“Be careful you don’t spill that on your clothes,” my husband warned my son one time when he was dyeing Easter eggs.
Tag: humility
An exercise in humility
As I’m fond of saying, we’re living in the future. We’ve reached a golden time where there are a lot of written words and resources about almost anything you want to learn more about.
Humility helps us overcome selfish pride
Don Shula was an outstanding football coach for the Miami Dolphins when they enjoyed the only undefeated season in NFL history.
Humility before God should direct songs in our hearts
Freezing outdoor temperatures make for some interesting interactions between siblings who are stuck indoors together for long periods of time.
First spiritual steps: Humility, prayer, surrender
It’s a scene I’ll never forget: my one-year-old son taking his first steps, placing one foot uncertainly in front of the other, arms outstretched toward my hands, eyes wide open in wonder, and a big awe-struck smile on his upturned face.
As he closed the gap between us and finally grasped my hand, I swooped him up in a bear hug, and we all cheered for him. Amazingly, after months of crawling and pulling up and falling and getting up again, my baby had learned to walk.
Humility is the basis of the spiritual life
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“Though He was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, He emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that He humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!”
Paul quotes these lines of the Kenotic Hymn in the second chapter of his letter to the Philippians, citing Christ’s example of humility as a model for the community to emulate.
Two leaders of the Christian community in Philippi were fighting with each other, causing dissension and conflict, so Paul, from his prison cell, seeks to heal the division. The Kenotic Hymn is probably the earliest Scriptural articulation of the Paschal Mystery, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The Greek word “kenosis” means “self-emptying,” a pouring out, a radical gift of self.
Dealing with scandal within the Church
To the editor:
As we hear about and discuss the serious and continuing sex scandal within the Catholic Church, let’s start by placing the blame where it belongs — squarely on the failed leadership of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The failure has been caused by a lack of true leadership skills and being controlled by vanity and arrogance.
Robert K. Greenleaf was an advocate for Servant Leadership, and in the worldwide history of mankind, the greatest example of a servant leader was Jesus Christ. Jesus was critical of the Pharisees stating in Matthew 23: 2-3, 5, “The scribes and the Pharisees have succeeded Moses as teachers; therefore, do everything and observe everything they tell you. But do not follow their example . . . All their works are performed to be seen.”
Comfort others by pointing them to Christ
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
If one were to put together the themes of the first reading and the Gospel from this past Sunday, Dec. 10, one might well conclude that the one who gives comfort to the people — the comforter — is St. John the Baptist. But, St. John the Baptist appears in camel’s hair.
Now, when St. John the Baptist is presented as the one who gives comfort, that is not the same use of the word as in “comfort food” — of which I have had my share. This is not the meaning of comfort at all. How can we tell that at first glance? Well, St. John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey . . . that ain’t comfort food!
Comfort others by being strong
To comfort, in the Latin derivation, is to be “strong with.” To comfort someone is not just to make them feel good, as they might over a beautiful, and yet, light lasagna. St. John the Baptist comforted the people by being strong with them.
St. John the Baptist preached the Holy Spirit and fire. He told the people to prepare for the wrath to come.
Pride, humility, and social media
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On a recent trip to Sacramento, from my home base in the LA area, I flew Southwest Airlines. In an idle moment, I reached for the magazine in the seatback pocket and commenced to leaf through it.
I came across an article by a woman named Sarah Menkedick entitled “Unfiltered: How Motherhood Interrupted My Relationship with Social Media.” The piece was not only wittily and engagingly written; it also spoke to some pretty profound truths about our cultural situation today and the generation that has come of age under the influence of the Internet.
She argues that to have swum in the sea of Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube from the time that one was a child was to live one’s life perpetually in front of an audience. Most millenials never simply had experiences; they were conditioned to record, preserve, and present those experiences to a following who were invited to like what they saw, to comment on it, to respond to it.
Asking for forgiveness through our humility
“Kids! Set the table! Finish vacuuming!”
My voice roared through the house as I struggled to complete the task of getting dinner on the table for my family of six. It was 5:55, and Daddy would be home shortly.
Homework was scattered across the table, toys littered the living room floor, the two little ones were bickering downstairs, and the two older ones, lost in books, were reluctant to tackle their chores.
The general chaos of the household suddenly set me on fire as I caved in to the feelings of stress and anger that erupted on the surface.