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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Who is greater,

the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves?

The one who sits down, of course.

But I am among you as one who serves.”

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– Luke 22:27 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Christ has repeatedly pointed out the way for us:

“Who is greater,

the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves?

The one who sits down, of course.

But I am among you as one who serves.”

Without humility and spirit of service

there can be no effectiveness

and it is quite impossible to practice true Christian charity.

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Without humility there is no holiness,

for Jesus does not want conceited self-centred friends in His service.

As St John Chrysostom tells us,

“the instruments of God are always humble.”

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In the little acts of service that we can offer to others,

there is no room for complacency or for arrogance,

since it is the Lord who really does the work

and without grace our best efforts will be in vain.

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Grace is the one thing that can raise the power of our human talents

so as to achieve by them

what would otherwise have been beyond our possibilities

always remembering what we read in James 4:6,

that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

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When we struggle to attain this virtue of humility,

we become effective and strong.

But we ought to be constantly vigilant,

because the worst kind of ambition is to strive for one’s own exaltation

– that ambition of seeking ourselves and our enhanced reputation

in the things we do, supposedly to help others.

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If we are not humble,

we can make ourselves unfit for helping those around us,

because pride infects everything.

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How do I treat others?

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Is my behaviour towards others imbued with a spirit of service?

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Do I truly serve out of love?

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Do I see Christ in others?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, help me serve others with love and humility,

so that by doing so I will be serving and loving You.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.