This joke is NOT funny!

My co-worker shared this story with me yesterday, and then I searched for it online. I found it categorized as "funny joke". However, I don't think it is funny.  What do you think?

A man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard.

Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hit the roof--and the horn--screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated ’Christian Fish' emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Why do I think this joke is NOT funny? Maybe, because I have been a passenger in the car too many times  where Catholic Christian drivers behave this way.  It makes me sad, because not only do we take off our Christian hat on the road, but in restaurants, and basically any and everywhere. We know what we represent, but  if x, y, and z happens, THEN we have the right to behave in this and that way, right? I mean, you would respond like this too, if it happened to you .... and THAT makes it ok.

I think that the police officer's response is great, and reminds me of the song: "They will know we are Christians by our love."  It also reminds me of St. Francis and his encouragement to "preach always and speak only when necessary".

I am serious about my faith, but this made me reconsider how I behaved today and yesterday.  What do others actually see when they look at me? Do they think I am a hypocrite? Or do they believe I am what I claim, a follower of Christ, a disciple of love, a Catholic?

Marks of the follower of Christ (1 Cor 13):

• Patient
• Kind
• Not jealous
• Not boastful
• Not proud
• Not self-seeking
• Not easily angered
• Keeps no record of wrongs
• Does not delight in evil
• Rejoices in the truth
• Protects
• Trusts
• Hopes
• Preserves

Am I all of these, in all circumstances, and with all people? If I am not, what lame excuses do I give myself to justify "my exception"? Do I blame others for my behavior?

PRIDE vs HUMILITY - Day 7

<sup>Words of Our Savior:

Luke 17:7-10</sup>

 "Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?  Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

PRIDE vs HUMILITY - Day 6

Is it okay to be... brokeN?
   unsuccessful?  hurt?  sick?  rejected? stupid?  poor?  ugly?  afraid?

Is it okay to not be perfect?  Is it okay to be...what I am... ME?

Hello.  Nice to meet you.  I am broken!!!  Yes, I am broken.  I hurt.  I am afraid.  I regret.  I am not all that I want to be.

I have admitted what I am.  I have even said it out loud.

I couldn't say this out loud for a long time.  It is hard to say that word in application to myself... broken... but, I am... broken...

In many ways and many things, I have failed.  I don't have it all together and I don't like recognizing that.  I am proud.  And if I am going to talk about humility, I must also live it. I must honestly recognize myself for who I am.

I have realized over time that I sometimes am more afraid that people will see that I am struggling than of my actual problem.

What will people say if they knew...

Will they think I am incapable? useless? emotional? undisciplined? hypocritical? What will THEY think?

WHAT will they think?!????

Well, once I truly understood in my head that nothing I could do, would give me the power to control what THEY - the crowd of random persons, who aren't exactly main players in my life - think, it was easier to let go of this oppression.

Then, it's easier to let go of WHAT will they think?!????  This time the "they" are the people closest to me.

Also, openly recognizing that I am broken, I felt I could finally breathe.  Yes, I am broken, but so what? Aren't we all? We all are struggling with something. We are all hiding something. The longer we hide behind that mask, of  "nothing is wrong with me", then the longer it will take before we can heal.

There is nothing wrong with having something wrong with ourselves.  However, it is wrong to stay in the place where we think, or act as if there is nothing wrong with us.  Life is about fixing all those wrongs.  It is a test.  It is a challenge.  What will we do with this problem?  How will we turn it into the greatest good possible?

PRIDE vs HUMILITY - Day 4

Two prayers against pride: (from http://prayerbook.com/Subjects/sevepray.htm#PRIDE)

O Lord Jesus Christ, Pattern of humility, who didst empty Thyself of Thy glory, and take upon the form of a servant: root out of us all pride and conceit of heart, that, owing ourselves miserable and guilty sinners, we may willingly bear contempt and reproaches for Thy sake, and glorying in nothing but Thee, may esteem ourselves lowly in Thy sight. Not unto us, O Lord, but to Thy name be the praise, for Thy loving mercy and for Thy truth's sake. Amen. 

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O Most humble Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, eternal praise and thanksgiving be to Thee, because in Thy tenderest age, on the eighth day of Thy mortal life, Thou didst vouchsafe to shed Thy precious and innocent Blood for us, and as a true Son of Abraham to bear the pain of Circumcision. By this most holy shedding of Thy Blood, I beg of Thee, the grace of humility against all pride and worldly vanity.

Our Father… Hall Mary… Glory Be…

O Savior of the world, who by Thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us: save us, and help us, we humbly beseech Thee, O Lord.

PRIDE vs.HUMILITY - Day 3

(I know, I know! In "time" it's day four and I am a day late!!! Sorry.  Life just was such that I was unable to post.  It is a further reminder to me that "tomorrow is not promised" and I am not in control of anything. What God wants my day to be is not always what I envision the evening before...)
 

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In considering humility today, I considered obedience: a proud soul doesn't obey.

Here is a directive from Jesus to St. Faustina:

"My daughter, let three virtues adorn you in a particular way: humility, purity of intention and love. Do nothing beyond what I demand of you, and accept everything that My hand gives you. Strive for a life of recollection so that you can hear My voice, which is so soft that only recollected souls can hear it..." (#1779)

The Degrees of Obedience  -- According to St. Faustina

Prompt and and complete fulfillment -- the obedience of the will, when the will persuades the intellect to submit to the advice of a superior. To facilitate obedience, Saint Ignatius suggests, moreover, three means: always to see God in our superior, whoever he might be; to justify in itself the order or advice of the superior; to accept each order as an order from God, without examining it or reflecting upon it. General means: humility. Nothing is difficult for the humble.  (#93-94)

"[W]ithout examining it or reflecting upon it." Wow, that level of willing submission is very jarring. I believe that this can only be accomplished with grace. Jesus, have mercy on us!

PRIDE vs HUMILITY - Day 2

Meditation I: Of Creation 

 by St. Francis De Sales

Preparation

1. Place yourself in the presence of God.

2. Ask Him to inspire you.

Considerations

1.  Consider that but a few years ago you were not in the world at all, and that you did not exist. Where were you, O my soul, at the time? The world has already lasted such a long time, and it had no news of you.

2.  God brought you forth out of this nothingness, to make you what you are merely of his goodness, for he had no need of you.

3. Consider the being that God has given you; for it is the highest form of being on earth, capable of living eternally and of being perfectly united to His divine Majesty. 

Affections and Resoulutions

1. Humble yourself profoundly before God, saying from your heart with the Psalmist: O Lord, I am nothing before thee. And why hast thou been mindful of me to create me? Alas! my soul, thou were in the abyss of nothingness, and have remained there, if God had not drawn you hence; and what could you do in this nothingness?

2. Give thanks to God. O my great and good Creator, how much do I owe You, since You have vouchsafed to take me in my nothingness, in order to make me in Your mercy what I am. What shall I ever be able to do in order to worthily bless Your Holy Name and give thanks to Your inestimable goodness?

3. Be filled with confusion. But Alas! my Creator; instead of uniting myself to You by love and service, I have made myself altogether a rebel by my inordinate affections, separating and withdrawing myself from You, in order to attach myself to sin, giving You no more honor than if You had not been my Creator.

4. Cast yourself down before God. O my soul, know that the Lord is your God; He made you, and you did not make yourself. O God, I am the work of Your hands.

5. Therefore, I do not wish any longer to take pleasure in myself, who for my part am nothing. Why do you do glorify yourself, O dust and ashes? Yes rather, O true nothingness, why do you lift yourself up? And, in order to humble myself, I will do such or such thing, bear with such or such contempt. I will change my life and henceforth follow my Creator, and glory in that condition of being which He has given me, making use of it entirely in obedience to His will, by such means as shall be taught me, and concerning which I will enquire of my spiritual Father.

Conclusion

1. Thanksgiving. -  Give thanks to God. Bless your God, O my soul, and let all who are with me bless His Holy Name; for His goodness has drawn me forth from nothingness, and His mercy has created me.

2. Oblation. - O my God, I offer You the being which You have given me, with all my heart; I dedicate and consecrate it to You.

3. Petition. -  O God, strengthen me in these affections and resolutions; O holy Virgin recommend them to the mercy of Your Son, with all those for whom I ought to pray, etc. 

Pater Noster, Ave.

At the conclusion of your prayer walk about a little and gather a bouquet of devotion, from the considerations which you have made, in order to inhale its perfume throughout the day.

 

PRIDE vs. HUMLITY

As you well know, pride and humility are contraries. You have also heard that:

Pride always goes before a fall... The bigger you are the harder you fall...etc.,

Ironically, as the most popular vice, pride has the least popular solution: humility. Humility is a scary word. Wrongly understood, it is often associated with having little self worth. Who wants that? 

Luckily, that is not what humility is. Humility is simply the right understanding of one's self. 

It is not thinking more highly of one's self  than one actually is, nor is it thinking lower of one's self than one actually is. It is understanding one's self exactly.

It is responsibly and honestly assessing who we are, what we have done, what we are good at, and what we have failed. It is realizing that we aren't in control.

St. Paul says, "For that which I work, I understand not. For I do not that good which I will; but the evil which I hate, that I do." (Rom 7:15) 

If St. Paul isn't in control of himself, than how can we claim such a control over ourselves, our lives and each other? Do we not also sometimes do what we hate, because of weakness? Who is without regret, without sin, without unchecked self-appointed glory?

Not me!!! :-)

Therefore, on Day 1 of 7 on PRIDE vs HUMILITY, I offer a simple prayer:

Jesus, please help me to see myself as You see me. 

Heal me from my self inflicted blindness. 

Open my eyes so that I see clearly what I need to be for You. 

I beg Your forgiveness for all the times I praised myself instead of You.

 Please heal the wounds that my pride has caused in me over the years. 

Please also bless those whom I have hurt because of my pride;
please bless them more than You bless me. 

Thank you. Amen. 

Stubborn Test

Recently, someone commented on how stubborn I am.  When I think of myself, I don't attribute this quality to myself; however, I am willing to accept this constructive criticism.

If I am stubborn, I wish to be so in the right way, that is, to have the virtue of constancy.  I want to be constant in the Lord, in my faith and in my values.  I don't want to be a pushover when it comes to truth.  Martyrs were constant, so were saints.  I wish to be like them, that is, faithful to the end.

However, I don't want to be unmovable in the things that don't matter, or in inordinate things that take away from my health, holiness and happiness.  If I relentlessly persevere in things that don't encourage in me the twofold love of God and neighbor, than I am stubborn, which is vicious.  One effect of stubbornness is a weakening of relationships for the sake of pride.  If I do this, then I definitely want to purge myself.

As with all vices, stubbornness stems from pride and the only cure is humility.

While I have already touched upon the virtue of humility, it is a subject for me that never gets old.  I view humility as a journey.  Since humility is seeing myself through the eyes of God and rightly ascertaining what and who I actually am (without over or underestimating), it will take me my whole life to become perfectly humble.  Layer by layer of disordered attachments or attitudes need to be taken away as virtue replaces it.

Stubborn Test


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" Constancy is the virtue by which a person endures the toil involved in persistently accomplishing a good work. It belongs to perseverance to persist in good for a long time until the end. Perseverance moderates the emotion of fear as it regards weariness or failure on account of the delay. It differs from constancy in that constancy makes a man persist firmly in good against difficulties arising from external hindrances.

The defect of perseverance is effeminacy. The effeminate are ready to forsake a good on account of difficulties which they cannot endure. Delicacy, according to Aquinas, is a kind of effeminacy and is thus a vice contrary to perseverance. The delicate, after considering the toil involved in a difficult work, will naturally recoil, whereas the effeminate are principally focused on the lack of pleasure involved in a particular work.

The excess of perseverance is pertinacity, which exceeds the mean of perseverance appointed by reason. The pertinacious man persists inordinately in something against many difficulties. He desires the proximate end too much. The pertinacious and the effeminate have something in common, for the pertinacious shun the pain involved in not realizing the pleasure of the end that he loves and pursues inordinately." from http://catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0283.html
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.Saint Augustine (354-430);
Roman Catholic Saint“No one should be ashamed to admit they are wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser today than they were yesterday. ”
Alexander Pope (1688-1744);
Poet, Critic, Translator“Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error.” Andrew Jackson (1767-1845);
7th U.S. President“An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” Orlando A. Battista (1917-1995);
Chemist, Author