing Europe in search of the freedom to practice their religion, free from tyranny or persecution. Now, after hundreds of years, our government – once envisioned to be a tool to protect those freedoms – has seen fit to attempt to restrict the practice of specific Catholic beliefs. Many other Christian people recognize this assault on freedom of religion, and stand in solidarity with us.

Freedom of conscience is a bedrock tenet of this country, and in fact, is recognized as a basic human right. From Wikipedia: In 1948, the issue of the right to “conscience” was dealt with by the United Nations General Assembly in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It reads: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

I suspect that our current political climate has given rise to the first time many of us have had to exercise this right. Many conscientious objectors have done so in the past, refusing to partake in war. Some have been allowed to serve in noncombatant roles in the military or in civilian service. Others have paid a higher price and been imprisoned or fled the country to avoid the same. Our Catholic heritage is rich with martyrs who have chosen to cling to God rather than submit to earthly rulers and unjust laws.

As a nurse, I exercised my freedom of conscience in declining to be involved in medical procedures that run counter to my religious beliefs. (Read: abortions.) And yes, it came up in situations far removed from the places one would expect. My beliefs were always respected, even if not understood or agreed with. The only cost I paid was the occasional shake of a coworker’s head indicating disagreement.

The Obama administration backed down from its initial directive that medical personnel do not have the right to freedom of conscience in the matter of abortions. The cost this time could have been a fine, a job, or even prison. Public outcry changed that.

Now the threat is to our hospitals, schools, and outreaches that help the poor or those in some sort of need no matter their race or religion. To be very clear: The cost is not to us. It is to those we attempt to serve. (And of course, the many persons employed in this service.)

We are called, first and always, to pray. The United States Council of Catholic Bishops has asked us to educate ourselves and advocate for the protection of conscience rights.

Remember that even those who oppose our beliefs are on a faith journey, whether they acknowledge it or not. I truly believe that the Church is viewed as a country club by many. Therefore, we are faced with a ripe opportunity for evangelization, which is nothing more and nothing less than love in action.

Rather than divisiveness, let us seek to find Christ in others. Let us show Him to others. Let us continue to be His hands, His feet, His voice in this world. His love.

Our mission has not changed. Maybe our awareness of it has – and that’s not a bad thing.

Keep the faith. Do it with courage and with joy. Go forth and bear fruit in a world which hungers for it.

Finally, draw strength from Galatians 5:23: …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.