Lord, Have mercy on me, a sinner!

Lily, Alicia and I went to the vigil Mass tonight, because we have other commitments tomorrow and won’t be able to go at our usual time.  Tonight was one of those nights when it seemed every word in the Scripture readings and the homily ‘spoke’ directly to my heart.  There are so many rich words from these readings… “though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed” (Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18); “the Lord hears the cry of the poor – those crushed in spirit he saves” (Psalms 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23); “I have competed well, I have finished the race” (2Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18); “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 18:9-14).  

Father Matt’s homily was pretty good, too!  He began with a quote from St. Augustine: “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.”

He went on to give some examples of how our egos get in the way of true humility, and I fit an awful lot of those examples.  I realized that my ego, my ‘one-upmanship’ in a lot of my daily conversations is really nothing more than false pride and, while unintentional, is taking my focus off of my Creator and Benefactor, where it belongs.  I will have to spend quite a bit of time in the confessional this week, that’s for sure.  Dear Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!

We serve this amazing God, this Presence – Who we only know through faith, feeling His presence, reading His word – who protects and loves and cherishes us.  He remembers the least of us.  He is always closer to us than the air we breathe, and yet some will hesitate to mention His name to others, share the gospel, be Christ to others – the homeless on the street, the elderly, the forgotten.

He hears us and loves us unconditionally – we cannot forget Him.  He will never turn His back on us when we feel deserted because He will stand by us and give us strength.  He will never forsake us because we are poor or weak.  He knows all, sees all, and is the final judge who judges justly and affirms the right – but, we must honor Him, revere Him, remember Him, love and respect Him, and continually, and most importantly, pray to Him and never lose sight of His goodness and strength.  Our faith in Him is what saves us, our love of Him is what sustains us, and His goodness and mercy are what carry us through our deepest hurts and our most joyous moments.