Think back to the time when you were a little child and what you found fulfilling in life. Whatever we thought of fulfillment then, we probably don’t think the same now. As we learn more about the world and ourselves, what we pursue changes. The search for a life of fulfillment can then become endless unless we discover the true fulfillment of our life. As faithful Christians we know that this fulfillment is found only in God. The pursuit of God, however, is difficult. Our fallen nature often entices us to pursue fulfillment in ways that do not lead to God. The search for God has to be centered on achieving union with him, a union that is an intimate friendship. To embark on this journey of friendship with Christ requires the grace of humility.
In his book Difficulties in Mental Prayer, Dom Eugene Boylan, OCR claims that the acts of humility that undergird the life of prayer assure us that, even when prayer is arid or distracted, our prayer is still fruitful. Our humble efforts at prayer may seem unsuccessful, but they please God as much as when we clearly see and experience the fruits of prayer. Our recognition of our weaknesses and trust in God’s mercy are important in living the life of humility. The life of prayer brings to light our need for humility as we see our failings laid out before us. Once we recognize the need for humility revealed through prayer and grace, we advance in achieving fulfillment—the fulfillment of being with God.
This universal call to the life of humility while pursuing God builds up the Church by orienting every choice we make toward love of God and love of neighbor. A person who is grounded in humility is unable to act in any other way. Even so, this grace of humility is a gift from God himself. God, who is omniscient, knows us perfectly and knows the graces necessary to move our heart to conversion so that we desire to know and love him more.
Our knowledge and love of God increases our union with him. Our participation in these graces is directed by God so that our will is moved to desire him. This movement of our will by God reminds us how greatly our need is of his mercy. The grace of humility removes both the obstacles of pride that can inhibit his mercy and the temptation to believe we can achieve union with God on our own. Indeed, if we break this union through sin, only God is able to restore it through the grace of the sacrament of confession.
This union with God is also a transformation of our heart into his heart. Through detachment from sin, our heart is vulnerable and exposed, ready to be saturated with God’s love and mercy. A heart transformed into the heart of Christ shows this love to others so that they see and desire that same union.
The realization of our need for the grace of humility in order to be truly happy is a first step towards union with God. As we are united more and more to him, we will be more like him who is perfect, and this is true fulfillment.
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Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. (used with permission)
