My word for the year
Happy new year everyone! May 2024 be a year of abundant blessings. May you discover God’s love and mercy in new ways, and may it draw you ever closer to the One who fashioned your very soul and governs this vast universe.
As 2024 kicks into gear, I’d like to share my word for the year. It’s a tradition I started a couple years ago and I share it with you for two reasons: I hope it inspires you to do the same, plus, once I share it with a bunch of people, I can’t wiggle out of it quite so easily. So without further adieu, my word for this year is…..humility.
Ah, humility, queen of the virtues. St. Thomas Aquinas said humility is truth, and I take that to mean the truth of who God created us to be. St. Bernard of Clairvaux exclaimed “The three most important virtues are humility, humility, humility!” Let’s imagine for just a moment what the world would be like if all 8 billion of us started working on the virtue of humility - no more wars, no evil dictators, no crime and pretty much no sin. I envision everyone opening the door for each other and drivers actually letting you on the freeway. Ok, maybe I went a little too far on that last one.
But seriously, why is humility such a stretch goal for most of us; why isn’t it our factory default setting? Short answer: original sin, especially the sin of pride, which blinds us to the truth that “God is God and we are not” (as a wise man once said). While I don’t consider myself to be a particularly prideful person, I still have plenty of work to do in the humility department. Let’s face it, we all do! Humility prompts us to confront our weakness and invite the Lord to do his saving work in us, which may look a bit different for everyone.
For me that could mean keeping silent when I’m tempted to share an unsolicited opinion or forgiving someone and praying for their conversion. It could also mean not rushing to judgment or expecting too much from folks who are wounded just like me. No matter what, we can always look to Christ as our ultimate example: he epitomized humility from the moment of his birth in a lowly stable to the moment of his excruciating death on the cross. His entire life was an icon of love, mercy and humility.
So as this new year gets underway and we embark upon some new disciplines for our bodies and souls, please pray for me and I’ll be praying for you. Let’s entrust ourselves to the Lord and be open to receiving the gifts, graces and virtues God wants to give us, beginning with a heart of humility. C.S. Lewis once said is “Humility not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” Amen!