I love days like today. When I get reminded of so many little things that had reminded me in the past of what direction I needed to be in. To have the same ‘gentle push’ press me forward is comforting and yet, humiliating being that I should be beyond the same nudge that I received nearly a decade ago.
Ah, but the only thing I can gloat in is that I’m NOT perfect. 😉 Whew, takes the edge of doesn’t it?
This morning I had an ACTS small group at my home (ACTS is a parish wide community that is formed once the participant attends the initial ACTS retreat) and though it was a small gathering it was truly blessed with His presence sitting among us and giving us all those gentle little urgings and pushes.
One ‘word’ I heard clearly from a participant that was telling us about a time 30 years ago that she felt God clearly in her life was “Get out of the way, I’ll handle it.” God had ‘said’ this to her heart in a time that she was truly at her wits end and realized there was no more she could do in this particular situation and then she felt that phrase spoken across her heart and she followed it’s guidance. Sure enough everything began to fall into place. (Go figure!)
Something as simple as hearing a phrase said in a particular way can truly reach out and GRAB you and that is what happened. For whatever reason I needed to hear that phrase. “Get out of the way, I’ll handle it.” I thanked her for sharing and told her I believe her sharing was meant for me today. 🙂
The other ‘long ago’ nudge that resurfaced was saying the prayer of Humility. Another participant had recently begun to pray this prayer but was adverse to it …and I recalled my first time to pray it and my own adversity to it. However, once you pray it, it truly becomes a beautiful part of your spiritual growth. I remembered praying it and asking God, “I want to be less of me and more of You. I want you to consume me.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve prayed that and apparently I’m learning what my ‘My Daily Bread’ warned me about in today’s passage: “Do not be too ready to omit spiritual exercises or prayers because of weariness. This can easily become a habit which will hurt you.”
God is so speaking to me! 😉
Being that it may, I want to include the Prayer of Humility. It is a tough one to do…but once you truly ‘get’ it, it is beautiful.
Litany of Humility
Written by Cardinal Merry del Val. He was accustomed to recite this prayer daily after the celebration of Holy Mass.
O Jesus meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen.
Blessings
Shannon