Please help me “to hide and disappear, so that only Jesus might shine.” (Saint Josemaría).
You see, Christ told His apostles, “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice... They do all their deeds to be seen by men... He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.’” (Matthew 23:1-12).
And the Saints have followed these instructions. The Saints – like our Blessed Mother – are humble. They do not consider that they are holier than others, because they do not compare themselves to others. Rather, they compare themselves to God Himself! And in comparison to God, none of us are holy and none of us are humble.
I was celebrating Holy Mass the other day, and I looked up from my prayers and saw the Tabernacle, right there behind the altar. And I started thinking about what that actually is. It is a small box. That is all. A little box. It can be burned in a fire, it can be stolen by a thief, it can be broken with a hammer. It is a little tiny box. And inside that box – inside the empty Church – sits something more precious than words could ever say… Inside that box is Our Blessed Lord.
There He sits, waiting… He takes the form of a morsel of bread and a sip of wine for love of me – and for love of you too. He placed Himself into a form so vulnerable, so weak, He has not any means with which to defend Himself or to promote Himself. Instead, He relies on Grace and the very flawed people of His Holy Church to protect and glorify Him…
And this makes me think of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her chaste spouse Saint Joseph. They were the most holy souls who ever lived (with the exception of Christ Himself). How could they not be Holy? The Blessed Virgin was conceived and born without sin and her Holy Spouse was her protector and the protector of God Himself. They were the people who kissed the Holy Face of God. And what Grace there is in such a thing as that…
When the Cure of Ars, Saint John Vianney was alive, he seldom left his small parish of 350 people. And yet, hundreds of thousands of people visited his parish every year to hear him preach. At the same time, there was another priest in a different parish to whom many people flocked. When the other preacher was asked which of them was a better preacher, he replied, “Most certainly he (Saint John Vianney) is, for when people listen to my homilies they say: ‘How good this preacher is!’, but when they listen to Vianney they say: ‘How good God is!’.”
And I have been thinking about that today as I pray the prayer of Saint Josemaría… Please help me “to hide and disappear, so that only Jesus might shine.”
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
Comentarios