“No man has ever seen God; but now his only‑begotten Son, who abides in the bosom of the Father, has himself revealed him…” (John 1:18).
There is such a limitation on what we can achieve in our lives. Some people make billions of dollars in money and build their financial wealth to a point that is astronomical (people like Warren Buffett). Other people start humanitarian movements that make a massive difference to the world around them (like Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta). Still others, are able to create works of art that are magnificent and timeless and priceless (like Da Vinci or Michaelangelo or Shakespeare)…
And I have been thinking about these amazing people and their amazing achievements and then I have been comparing them with my own life.
I see many defects in my own attitude and character. I see many instances of ways that I could do something better. And I look at my faults and think to myself that they are such a barrier for me…
In “The Way” at 596, Saint Josemaria said, “Don’t worry if they see your defects; the offence against God and the scandal you may give; that is what should worry you. Apart from this, may you be known for what you are and be despised. Don’t be sorry to be nothing, since then Jesus will have to be everything for you.”
And this is important to understand. It does not matter who thinks I am good or bad or indifferent. It only matters what God thinks. The world thought the Blessed Virgin was a small poor uneducated woman. But God knew she was the Queen of Heaven…
“No man has ever seen God; but now his only‑begotten Son, who abides in the bosom of the Father, has himself revealed him…” (John 1:18).
And that revelation of God is the only thing that matters…
What talents I have are given to me by God. What skills I have acquired are allowed to me by God. What traits others admire in my personality are provided by God. Therefore, why should I feel anything other than gratitude for all those things? How can I experience pride for this in my disordered world?
God was humiliated beyond understanding. He was debased below the lowest of creation. And He is God. Even today, God is mocked and denied and rebuked by His sinful creatures. We create art that does not respect Him. We build buildings that defy Him. We structure our society to assume that He is not to be included.
Our Sabbath day, which He created for us to rest and worship Him, we have taken and used it to worship ourselves and our own self-interest. And in all of this I do and while I do it, I think to myself that there is an injustice that others think that I am nothing, when in fact that is all that I am. And in all my sense of injustice I fail to see the terrible injustice I do to my God… My poor poor God, who made Himself appear as nothing for love of me…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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