"Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord"

The readings for this coming weekend seek to remind us that we, as God's holy people, are called to be humble. In the first reading, from the Prophet Zephaniah, we hear an exhortation to humility: "Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility." Zephaniah is telling the people of Israel, and us today, that seeking to be humble before God is essential to experiencing His blessings and being a witness to God's goodness.

Then, in the second reading from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, we hear: "God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God." Paul is calling the Corinthians to recognize that all that they do and any influence they may have is because of the Lord. This is especially pertinent in our American society, one without noble titles or birthrights, and one where many of us descend from families who came to this nation with nothing but the clothes on their backs. So, when Paul exhorts the Corinthians "Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord," he is reminding them, and us, that it is only through the Lord that we have what we do; praising and thanking him and giving him the glory is an important reminder to us of that.

Finally, in the Gospel we hear the famous reading from Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus gives us the Beatitudes. It is not by happenstance that the first one states, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." Jesus, right away, is stating that humility is the call of a Christian. When we are able to be humble before God, when we can recognize that our wealth or belongings are not our's for hoarding, and when we recognize that, even if we have much, we are not to be possessed by our possessions but to use them as God, who is the giver of all good gifts, would have us, the Kingdom is then within our grasp.

So, let us pray this week, that we may all grow in the gift and virtue of humility. May the talents and possessions we may have be recognized as gifts from a loving and generous God. May we remember always to boast in God and his grace and not in ourselves and what we can do, in our intelligence, or what we own. And may we remember where we came from, for we all come from God, of whose Kingdom we all wish to be citizens and which we all hope to live in together for all eternity.

Want to prepare your heart and mind for Mass this weekend? Click here to find the readings this Sunday's Mass.