Sacred Sharings From a Simple Stumbler By:C.C.

“Let me not be afraid to linger here in your presence with all my humanity exposed.For you are God –you are not surprised by my frailties, my continuous failures.” (St. Teresa of Avila)

    Humility is a beautiful virtue. It is one most demonstrated in the life of Our Lord and Blessed Mother, it is seen through the lives of our Saints, and in the lives of those who are ultimately striving for holiness along their daily journey. Humility requires us to look into ourselves, at ourselves, and yearn for a deeper sense of self awareness. This self clarity and examination enables us to acknowledge that we are in need of our Lord's continual love, mercy, forgiveness, and also His guiding hand. 

  When we come to see ourselves for who and what we truly are, we can begin to see what we are not and where we need to improve ourselves and to grow in virtue. We can, if we will it, see who God is.We are in a world that looks upon brokenness with a sense of disgrace. There is a fascination with the wounded, not as a means of bringing about transformation and aid, but one that is aimed at exposing embarrassment and bringing forth shame. We have been conditioned and exposed through the media and the magnitude of the 'cyber world' to peer into the lives of others through lenses of judgement. Lenses that welcome our outward gaze of critique and keep us from peering into our own humanity;keeping us from acknowledging our frailties and our own continuous failures. "If God lets us experience our weaknesses one by one, it’s not so that we can devote most of our waking hours to thinking about them. It’s so that we can turn to God with all of our faults and weaknesses intact, and give ourselves to him just as we are."(Fr.Justin Sheenan) 

    As we begin to experience our weaknesses and accept our human limitations we can then be open to the Lord who is limitless and full of mercy. It is first by accepting oneself that we can begin to welcome our Lord. We find through this surrender to Him that God loves us and desires us to give ourselves completely to Him 'just as we are'. It is by working within our humanness that our Lord most shines His majesty. It is our cooperation with His transforming love that allows us to be a sign of His love within the world and in the lives of all those around us.

  Our witness to those we encounter does more for the Lord when we remain rooted in the understanding of our shortcomings and our own failures. It is the greatness of surrender that allows for God's greater glory. Let us all desire to 'linger' in the presence of God with our humanity exposed before Him without fear, and recognize the power of God's grace and mercy to help us grow in virtue. Let us give ourselves to our Lord 'just as we are' and entrust all that we will become entirely to Him.(CC)