Humility is tantamount to
servanthood. It is a measure of a “successful life” as pointed out by the
Gospel according to St. Matthew. We are admonished, “The greatest among you
must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever
humbles himself with be exalted” (Mt 23:11-12).
Greatness is measured by “a
successful life involving personal relationships, family experiences and
spiritual involvement as well as our professional lives” (Sir John Templeton’s
Golden Nuggets). “Great and respected people acknowledge that their greatness
comes not from their personal self but from a higher power working through them. True humility knows that the personal self is a vehicle to a higher
power”.
On the occasion of the
installation of the governance or
new set of servant-leaders (2016-2018)
of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP)
Consolacion Chapter last November 29, 2015, humility is highlighted and emphasized in his homily. Rev. Fr.
Clyde Salitrero, OCarm. is once upon a time BCBP Consolacion’s young member who
took charge of our children before entering the seminary. Now, we are fortunate
to have him back to officiate and celebrate with us the Holy Mass during the
installation and thanksgiving.
"BCBP time is on time" with Sis Miriam Loren as coordinator
Before the Holy Mass, I
briefly exchanged pleasantries with my cousins who are servant-leaders in one
BCBP Chapter in Cebu who were among the invited guests. “Gi-bugha!!”, metaphorically as in being
“axed timber for firewood” in their leadership was a lamenting response.
Providentially, they must
have been relieved by the homily of Fr. Clyde who stressed the importance of
the virtue of humility in our
service to the Lord as “personal
humility”. Application of the lessons learned in philosophy and sanctity
are classified under “intellectual
and spiritual humility”,
respectively.
Fr. Clyde pointed-out, “servant-leadership
is not a bed of roses but nails and thumb-tacks requiring a lot of kneeling to
pray...servant-leaders are broken to be shared”. This is a “key note” that is
thought-provoking and worth living.
During the last teaching
night of the Chapter after the first Friday Mass (December
4, 2015), the governance laid down
the platform or plan of action commonly termed
“action plan” in the action group level, the basic unit of BCBP. The platform for the next three (3) years is
coined to The 3 Ps to stand for Presence, Participation and Personal
Spiritual Growth. The individual
servant-leader of each service group presented their respective strategies
encompassing or embracing The 3 Ps.
Every BCBP member committed
to know, love and serve God in a personal way must be reminded that “the
beginning of humility is triggered or ignited when we realize how little we
know and how much there is to learn”. “True humility can lead us to a prayerful attitude. Prayer can bring us in tune with the
Infinite.” “When we are genuinely
humble and grateful for God-given blessings, the door is open to a kind of
Heaven on Earth, here and now”.
Truly inspiring and moving
are the following lovely and analogical statements from the Golden
Nuggets: “When we are permeated with a lively faith and a sense of a sincere desire to learn, messages of love and guidance flow to us and through us like
a beautiful river that has found smooth passage through our life stream. To find contentment
in the heart and a sense of
fulfillment in the mind, it becomes important that we learn to praise and affirm life and the goodness of living”. nmg
Upon reminiscing my past experiences during my first attempt to enter in the seminary (Poor Servants of the Divine Providence). During that very moment, there was a question that made me motivated or inspired (per se) to continue and find my vocation. And that particular question was mainly from my father's thought. He told me his experiences, for he was a lay minister in our parish. He said that, in the service of others, there is only one thing that you need to develop and discover and that is the virtue of humility. Without humility, you're doing service not for God, but for your OWN glorification. That's all.
ReplyDeleteAnd up until now I am a 3rd year collage, these words of wisdom of my father are still with me, always reminding me of my responsibility, and ministry.
So, I am very much thankful for this thought of yours because I believe that this will help me of my meditation, and reflection be more coherent, and genuine. May God be praised amen.