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Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. Jn 8:6-8
One last time we return to Sunday’s gospel. The story of the woman caught in adultery. Here Jesus is showing us the power of humility. St. Bede, in a homily, once said; “Christ, who twice bends down to write on the ground, teaches us to bend low in humility to examine ourselves both before and after addressing the faults of our neighbor. If his example becomes our practice, we will avoid as he did the extremes of being unjust and unmerciful toward others.”
In her book, No Greater Love, Mother Teresa wrote: “Jesus taught us how to pray, and He also told us to learn from Him, to be meek and humble of heart. Neither of these can we do unless we know what silence is. Both humility and prayer grow from an ear, mind, and tongue that have lived in silence with God, for in the silence of the heart God speaks.”
As we rest in the silence of our hearts, we begin to see ourselves in right relation with God. We see Him who by His nature, is all good, all holy, purest of all, all merciful. In retrospect we see how far from God we are. We, by our nature are not even close to being good, holy, pure, or merciful and all we can do is cry out; “Lord I am not worthy.”
So, we learn at feet of the Master. Jesus ask us to imitate Him in only one way; His humility. In Humility of the Heart, Fr Cajetan tells us; “No greater example can be given than that of Jesus when the Word was made flesh. Nothing can be more sublime than the beginning of St. John’s gospel; “In the beginning was the Word”. No abasement can be deeper than that which follows; “and the Word was made flesh.”
Today, spend some time with the poetry of St. Paul’s beautiful description of the humility of Christ and His resultant exaltation. It can be found in Philippians 2:6-11. Ponder these words in your heart and reflect on ways you might imitate that humility. Read through Mother Teresa’s list of ways to practice humility. It can be found here; https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/mother-teresas-humility-list-5880. Better yet see the attachment if you do not want to follow the link.
Lenten Action
If you are a regular practitioner of contemplative prayer, during your dedicated prayer time practice the presence of God as you normally do adding the modifications, if any, you incorporated from the PIPPG suggestions.
If you are new to meditation and contemplative prayer, during your dedicated prayer time practice the presence of God as outlined in Section 1 of the PIPPG booklet.
Today is not a Fast day, but if you have a mind to abstain from a favorite food or drink, please do so as a means of strengthening your will power. Remember not to watch TV, or use your computer or your phone to access social media, computer games, or other unnecessary apps.