Feb 26, 2022
“No one can grow if he does not accept his smallness.”
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“No one can grow if he does not accept his smallness.”
Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Luke 18:10-14, RSV-CE
It does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things, or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. … We are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the winds and join in the general dance.
Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
“’Well! Father, I am a sinner; I have tremendous sins. How can I possibly feel part of the Church?’ Dear brother, dear sister, this is exactly what the Lord wants, that you say to Him, ‘Lord, here I am, with my sins.’”
The Intimate Blanchot by Joseph D. Kuzma
"God, when we had no being, created us out of nothing; and now that through Him we have a being, He wills that the whole spiritual fabric should be based on this foundation, namely, the knowledge of our own nothingness. And the deeper this knowledge becomes, the higher will the building rise. And according as we dig out the earth of our own wretchedness, so much the more will the Divine Architect bring the most solid stones to advance the building."
“In our Lenten journey towards Easter, let us remember the One who “humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). During this season of conversion, let us renew our faith, draw from the “living water” of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God, who makes us brothers and sisters in Christ.”
“Humility saves man; pride makes him lose his way.”