“The greatest glory we can give to God is to do his will in everything.” – St Alphonsus Liguori
Reflection: What does it mean to be humble? Why is humility such an important trait to have? Without humility, one cannot have honor. Without humility, we can’t truly do the will of God. We must strive to be one with God and strive each and every day to do His will. This is His purpose for us; this is how God exemplifies his almighty and divine power. In 2 Chronicles 16:9, it says “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro…, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him”. St. Alphonsus, in his encyclical entitled, “Uniformity with God’s Will and The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ”, also tells us, “The man who follows his own will independently of God’s is guilty of a kind of idolatry. Instead of adoring God’s will, he, in a certain sense, adores his own.”
God so loved the world as we know that He gave His only Son so that we may have everlasting life (John 3:16). His will was so that we may live in unison with Him, through His love. As stated in Scripture, we must be like children, always receptive to His Divine intervention, always accepting of His gifts, always willing to do His will. Through sin, this is a hard road in which to travel. We must realize that it isn’t through sacrifice that we achieve His divine graces, but through doing His will – being obedient to the Creator’s wishes. Selfishness will lead us down a path of no return. It is inherent through these days to have this selfishness. It is in these days that we talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. We struggle every day in our earthly lives, always trying to satisfy ourselves and our desires, but never focusing on the needs of others. We take for granted what we have and cherish the possessions that we keep.
We live in a world where consumerism and possessions are more desirable and a way of life than that of striving to be holy. We turn away from God’s will, trying to fill a void in our hearts and souls with materialism, greed, and selfishness. We have forgotten what humility is, what graces and love we achieve through being humble. We turn on the T.V. and let others teach our children. We stand within the flock and we follow the herd, through earthly desires and greed that have become our shepherd. We have forgotten, as St. Alphonsus also tells us, “The greatest glory we can give to God is to do His will in everything.” No amount of guilt, sacrifice, and confession – even reception of communion – means anything if we do not strive to do His will. We have forgotten how to love. We do not turn to our Creator to realize what love truly is. We have been so enthroned in earthly things that we have no need to worry about what we do not know.
We must turn back and look at our actions. We must pray and ask for humility each and every day. We must learn what humility truly is, even if it means doing something for someone else that we do not want to do. We must pick battles that are geared towards humility and God’s will and not our own. We must look at situations not from the perspective of what or how it will affect us, but how it may affect others. We must totally and completely give ourselves to God, praying for the humility and the strength to do His will. We must realize what God’s love is – that through Him and with Him, if we are receptive to His love, then we are receptive to others, and show forth His love to them. We must do this through charity and humility. St. Alphonsus tells us, “The principal effect of love is so to unite the wills of those who love each other as to make them will the same things. It follows, then, that the more one unites his will with the divine will, the greater will be his love of God.”
I will end this reflection in prayer, so that all that read may ask for the strength and humility to do God’s will.
“Heavenly Father, grant this day the strength and humility I need, so that I may tackle all obstacles in my way with Your love, Your grace, and Your humility, so that I may do Your will this day and always.”
