Humility is something we need more of in today’s culture and society. In The Fall, Adam commits the sin of pride, which is at the root of his other sins. People are blinded by the sin of pride, which leads them to commit other sins. Pride is a serious obstacle to Sainthood.
I am reading about St. Benedict’s “Ladder of Humility.” He wrote, “The body and the soul are like two sides of a ladder into which God had built various steps. The ladder becomes your life and as your heart is humbled, so the Lord will lift you up to Heaven” (“The Rule of St. Benedict,” chap. 7).
The first rung on the ladder of humility has to do with fear of God. One would think that it’s a no-brainer that most people would want to go to Heaven and to be Saints.
Unfortunately, some people have plans to go somewhere other than Heaven. They are too busy and think that they know better than God – pride rearing its ugly head again. Some people believe in science and technology while denying God’s existence despite evidence to the contrary. Others believe that life and the universe are due to ludicrously improbable random chance, denying God as creator.
God created us to know, love, serve, and glorify Him. St. Augustine wrote that our hearts remain restless until they rest in the Lord. Benedictine monk Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. wrote if you are having difficulty with loving God and wanting to go to Heaven, at least be afraid to go to Hell. He said of course fearing to go to Hell is not an ideal relationship to God, but it is a beginning.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). In all humility by God’s grace we should recognize some humbling truths. We are not God – obviously. This world is not Heaven – almost as obvious. We are totally dependent on God for our existence and our lives. The air that we breathe, the sun that shines on us, the ground on which we stand were created and are held in existence by God. We all are in need of God’s divine love and divine mercy.
We need to grow in humility before the one true God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are mere creatures. We are created in God’s image and likeness. In our Baptism the Lord re-creates us; humbling us, we die to our former sinful life and rise to a new life in Christ. We are given God’s grace – a participation in the divine life of the most Holy Trinity – to become Saints.
By Father Eric Tolentino, Pastor of Annunciation BVM (St. Mary) and St. John Fisher parishes, Catasauqua, and diocesan Director of Catholic Scouting.
