EACH MONTH IN THE 12 STEPS OF HUMILITY WE ARE CLIMBING SAINT BENEDICT’S LADDER OF HUMILITY. WITH EACH RUNG WE COME CLOSER TO THE PERFECT LOVE OF GOD.

THE LADDER IS OUR LIFE ON EARTH, IF WE HUMBLE OUR HEART GOD WILL RAISE IT TO HEAVEN. ~ ST. BENEDICT

THE FIRST STEP OF HUMILITY:

A monk always keeps the fear of God before their eyes and flees from all forgetfulness. ~ The Rule of Benedict

To begin our heavenly climb we must humbly bow down and recognize the Presence of God in our lives.

Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning. ~ Proverbs 1:7

When we recognize God’s Presence, have a healthy, reverential fear of the Lord and give Him reign over our daily lives, we will find the freedom that comes from accepting our proper place in the universe.

One of the biggest challenges is keeping our self-worth in proper perspective. Without putting ourselves down in our weaknesses or puffing ourselves up in our strengths, we see ourselves as God sees us, gifts and flaws alike. We must face our reality.

To get me back to reality took getting life ripped out from under my feet. Only then was I able to look up and start rebuilding my life based on who God says I am rather than who I thought I was in my own fantastic imaginations.

Realize it or not, God is always present in our lives and aware of every thought. It’s not hard to imagine God with us when we are being good. But to think of Him with us when we were doing something bad is uncomfortable.

When we recognize God’s presence and put ourselves behind His lead we are less likely to fall.

CLICK HERE for a beautiful worship song to enjoy as you meditate on the Presence of God.

RESOURCES:
The Rule of Saint Benedict by Saint Benedict, Edited by Timothy Fry, O.S.B.
Twelve Steps to Inner Freedom: Humility Revisited by Joan D. Chittister
The Twelve Steps of Humility and Pride by Bernard of Clairvaux
Living in the Truth: Saint Benedict’s Teaching on Humility by Michael Casey

Image credit: nexusplexus / 123RF Stock Photo

VIRTUE: a valued principle of good moral behavior; a holy habit.

Generosity: a habit of giving without expecting anything in return.

VICE: a practice of wrong doing, corruption of virtue; an unholy habit.

Stingy: reluctant to give or spend.

During the Christmas season Generosity is the perfect Virtue to study. While most of us would consider ourselves generous people, I think this is an area that’s easy to get lazy in and not realize it. As always, we can point out our weaknesses better by looking at the opposing vices. Let’s consider a few more opposites of Generosity…

miserly
gluttonous
covetous

What picture comes to mind when you read these words? I see Scrooge and The Grinch. No doubt two movies you’ve seen at some point this holiday season. But seriously, when we see these two awful characters, do we see any part of ourselves?

To a cold and calculating person, being generous seems costly. To the generous, being stingy seems incomprehensible. It is greed that creates poverty not generosity. True generosity enriches us!

The true spirit of generosity comes in giving but not expecting anything in return. But more than that, we must give sacrificially. It isn’t generous to give something that’s old and worth discarding. We must give out of our abundance, something maybe that we want to keep. Certainly, when giving a financial gift it should be an amount that goes over and above what we might normally give.

With the Christmas season upon us, God’s generous gift of Jesus Christ is top of mind. Because God made us in His image, His generous character is also built into our nature. In practicing the Virtue of Generosity we come closest to resembling the creative God in whose image we have been made.

Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. ~ Luke 6:38 MSG

Let’s go forward, not just at Christmas, but in the year ahead, let’s commit to be intentionally generous. If we actively look we will find many opportunities to give freely, fully and joyfully! http://youtu.be/yhmmeFuzGRk