Based on the readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
By Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh | Diocesan
I have always been so easily influenced by others’ opinions of me. I want to be loved, or at least well-liked, by all I meet. It is a natural human tendency. The compulsive need to check email or Facebook messages relays back the same feelings — is there anyone out there looking to connect with me?
It is so easy to be distracted by worldly comforts brought forth by people, as well as material possessions. In today’s Gospel, Christ proclaims of the need to separate ourselves from these habits. Sometime while we’re praying the Litany of Humility, we might ask ourselves if we really want these petitions to become true. To deny ourselves feels paradoxical, especially living in a society that highly values each human’s right to so many freedoms. I think we can often reach above and beyond that which we’re entitled to.
In “Mere Christianity,” C.S. Lewis noted pride as the ultimate “anti-God”, which leads to every other vice. In contrast, St. Bernard declares that Jesus Christ is the ultimate definition of humility. We are so used to the comforts of the world around us. Christ also lived as a human being with similar circumstances, yet made the ultimate sacrifice of giving it all away for our sake, despite our extreme unworthiness.
Today, let’s ask ourselves if we know that God is who he says he is. May we truly know the truth that takes precedence over all our individual matters, that Christ suffered and died in great humility and out of a deep love for us.
Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh is a board-certified neurologist who practices in Bergen County, N.J. She is a wife to her best friend, Akeem, and a mother of two little ones on Earth and two others in heaven above.
