Friday of 23rd Week, uneven numbered year
“Disciple is not superior to teacher; but fully trained disciple will be like teacher.”
Jesus talks to us about humility about what a humble heart should be like. The person who is humble knows the truth about himself, and is one who accepts it, can see it. The first obstacle to having a humble heart is this blindness of mind and of heart. Only the one who is really humble will guide others in a disinterested manner, for their true good and in a search for truth. This is the key to humility. We are moving forward on a journey, wanting to grow in love, for not everything is given in act as from the beginning : ’Christian, become what you are!’ said St. Augustin. Baptised in Christ,recieving his Body for nourishment and drinking his Blood , we are enveloped and penetrated in the Holy Spirit, so the customs we tend to have become divine ones. Jesus wants to see in us love of God for each one of our sisters and brothers. With what tenderness does God save us! We wish to dwell in this tenderness, with this divine joy that God places in our existance. ’In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be love’ said St. Thérèse of Lisieux, ’and so I shall be everything.’ Very shortly we shall arrive at this perfection of love which Jesus wants for his disciples. And so he calls us forth :
“Why do you observe the splinter that is in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log that is in your own?”
Jesus then speaks of blindness, advising us not to try to take away the splinter in our neighbour’s eye, when we ourselves have a log in our own, one that we obviously haven’t noticed. Here again it’s about seeking the truth about ourselves. To take up once again the Gospel image : if we try to take away the log from our own eye, even if we can’t see it, there’s a chance we’ll manage to. Jesus wants us to be Light of the world! What a lovely mission we have! We dispose of an unbelievable treasure : God’s Infinite Love is within us. " In the
same way that everything that belongs tot he Father belongs to the Son, and everything that belongs to the Son belongs to the Father through the unity of their nature, likewise, the bridegroom gave all his belongings to the bride an d he takes in hand everything that belongs to the bride that he has united to himself and also to the Father.’ said Isaac, abbé of the “Star monastery” in he 12th century. The lamp that is in each one of us transmits the light that is needed to light up our path ahead of us.
“How can you say to your brother : ’Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye” when you cannot see the great log that is in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye.“It is a temptation of pride to want to correct other people but without correcting ourselves. But other people are a reflection of what we are, through the words they adress to us, their gestures, what they say about us, they are a mirror in which we can see ourselves. Their imperfections reveal our own, to recognise it and undertake to correct ourselves requires an effort of humility. It is a drawn-out piece of work and it is a constant one. This doesn’t depend upon ourselves, but upon the help of God. We are a people of priests, prophets and kings. Through our Baptism, our Confirmation and the Eucharist we recieve, we are the salt of the earth and the Light of th world. This doesn’t come from us but from the grace of God!”I give thanks to the One who has given me strength : Jesus Christ, our Lord, who hqs judged me faithful enough to be called to serve Him, I, who was in former time a blasphemer, a persecutor, someone who would insult . But he has beenn merciful towards me because I acted out of ignorance, a stranger to faith, " said the Apostle Paul.
Keep me, my God, I have made of you my refuge.