Forgotten Truths To Set Faith Afire!

 

( Photo by Nuno Silva on Unsplash ) Humility is a virtue of the will, but it depends on knowledge.   To be humble, a man must realize the lack of proportion between his own powers and the great things toward which his will tends.   Humility does not make a man think less of himself than he ought; it is based on an honest estimate of one's own capacities, and hence enables a man to see what he cannot do and to abstain from trying to do the impossible…It is humility, which makes it possible for a man to see that he can not find happiness without the assistance of God's grace and love.   The humble man does not try the impossible – to save himself without God.   The humble man subjects himself to God, worships God and asks the divine assistance in his pursuit of happiness. (Walter Farrell, O.P., S.T.M. and Martin J. Healy, S.T.D.)

(Image Source - Motoki Tonn on Unsplash) In hope man relies on God's goodness and power to bring man to the possession of God Himself…Hope makes us cling to God as the source of our happiness, the goodness and power from which we hope to receive happiness…The object of hope is eternal life – the vision of God…The virtue of hope moves man to the pursuit of God Himself.   It can be found, then only in the will…[S]ince hope moves man to seek God, neither the saints in heaven, nor the damned in hell can have hope.   The Saints have no hope, because they already possess God…The damned in Hell have no hope, because they have already lost God and know that they can never possess Him. Walter Farrell, O.P., S.T.M. and Martin J. Healy, S.T.D.

(My Way of Life) By meditation man perceives that he can find his true place in the universe and his real happiness only through the surrender of himself to God.  In meditation man perceives the goodness and kindness of God to himself, and this begets love, which is the cause of devotion. Through meditation man also perceives his shortcomings and unworthiness, which leads him to lean on the strength of God for his salvation, and so to submit himself to God.  The knowledge of his own defects may make a man sad, but the knowledge of God's goodness gives him joy.   Walter Farrell, O.P., S.T.M. and Martin J. Healy, S.T.D.