Humility and Mercy
Day 26 of our 40 Days of Mercy Fast
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Humility and Mercy
‘God has surrounded me with His special Mercy precisely because I am the weakest of all people.’ (1099) ‘Humility is nothing but the truth.’ (1502)
Mercy opens our eyes to the Creator who upon the Cross gave us everything. Mercy opens our eyes to the magnificence of our God.
In the light of His splendor, our only honest response is humility. He created all yet we are but one of a billion created beings—humbling. He never sinned yet He gave up everything to free us from our sin—humbling. Forgiven by His Water, enlivened by His Blood, we still sin, denying Him in thought, word and deed—humbling. Divine Mercy alone sustains us—humbling.
Humility is nothing but the truth. St. Faustina said nearly all we need to know about humility in those six words. It results from knowing who God is and who we are in light of Him. When Almighty Mercy courses through an increasingly self-aware soul, we grow in humility. Truth breeds humility, humility is sustained by Truth.
Fixed on the Author and Finisher of our human destinies, we come to a startling revelation. We are not mostly beast; we bear His image. The Creator and Redeemer of the Universe made us human in His likeness. We represent Him on earth in these beautiful, broken frames. Nearly unfathomable. Humility alone makes it possible to accept God’s call upon our humanity to reflect His glory.
We look at the true image of God in Jesus Christ and we witness humility. He who possessed all power surrendered that power to be reconciled to us. We used our created power to resist Him in self-defense. He poured out His power to give us Mercy, the grace to lay down our arms until we rest in His.
‘Humility, humility and ever humility, as we can do nothing of ourselves; all is purely and simply God’s grace.’ (55)
Jesus embodies humility; His life commands that power be judged solely by whether it empowers others to love.
And so we take our places in God’s Church, less inclined to judge others as worse sinners. Our eyes barely see others’ faults in light of the Mercy gazing upon our beauty and our brokenness. The more weakness, the greater the divine strength; with heightened misery, Mercy rising…
‘Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…’(Phil. 2:6,7) ‘I put up with this Church in the hope that one day it will become better just as it is constrained to put up with me in the hope that one day I will become better.’ Erasmus
‘May strong Mercy empower us to love others. We take our cues from You, O Lord of love, who uses power to empower us onto higher, truer expressions of our humanity. As we humble ourselves before You, elevate our vision, O God. As we humble ourselves before Your family on earth, use us to elevate their vision. Let strong Mercy flow from humble reckoning with our weakness before You, Humble King.’
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Author’s note – Each day’s entry is based a passage from St Faustina’s diary. The passage entry is the number in parentheses at the end of each opening quote or simply a page number in parenthesis. Diary of St Maria Faustina Kowalska – Divine Mercy in My Soul (Association of Marion Helpers, Stockbridge, MA 01263) is available through the publisher or Amazon.com.
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