BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//eriebenedictines.org//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.30.10// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH UID:032a448e-0512-497c-b4ce-216e10bb3e1f X-WR-CALDESC:The twelfth step of humility is that we always manifest hum ility in our bearing no less than in our hearts\, so that it is evident at the Opus Dei\, in the oratory\, the monastery or the garden\, on a journe y or in the field\, or anywhere else. Whether sitting\, walking or standin g\, our heads must be bowed and our eyes cast down. Judging ourselves alwa ys guilty on account of our sins\, we should consider that we are already at the fearful judgment\, and constantly say in our hearts what the public an in the gospel said with downcast eyes: 'I am a sinner\, not worthy to l ook up to the heavens (Lk 18:13).' And with the prophet: 'I am bowed down and humbled in every way (Ps 38: 7-9\; Ps 119:107).'\n\nThis paragraph is\, at first reading\, a very difficult excursion into the tension betwe en the apparent and the real. Bowing and scraping have long since gone out of style. What is to be made today of a dictum that prescribes bowed head s and downcast eyes in a culture given to straight-shouldered\, steady-eye d self-esteem?\n\nWhat Benedict is telling us is that true humility is sim ply a measure of the self that is taken without exaggerated perfection or exaggerated guilt. Humility is the ability to know ourselves as God knows us and to know that it is the little we are that is precisely our claim on God. Humility is\, then\, the foundation for our relationship with God\, our connectedness to others\, our acceptance of ourselves\, our way of usi ng the goods of the earth and even our way of walking through the world\, without arrogance\, without domination\, without scorn\, without put-downs \, without disdain\, without self-centeredness. The more we know ourselves \, the gentler we will be with others.\n\nNow\, therefore\, after ascen ding all these steps of humility\, we will quickly arrive at the 'perfect love' of God which 'casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18).' Through this love\, all t hat we once performed with dread\, we will now begin to observe without ef fort\, as though naturally\, from habit\, no longer out of fear of hell\, but out of love for Christ\, good habit and delight in virtue. All this Go d will by the Holy Spirit graciously manifest in us now cleansed of vices and sins.\n\nThe chapter on humility is a strangely wonderful and intr iguingly distressing treatise on the process of the spiritual life. It doe s not say\, 'Be perfect.' It says\, 'Be honest about what you are and you will come to know God.' It does not say\, 'Be flawless and you will earn G od.' It says\, 'If you recognize the presence of God in life\, you will so on become more and more perfect.' But this perfection is not in the twenti eth-century sense of impeccability. This perfection is in the biblical sen se of having become matured\, ripened\, whole.\n\nThe entire chapter is su ch a non-mechanistic\, totally human approach to God. If we reach out and meet God here where God is\, if we accept God's will in life where our wil l does not prevail\, if we are willing to learn from others\, if we can se e ourselves and accept ourselves for what we are and grow from that\, if w e can live simply\, if we can respect others and reverence them\, if we ca n be a trusting part of our world without having to strut around it contro lling it\, changing it\, wrenching it to our own image and likeness\, then we will have achieved 'perfect love that casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18.)' The re will be nothing left to fear--not God's wrath\, not the loss of human r espect\, not the absence of control\, not the achievements of others great er than our own whose success we have had to smother with rejection or der ide with scorn.\n\nHumility\, the lost virtue of the twentieth century\, i s crying to heaven for rediscovery. The development of nations\, the prese rvation of the globe\, the achievement of human community may well depend on it. X-WR-RELCALID:af8e318831aad9e3af2b9a1c300f917f X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20261101T020000 RDATE:20271107T020000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RDATE:20270314T020000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:0e01f17e-e1f4-4945-9937-442f11de071b DTSTAMP:20260411T082616Z DESCRIPTION:The twelfth step of humility is that we always manifest humi lity in our bearing no less than in our hearts\, so that it is evident at the Opus Dei\, in the oratory\, the monastery or the garden\, on a journey or in the field\, or anywhere else. Whether sitting\, walking or standing \, our heads must be bowed and our eyes cast down. Judging ourselves alway s guilty on account of our sins\, we should consider that we are already a t the fearful judgment\, and constantly say in our hearts what the publica n in the gospel said with downcast eyes: 'I am a sinner\, not worthy to lo ok up to the heavens (Lk 18:13).' And with the prophet: 'I am bowed down a nd humbled in every way (Ps 38: 7-9\; Ps 119:107).'\n\nThis paragraph is\, at first reading\, a very difficult excursion into the tension betwee n the apparent and the real. Bowing and scraping have long since gone out of style. What is to be made today of a dictum that prescribes bowed heads and downcast eyes in a culture given to straight-shouldered\, steady-eyed self-esteem?\n\nWhat Benedict is telling us is that true humility is simp ly a measure of the self that is taken without exaggerated perfection or e xaggerated guilt. Humility is the ability to know ourselves as God knows u s and to know that it is the little we are that is precisely our claim on God. Humility is\, then\, the foundation for our relationship with God\, o ur connectedness to others\, our acceptance of ourselves\, our way of usin g the goods of the earth and even our way of walking through the world\, w ithout arrogance\, without domination\, without scorn\, without put-downs\ , without disdain\, without self-centeredness. The more we know ourselves\ , the gentler we will be with others.\n\nNow\, therefore\, after ascend ing all these steps of humility\, we will quickly arrive at the 'perfect l ove' of God which 'casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18).' Through this love\, all th at we once performed with dread\, we will now begin to observe without eff ort\, as though naturally\, from habit\, no longer out of fear of hell\, b ut out of love for Christ\, good habit and delight in virtue. All this God will by the Holy Spirit graciously manifest in us now cleansed of vices a nd sins.\n\nThe chapter on humility is a strangely wonderful and intri guingly distressing treatise on the process of the spiritual life. It does not say\, 'Be perfect.' It says\, 'Be honest about what you are and you w ill come to know God.' It does not say\, 'Be flawless and you will earn Go d.' It says\, 'If you recognize the presence of God in life\, you will soo n become more and more perfect.' But this perfection is not in the twentie th-century sense of impeccability. This perfection is in the biblical sens e of having become matured\, ripened\, whole.\n\nThe entire chapter is suc h a non-mechanistic\, totally human approach to God. If we reach out and m eet God here where God is\, if we accept God's will in life where our will does not prevail\, if we are willing to learn from others\, if we can see ourselves and accept ourselves for what we are and grow from that\, if we can live simply\, if we can respect others and reverence them\, if we can be a trusting part of our world without having to strut around it control ling it\, changing it\, wrenching it to our own image and likeness\, then we will have achieved 'perfect love that casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18.)' Ther e will be nothing left to fear--not God's wrath\, not the loss of human re spect\, not the absence of control\, not the achievements of others greate r than our own whose success we have had to smother with rejection or deri de with scorn.\n\nHumility\, the lost virtue of the twentieth century\, is crying to heaven for rediscovery. The development of nations\, the preser vation of the globe\, the achievement of human community may well depend o n it. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260610T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260610T235900 LOCATION:Chapter 7 SUMMARY:Humility END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR