Thursday, May 16, 2024

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

Fr. Richard Gula is a moral theologian who wrote a book he called The Good Life.  It is not about fancy restaurants or comfort resorts.  Rather The Good Life describes the moral virtues that are found in a person who recognizes that she or he is loved by God and, in response, loves God and all His creatures.

Fr. Gula describes two virtues as fundamental to the good life – humility and gratitude.  Both these virtues are at the heart of Jesus’ “priestly prayer “of which we hear part in today’s gospel.  Humility accepts, affirms, and celebrates who one is.  Jesus does just this as he recognizes that his Father has bestowed upon him glory.  Gratitude acknowledges one’s gifts by sharing them with others.  So Jesus prays that his disciples may know the love with which the Father has loved him.

Jesus’ priestly prayer summarizes his work on earth, the purpose of his becoming human and undergoing the great Paschal mystery.  He has given us a model to emulate.  We begin by practicing humility and gratitude daily.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

(Isaiah 1:10.16-20; Matthew 23:1-12)

Yesterday’s gospel emphasized mercy. Today’s stresses humility. And tomorrow’s will highlight service. It seems that during this second week of Lent the Church means to prepare its people for ministry.

Moralist Fr. Richard Gula says that humility is hard to understand, much less to cultivate. Why be humble? Are not those who promote themselves rewarded? Gula believes that the humble will foster cooperation among a group to successfully complete a common task. In baseball, for example, recruiters no longer pay exclusive attention neither to homerun hitters nor to those with the highest batting averages. What they increasingly want are players who will get on base be it with a hit, a walk, being hit by a pitched ball, or even by striking out on a wild pitch.

We don’t have to be introverted or sad to be humble. We just have to recognize that the world, the community, or the team does not revolve around us. Everyone is important and deserves recognition. In the end humility will move us to recognize our faults before God and to ask for His mercy.