When pride comes, disgrace comes;
but with the humble is wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2 NABRE)
Disgrace is the very opposite of what the proud so ardently want. Those who do not demand their due receive wisdom.* When we think too much of ourselves, we risk losing the respect of others, or worse, being shamed. When we make it our habit to think less of ourselves and more of others, we should expect to gain real wisdom that leads us to God.
O Lord, teach me humility. When I grow proud, remind me that my success is due entirely to the gifts you gave me. When I think too highly of myself, allow me to immediately see your Spirit in someone around me. And when I want to demand what is my due, hold my tongue and soften my heart so that I will instead relinquish it freely and with joy so that it has no hold over me, so that it does not become an idol to me, and so that I do not put myself above you, O God, whose majesty is above all things.
Today, I will actively pursue humility in my heart and mind, confident that this will lead to wisdom.
Saint Ambrose, patron of learning whose passion for Christ and learned oratory influenced and ultimately led to the conversion and baptism of Augustine of Hippo, pray for us.
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