Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Freedom in Humility

"Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet" -St. Thomas Aquinas

My sister made me a CD to listen to in the car. The very last song is the Litany of Humility in Song. If you are not familiar with the Litany of Humility take a minute to read it. Heck, take a minute to pray it. 

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From
 the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From
 the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become holy as I should...


Kind of hard to pray isn't it? I have come to love this Litany. There is so much freedom in it. Think about if you could truly perfect this litany. If you were delivered from fears and desires that really only matter to man. If you desired nothing more than to be humble in the eyes of Christ. What's standing in the way that is keeping me from totally living for Christ? Me. I'm standing in my own way with my pride. My fears and  my desires for worldly praise keep me from being who God calls me to be. I feel hopeless in this battle against myself. I lose it daily. But watch out self. Move aside because someone else is coming in. My Father is GOD, and He hears my prayer.  

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