READING 1
Luke 14:7-11
Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
READING 2
From a Sermon on St. Joseph by St. Francis de Sales
But if St. Joseph was careful to keep his virtues hidden under the shelter of his most holy humility, he took special care to conceal the precious pearl of his virginity; it is for this reason that he consented to be married, so that no one might know it, and that, under the holy veil of marriage, he might live more hidden. By this, virgins and those who wish to live chastely are taught that it is not enough for them to be virgins, if they are not humble, and if they do not enclose their purity in the precious box of humility; for otherwise it will happen to them as to foolish virgins, who, for want of humility and merciful charity, were shut out from the marriage feast of the Bridegroom [Matthew 25:1-12], and thus were forced to go to the marriage of the world, where they do not observe the counsel of the heavenly Spouse, who says that it is necessary to be humble to enter the wedding feast, I mean that it is necessary that one practice humility: for, He says, in going to a marriage feast, or “being invited to a marriage feast, take the lowest place” [Luke 14: 8,10]. By this we see how necessary humility is for the preservation of virginity, since undoubtedly no will be admitted to the heavenly banquet and to the nuptial feast that God prepares for virgins in the celestial dwelling place, unless they be accompanied by this virtue.
REFLECTION
Humility protects all the virtues, including chastity. Charity is the form of the virtues, giving them their height, direction and purpose. Humility is the ground of the virtues, providing their safe and stable foundation. Dietrich von Hildebrand, in his great work Transformation in Christ, enumerates several attitudes that mitigate against humility: pride that hates goodness, is blind to value, isolates and divides, turns freedom into license, and refuses all submission as such. With lesser forms of pride, we might reject the sovereignty of God, consider ourselves more valuable because of our virtues, consider our virtues as being due to ourselves instead of God. He also notes the dangers of vanity and haughtiness in which we display our own virtues or hold ourselves above submission to other persons, respectively. The humility of St. Joseph is a great teacher for us and uniting our heart with his can help us, by God’s grace, to grow in all the virtues for the sake of Jesus and Mary.
In what ways is your humility threatened? Which attitudes listed by von Hildebrand resonate with you as potential dangers? What makes it difficult for you to take the lowest place, as instructed by Jesus?
Litany of St. Joseph or
Ancient Prayer of St. Joseph or
Ad te beate Ioseph
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