Men's Rosary

We are very prideful as humans.  Even if we claim not to be, we really are.  We do not like to truly obey, and we tend to do things “our” way.  So how can this impact upon our spiritual life?  Well, I do not know all the ways, but I am confident that it is in the negative sense.

Humility is a virtue that will set us up for success.  I thought of this while in line for reconciliation.  Humility is built into our sacraments.  Typically, we do not wish to admit we are wrong.  But in reconciliation we come before a priest, a man, even though he sits on the throne of Christ’s mercy and admit our failings. That is humbling!  In the prayers of the Mass, we recognize our littleness and dependence.  That is humbling.  We must carry this over into our prayer life.

In prayer we should pray with an expectant faith.  “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will.” (Mark 11:24)  God will provide and He hears our prayers.  We are assured of this in Scripture.  We need only to go to him.  But we need to be clear about what we want.  Be resolved in our petitions and trust in God’s mercy and deliverance. “Ask and it will be given to you;  seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)  In matters of faith we need to be all in.  We cannot be on the fence about anything.  We must trust, hope, and believe that God provides.  As men in our families, parishes, and communities we must embrace what it means to be disciples of Christ.  It really is all or nothing.  “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)  Christ demands commitment. 

So let us pray with an expectant faith, knowing that God will provide but let us also pray without expectation.  We are not to determine how God will answer prayers, just trust that He will.  If we are not careful, we will simply be dictating to God what to do, not receiving and trusting what He does. This is where humility is important. To be humble is to accept, to be prideful is to want to be in control and to dictate.  As soon as we do this, we are rationalizing our faith.  Looking at matters of faith in human terms will sow doubt and misunderstanding.  Make no mistake, the devil will welcome this as a huge opportunity to erode our faith.  We must not rationalize or understand God’s ways because we are not God.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than  your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Let us bring our prayers and petitions to God with a humble and contrite heart, trusting in His hearing and answering us and trusting in His will and not projecting our will upon the situations.  To let go of control is a challenging thing to do,  but we are called to do just that! 

“The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility.  For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.    St. Vincent de Paul