Humility and The Curate's Egg

According to the great Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, the virtue of humility consists in keeping oneself within one's bounds -- not reaching out to things that are above one, but instead submitting to one's superior. At the same time, excessive humility is as much a vice as pride, since servility might be derogatory to a man's office or holy character. Excessive humility might also occasion the sins of tyranny, arbitrariness, and arrogance in another.

The 1895 cartoon from Punch by George du Maurier facetiously entitled "True Humility" illustrates the point. A timid Anglican curate is taking breakfast at the home of his bishop. The bishop says, "I'm afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr. Jones." The curate replies, "Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!"

Sources: The Catholic Encyclopedia; Wikipedia

Cardinal Merry del Val and His Litany

Today is the 79th anniversary of the death of Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta (1865-1930) who served as Secretary of State during the reign of Saint Pius X. The Cardinal composed the Litany of Humility, a good prayer for Lent:

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, . . . (repeat: Deliver me, Jesus)
From the desire of being extolled, . . .
From the desire of being honored, . . .
From the desire of being praised, . . .
From the desire of being preferred to others, . . .
From the desire of being consulted, . . .
From the desire of being approved, . . .
From the fear of being humiliated, . . .
From the fear of being despised, . . .
From the fear of suffering rebukes, . . .
From the fear of being calumniated, . . .
From the fear of being forgotten, . . .
From the fear of being ridiculed, . . .
From the fear of being wronged, . . .
From the fear of being suspected, . . .
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it
That others may be esteemed more than I, . . . (repeat:  Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it)
That in the opinion of the world others may increase and I may decrease, . . .
That others may be chosen and I set aside, . . .
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, . . .
That others may be preferred to me in everything, . . .
That others become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Veronica and Her Veil

It is said that Veronica was a woman of Jerusalem who encountered Jesus on his way to Calvary, his Holy Face soiled and disfigured with sweat and blood. His appearance had been described prophetically in the Book of Isaias (53:2-3):

"There is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him: Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not."

Whether Veronica recognized that Jesus was the man of the Isaias prophecy, or only felt pity for his suffering, she removed her veil and used it to wipe his Holy Face. The image of that Face was then miraculously imprinted on her veil. We now commemorate the event in the Sixth Station of the Cross.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because, by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Divine Redeemer! humbly prostrate at the foot of Thy Cross, I call upon Thee to incline Thy Sacred Heart to pardon me.

Jesus, misjudged and despised, have mercy on me!

Jesus, calumniated and persecuted, have mercy on me!

Jesus, abandoned by men and tempted in the desert, have mercy on me!

Jesus, betrayed and sold, have mercy on me!

Jesus, insulted, accused, and unjustly condemned, have mercy on me!

Jesus, clothed in a robe of ignominy and contempt, have mercy on me!

Jesus, mocked and scoffed at, have mercy on me!

Jesus, bound with cords and led through the streets, have mercy on me!

Jesus, treated as a fool and classed with malefactors, have mercy on me!

Jesus, cruelly scourged, have mercy on me!

Jesus, held inferior to Barabbas, have mercy on me!

Jesus, despoiled of Thy garments, have mercy on me!

Jesus, crowned with thorns and reviled, have mercy on me!

Jesus, bearing the Cross amid the maledictions of the people, have mercy on me!

Jesus, bowed down by ignominies, pain, and humiliations, have mercy on me!

Jesus, crucified between thieves, have mercy on me!

Jesus, dying for my sins amid all kinds of suffering, have mercy on me!

Let us pray.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer! Exercise, I beseech Thee, Thy office of mediator with me, and permit not that Thy sufferings and cruel death be in vain for my salvation, but let them bring forth, for Thy glory, fruits of salvation in me, that my heart may love, praise, and glorify Thee for ever and ever. Amen.

High Noon (1952)

Psalm 90 speaks of God's protection from the "noonday devil" (daemonio meridiano). Who or what is the noonday devil? One possibility is that this devil is not a spirit like Satan and his cohorts, but an evil man or men intent on foul deeds in the full light of sun.

A confrontation between a just man and the noonday devil in the old American West is found in Hollywood's High Noon (1952). There, outgoing Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) -- abandoned by every able-bodied man in town -- is left alone to confront four outlaws, including Frank Miller, a killer just released from prison who has sworn revenge on Kane because Kane was the lawman who saw to it that he was brought to justice.

Even though Kane has made the town safe for their families, the citizens give these evil-doers free rein. Some refuse to back Kane because of cowardice (rationalized by remarkable sophistry), others because of self-interest, and in some instances because of outright malice.

Newly married to pacifist Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly), who threatens to leave if he decides to stay and fight, Kane must decide not only "twixt love and duty" but between conscience and cowardice. As the ballad from the film says,

"The noon day train
will bring Frank Miller.
If I'm a man
I must be brave
and I must face that
deadly killer.

Or lie a coward,
a craven coward,
or lie a coward
in my grave."

Kane knows that if he runs, he will hand over not only the town but also his own soul to the devil in the form of Frank Miller. Helen Ramirez, who has been sequentially the mistress of Frank Miller, Will Kane, and now of Kane's deputy, urges Amy to put her husband before her pacifism. Kane faces his enemies, help comes from an unlikely source, and Frank Miller is slain.

A compelling story of courage versus cowardice, loyalty versus betrayal, resistance versus capitulation to evil, the film is available in DVD format from the usual outlets.

Image:
High Noon poster, from Wikimedia Commons. Copyrighted; fair use claimed.

Psalm 90 - Qui Habitat

Douay-Rheims

1 The praise of a canticle for David. He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob. 2 He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust. 3 For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word. 4 He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust. 5 His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night. 6 Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 But thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the most High thy refuge. 10 There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling. 11 For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. 14 Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he hath known my name. 15 He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him. 16 I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

Latin Vulgate

1 laus cantici David qui habitat in adiutorio Altissimi in protectione Dei caeli commorabitur 2 dicet Domino susceptor meus es tu et refugium meum Deus meus sperabo in eum 3 quoniam ipse liberabit me de laqueo venantium et a verbo aspero 4 in scapulis suis obumbrabit te et sub pinnis eius sperabis 5 scuto circumdabit te veritas eius non timebis a timore nocturno 6 a sagitta volante in die a negotio perambulante in tenebris ab incursu et daemonio meridiano 7 cadent a latere tuo mille et decem milia a dextris tuis ad te autem non adpropinquabit 8 verumtamen oculis tuis considerabis et retributionem peccatorum videbis 9 quoniam tu Domine spes mea Altissimum posuisti refugium tuum 10 non accedent ad te mala et flagellum non adpropinquabit tabernaculo tuo 11 quoniam angelis suis mandabit de te ut custodiant te in omnibus viis tuis 12 in manibus portabunt te ne forte offendas ad lapidem pedem tuum 13 super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis et; conculcabis leonem et draconem 14 quoniam in me speravit et liberabo eum protegam eum quia cognovit nomen meum 15 clamabit ad me et exaudiam eum cum ipso sum in tribulatione eripiam eum et clarificabo eum 16 longitudine dierum replebo eum et ostendam illi salutare meum.