Monday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time (cycle II)
Readings: http://dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM&module=readings&localdate=20180129
http://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-01/pope-homily-santa-marta0.html
Pope Francis addressed the faithful gathered in the Casa Santa Marta for morning Mass on Monday and reflected on the First Reading of the Day.
By Linda Bordoni
Pope Francis told believers that there is no true humility
without humiliation.
The Pope was speaking during morning
Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Monday as he reflected on the
first liturgical reading of the day which speaks of the humiliation of King
David.
Pope Francis said David was indeed a
great man: he had overcome Goliath, he had “a noble soul” because twice he
could have killed Saul but he had not done so. But David, he continued, was
also a sinner: he had committed the serious sins of adultery and had arranged
the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband.
“And yet, Francis noted, the Church
venerates him as a saint" because he let himself be transformed by the
Lord, he “accepted” forgiveness, he repented and recognized himself as a
sinner.
David is humiliated
The First Reading, the Pope said,
focuses on the humiliation of David: his son Absalom revolts against him but at
that moment David does not think of “saving his own skin” but of saving his
people, the Temple and the Ark of the Covenant.
He flees, he explained, and his
gesture that appears cowardly is really a courageous one: “he wept without
ceasing, his head was covered, and he was walking barefoot”.
David lets himself be insulted
Pope Francis noted that the great
David is humiliated not only by defeat and by flight, but also by insult. In
fact, during his escape, a man named Shimei “cursed and threw stones at David”
telling him that the Lord had requited him and put the kingdom in the hands of
his son Absalom.
Shimei, the Pope continued, tells
David that he is now suffering ruin “because he is a murderer" and David
lets him continue to curse and insult him saying: “Perhaps the Lord will look
upon my affliction and make it up to me with benefits for the curses he is
uttering this day."
“Ready-to-wear” humility is not
salvific
Pope Francis noted that David’s
ascent up the Mount of Olives is prophetic of Jesus’ climb up the hill of Calvary
to give life: he too was insulted and discarded. This he explained refers
precisely to the humility of Jesus:
“Sometimes we think that humility is
to go quietly, perhaps head-down looking at the floor… but even pigs walk with
their heads down: this is not humility. This is that fake, ready-to-wear
humility, which neither saves nor guards the heart. We have to be aware that
there is no true humility without humiliation, and if you are not able to
tolerate, to carry humiliation on your shoulders, you are not truly humble: you
pretend you are, but you are not”.
Turning humiliation into hope
The Pope pointed out that both David
and Jesus burden themselves with sins and said: “David is a saint, and Jesus,
with the sanctity of God, is really a saint” and they are both humiliated.
“There is always the temptation to
counter slander and oppose anything that humiliates us or makes us feel ashamed
- like Shimei. But David says “No”; the Lord says “No”, that is not the right
path. The path is the one taken by Jesus and prophesied by David: bearing
humiliation. ‘Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction and make it up to
me with benefits for the curses he is uttering this day’: turning humiliation
into hope.
There is no humility without
humiliation
Pope Francis concluded warning that
humility is not justifying oneself immediately in the face of an offense and
trying to look good: “if you are unable to bear humiliation, you are not
humble” he warned: “this is the golden rule”.
“Let
us ask the Lord for the grace of humility, with humiliations. There was a nun
who used to say: ‘yes, I am humble, but never humiliated!’ No, no! There is no
humility without humiliation. We are asking for this grace. And if someone is
brave – just as as St. Ignatius teaches us - he can even ask the Lord to send
humiliations so he can be more like the Lord”.
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L'umiltà non è andare a testa bassa, quella prêt-à-porter, che non salva. La strada è quella di portare le umiliazioni come il re Davide, la cui figura è al centro dell'omelia del Papa a Casa Santa Marta
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In humility, even humiliation, human nature's transformation by living closely to The Divinity.
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