Humiliation?

“This is God's way, the way of humility. It is the way of Jesus; there is no other. And there can be no humility without humiliation.” – Pope Francis

When I first read this quote by one of my favorite Jesuits, Pope Francis, it gave me pause. Although I am certainly not a language scholar, the connection between humility and humiliation should have been evident. It wasn’t. We so often try to hide our failures, struggles, and brokenness. No one wants to be humiliated. But these are the precise struggles that make us interdependent. These are the reasons we need each other. We are one body of Christ.

Living a life of privilege, we tend to talk about how we can help others, those on the margins, but the truth is we need them as much (or more) than they need us.

The first time I visited Honduras, I was excited to see how we could better serve the children at Hogar Suyapa, a home for children without parents who can care for them, and the other services at the parish of Las Mercedes. What I found were the most generous, faith filled, loving people who wanted nothing more than to build relationships with us and share in God’s love. In spite of their lack of resources or traditional family structure, they are brilliant, joyful, inspiring Christians. The strength of their faith brought so many of my shortcomings to light. It was so humbling (humiliating?) to realize they give me more than I could ever give them.

Throughout the readings today we are reminded of the importance of seeking God’s mercy as sinners. In today’s broken world it is easy to look at others and judge them for their brokenness, however it is their brokenness that makes it so we are needed. And, it is our brokenness that makes us need others. Isn’t it awesome that we are designed for this interdependence? Luke reminds us, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” I have been reflecting on how I can better embrace humiliation and remember I am designed to need others. This is a key component on my journey to humility. I am blessed with many flaws and opportunities for humiliation, seeing the beauty in these opportunities to depend on the mercy and grace of others is the challenge.

Author: Molly O'Sullivan, Asst. Principal of Academics