Today’s gospel is about humility. Something that I’ve been eagerly trying to achieve.   These past few days, I’ve been contemplating a lot on how to be righteously meek in heart, deep down, right on. Gosh, it suddenly dawned unto me. How could I aim at the target if the target’s unknown?  

I know, I know. You might be thinking- Patty, get a dictionary and see H then U-M-I-L-I-T-Y.  That easy.

 But what would I see? A simple definition of the word. That’s not what I needed though. What I wanted to know was the deeper meaning embedded on it, the practical sense of the word and the realistic application of humility to this material-generated world.. 

The Foreign priest from the Greenbelt Chapel (Man, why do I keep on forgetting his name) enumerated 3 characteristics of humility. Yey, a striking mass that answered my questions. Here goes… 

1. Recognizing that your talents and everything you own are for God.

 Hmmmm… did I pass the first requirement? Think. Think. Think. Not at all times I guess. It’s as hard as winning the Mega Lotto. For instance, If I close a multi-million deal with one of my clients, I might consider it as a self-proclaimed achievement. Yes! But hey, who gave me the mind to think? The voice to speak? The heart to feel? Its all Him. Hence, everything must be rooted to the One above.  

2.    Having stewardship than ownership.

 It’s all mine, mine, mine. But it’s not good, good, good. The foreign priest ( I must really know his name!) set this funny example. He was culture-shocked in his first few weeks here in the Philippines because he noticed some traits that are truly Pinoy in nature. In example, someone even warned him that if he goes to a Filipino house, don’t ever dare to look intently and be awed so much by the furniture you see in the house because greater chances are, the Filipino owner of the house might GIVE it to you. That’s stewardship. Having the willingness to give. Giving which of course must be paired by justifiable right reasons as well J  

I remember when I was a kid, I got really mad with Daddy. One day I just woke up not seeing our bike anymore. Later on, I learned that he gave it away. Oh no, our bike was given away to another kid! We no longer use the bike but still, I couldn’t accept the fact that the bike that was previously ours is theirs already. It was given to a kid living at a very remote area. In order for him to transport, he had to walk for so long on a very rough road which means he needs the bike more than I do. It was I showing ownership and it was my Tadi showing stewardship. 

3.    Always available

 Being available means that you are allotting your time not just for your self, not just for your friends nor your loved once but for everyone.  

Putting these 3 things in mind would hinder us from blowing our heads with pride every time something good comes our way- a promotion, a newly-purchased sports car, an amazingly straight and shiny hair yadda, yadda. It would help us keep our feet on the ground and would keep us up and running on our way not just to just emotional growth but to spiritual maturity as well J