GOSPEL (Luke XIV. 1-11.) At that time, When Jesus went into the house of one of the chiefs of the Pharisees on the Sabbath-day to eat bread, they watched him. And behold there was a certain man before him that had the dropsy. And Jesus answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day?" But they held their peace: but he taking him, healed him, and sent him away. And answering them, he said: "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into, a pit, and, will not immediately draw him out on, the Sabbath-day?" And they could not answer him to these things. And he spoke a parable also to them that were invited, marking how they chose the first seats at the table, saying to them: "When thou art invited to a wedding, sit not down in the first place, lest perhaps one more honorable than thou be invited by him; and he that invited thee and him come and say to thee: Give this man place: and then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place: But when thou art invited, go, sit down in the lowest place: that when he who invited thee cometh he may say to thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have glory before them that sit at the table with thee; because every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
St. Ambrose, a Doctor of the Church, offers some thoughts in regards to this Sunday's Gospel. Speaking to the newly made Christians who are now veterans in the spiritual combat, he tells them: "...concupiscence has snares without end, even for him!...he may trip, any day; he has gone far, perhaps very far, on the road to the kingdom of God, but, even so, he may go wrong, and be forever shut out from the marriage feast, together with heretics, pagans, and Jews. Let him be on the watch, then, or he may become tainted with those sins, from which, up to this point, thanks to God's grace, he has kept clear. Let him take heed, or he may become like the man mentioned in the Gospel, who had the dropsy; and dropsy,...is a morbid exuberance of humours, which stupefy the soul, and induce a total extinction of spiritual ardour. And yet, even if he were to have such a fall as that, let him not forget that the heavenly Physician is ever ready to cure him." St. Ambrose goes on, condensing Luke's 14th chapter, stating: "...attachment to the goods of this life is opposed to the ardour which should carry us on the wind of the Spirit, towards the heaven where lives and reigns our loved One!"
Our beloved Abbot Gueranger chimes in:
Above all, it is to the constant attitude and exercise of humility that he must especially direct his attention who would secure a prominent place in the divine feast of the nuptials. All saints are ambitious for future glory of this best kind; but they are well aware that, in order to win it, they must go down low, during the present life, into their own nothingness; the higher in the world to come, the lower in this . Until the great day dawn, when each one is to receive according to his works, we shall lose nothing by putting ourselves, meanwhile, below everybody. The position reserved for us in the kingdom of heaven depends not, in the least, either upon our own thoughts about ourselves, or upon the judgment passed on us by other people; it depends solely on the will of God, Who exalteth the humble and bringeth down the mighty from their seat. Let us hearken to Ecclesiasticus. 'The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God; for great is the power of God alone, and He is honoured by the humble.' Were it only, then, from a motive of self-interest, let us follow the advice of the Gospel, and, in all things, claim, as our own, the last place. Humility is not sterling, and cannot please God, unless, to the lowly estimation we have of ourselves, we join an esteem for others, preventing everyone with honour, gladly yielding to all in matters which do not affect our conscience; and all this, from a deep-rooted conviction of our own misery and worthlessness in the sight of Him Who searches the reins and heart. The surest test of our humility before God, is that practical charity for our neighbor, which, in the several circumstances of everyday life, induces us, and without affectation, to give him the precedence over ourselves.
On the contrary, one of the most unequivocal proofs of the falseness of certain so-called spiritual ways, into which the enemy sometimes leads incautious souls, is the lurking contempt wherewith he inspires them for one or more of their acquaintance; it is dormant, perhaps, habitually, but when occasion offers--and it frequently offers--they allow it to influence their thoughts, and words, and actions. To a greater or less extent, and, it may be, with more or less unconsciousness, self-esteem is the basis of the structure of their virtues; but, as for the illuminations, and mystical sweetness, which these people sometimes tell their intimate friends they enjoy, they may be quite sure that such favours do not come to them from the Holy Spirit. When the substantial light of the Sun of justice shall appear in the valley of the judgment, all counterfeits of this kind will be made evident, and they that trusted to them, and spent their lives in petting such phantoms, will find them all vanishing in smoke. Having then to take a much lower place than the one they dreamt of, they may reckon it a solace, that some place is still given them at the divine banquet. They will have to thank God that their chastisement goes no farther than the shame of seeing those very people passing high up in honour above them, for whom, during life, they had such utter contempt.
Jesus Himself tells us in the Gospel: "...every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
So, I guess the lesson is: "Don't be a legend in your own mind."
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