Take the back seat

Humility is a word that seems to be overlooked in today's society especially in the world of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  Temptations to publicize our achievements and even works of charity abound.  I am always amazed at how many charitable sites give a person donating to their cause a chance to tweet or post about their action to their respective followers and the rest of the cyber world.  All this aside the struggle to be humble is quite real. The desire to be recognized for our accomplishments seems to be an ingrained human condition.  It is one that I as individual struggle with daily. Yet we read about the great saints and others who go quietly about their way serving without notice.

Sirach tells us to conduct our affairs with humility in the first reading today. Many of us are able to follow this advice fairly well during our daily interactions and activities, but then the temptation comes along where one is tempted to talk about others in order to project our identity. Thus we take the front seat, elevating ourselves above others.  Oh how this temptation looms strong.  In reading the meditation from today's Magnificat Fr. Cajetan Da Bergamo illustrates the struggle vividly. We strive for goodness and virtue with good intentions. We are making progress we think.  We then fall into the same trap we resolved to avoid.

For myself I this is the ever present reminder that I need the grace of God. Perhaps having the realization of these repetitive faulty actions brings us to God in act of contrition. Being humbled by the knowledge that I am not God and never will be is the first step of humility for myself. Oh how would I like to control my environment and the actions of others shaping them into my perfect sculpture of conformity. But not to be. Over and over again I fall from the so called elevated seat to the back row. As Paul states in Romans 7:19 "I do not do the good that I want, but the evil I do not want." And in Romans 7:24, "Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body?"
Certainly not myself!

Only through the unfathomable grace of God can I survive for the guilt of repetitive sin and failure to resolve my faults on my own is daunting. Taking the back seat and acknowledging the powerlessness of my human condition is humbling, but this action brings me ever closer to the grace of the one who sent His only Son do die for my sins. Lord, Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner.