This Lent, I asked God to show me what I need to work on. Boy did He decide to grant me that wish so far!
He has gently revealed more and more of my spiritual stumbling blocks at a time when most of my thoughts are tied up with my desperate desire to be an Attentive, Confident Super Mommy and Wife (a stumbling block all its own! :). One of the daily prayers in the Lenten reading hits home–hard–for me.
Pride and Vanity want so much to be praised and thanked and admired by those around us, when all that really matters is what we do in the sight of God and in the name of His kingdom.
Hope this touches someone else as much as it touches and inspires me daily.
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Litany of Humility
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me!
From the desire of being esteemed, Lord Jesus, free me!
From the desire of being loved…
From the desire of being acclaimed…
From the desire of being honored…
From the desire of being praised…
From the desire of being preferred…
From the desire of being consulted…
From the desire of being approved…
From the desire of being valued…
From the fear of being humbled, Lord Jesus, free me!
From the fear of being despised…
From the fear of being dismissed…
From the fear of being rejected…
From the fear of being defamed…
From the fear of being forgotten…
From the fear of being ridiculed…
From the fear of being wronged…
From the fear of being suspected…
From resenting that my opinion is not followed…
That others will be more loved than I, Lord Jesus, make this my prayer!
That others will be esteemed more than I…
That others will increase in the opinion of the world while I diminish…
That others will be chosen while I am set aside…
That others will be praised while I am overlooked…
That others will be preferred to me in everything…
Lord Jesus, though you were God, you humbled yourself to the extreme of dying on a cross, to set an enduring example of my arrogance and vanity. Help me to learn your example and put it into practice so that, by humbling myself in accordance with my lowliness here on earth, you can lift me up to rejoice with you forever in heaven. Amen.
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