Preface
Do you want to be great?
Many years ago, Sacred Scripture had this question answered for you and me: "Humble yourself the more the greater you are, and you will find grace with God" (Sirach 3:18).
Years later, St Augustine, the great African Doctor of the Church, explained to us the route to greatness: "Do you want to be great? Become little. Do you plan to erect a building of colossal height? Apply yourself first to set a solid foundation --the higher your building, the deeper the foundation should be. The building will be going up; it will soar high; but first someone must dig the foundations, sink in the depths. Before going up, buildings go down; they humble themselves. The finials and pinnacles gracefully stand up only after the humiliation" (Sermon 142).
And in modern times, St Francis of Sales gave us the gauge to measure a man's greatness: "Do you want to know if a man is really wise, learned, generous, or noble? Observe if his talents tend to make him humble, modest, and submissive. If he tends to brag, his talents will be less true in the same proportion as they appear evident" (Introduction to Devout Life).
Are you willing to go along this route? Begin your journey of humility by the hand of great saints, masters of spirituality, from St Augustine to Pope Leo XIII and beyond. You will find many thoughts of a modern saint, Blessed Josemaría Escrivá; he, more than anyone, helped many of us to live better our Christian lives. Transmitting to us the reflexions of his rich spiritual life, he would say:
I shall only stir your memory
so that some thought may arise
and strike you:
and so your life will improve
and you will set out along the way of prayer
and of Love.
And in the end you will become a soul of worth.
The Way
I leave you in the company of good friends. They have tried to be great, and they became so. Meditate on these points, apply these reflections to your daily life, and you will reach your goal.
Many years ago, Sacred Scripture had this question answered for you and me: "Humble yourself the more the greater you are, and you will find grace with God" (Sirach 3:18).
Years later, St Augustine, the great African Doctor of the Church, explained to us the route to greatness: "Do you want to be great? Become little. Do you plan to erect a building of colossal height? Apply yourself first to set a solid foundation --the higher your building, the deeper the foundation should be. The building will be going up; it will soar high; but first someone must dig the foundations, sink in the depths. Before going up, buildings go down; they humble themselves. The finials and pinnacles gracefully stand up only after the humiliation" (Sermon 142).
And in modern times, St Francis of Sales gave us the gauge to measure a man's greatness: "Do you want to know if a man is really wise, learned, generous, or noble? Observe if his talents tend to make him humble, modest, and submissive. If he tends to brag, his talents will be less true in the same proportion as they appear evident" (Introduction to Devout Life).
Are you willing to go along this route? Begin your journey of humility by the hand of great saints, masters of spirituality, from St Augustine to Pope Leo XIII and beyond. You will find many thoughts of a modern saint, Blessed Josemaría Escrivá; he, more than anyone, helped many of us to live better our Christian lives. Transmitting to us the reflexions of his rich spiritual life, he would say:
I shall only stir your memory
so that some thought may arise
and strike you:
and so your life will improve
and you will set out along the way of prayer
and of Love.
And in the end you will become a soul of worth.
The Way
I leave you in the company of good friends. They have tried to be great, and they became so. Meditate on these points, apply these reflections to your daily life, and you will reach your goal.