humility

As much as I would like to say the I am the poor guy in the back of the temple, too often I am the one in front.  Not just from my position as a priest, but in my ego.  I have degrees, experience in ministry, trained in prayer, but today I ask myself, do I have the humility that is required to truly be a disciple?  I invite you into that question too.

Often, when people debate me about liturgical points or moral issues, I can get “puffed up” and on my high horse about rightness.  I know sometimes I am right and I know the teachings, but how do I not react but engage?  How do I teach and not dictate?  It is hard because often the person comes in a huff or filled with anger and all my anger management training goes out the window.  What I do not think humility is being a rug or a lap dog, but a gentle stand for truth.

I remember a popular movie when I was in the seminary, Mass Appeal, which was the story of a pastor and a deacon who was to be ordained a priest.  In the movie you see the seminarian who was not your typical seminary but had a life before the seminary.  His ideas and practices were not odd but by the standards of the day, he was liberal.  Obviously, not a “company man” The older pastor was a “company man” and never wanted to disrupt the status quo.  His fear of not being popular in the parish, the collection going down, and having to do with the blow back from angry parishioners had paralyzed him.   The movies is the story of their conversion and their acceptance of humility in different ways.

I will give away the end:  the older pastor risks everything to speak the truth and humble stand before the People of God and himself.

“Lord, be merciful to be a sinner”