Our Lord joins the lesson of meekness to that of humility precisely because the immediate foundation of meekness is humility. It takes only a small amount of pride, of self-love, of attachment to our own way of seeing or doing things to mkae us unable to stand opposition. Then in the face of the shocks inevitably arising from the common life, we lose, to a greater or lesser extent, our serenity, our interior and exterior peace. If serenity is lost, calmness of judgment is also lost; therfore, we are no longer able to see clearly the divine light showing us wich path to follow in order to give Our Lord what He is asking of us. Our soul wavers, loses its vigor, and allows itself to be ruled somewhat by passion. As long as any traces of pride and self-love remain in us, there will always occur circumstances in which we will lose some of our control and self-mastery; consequently, we shall lack meekness. to profit by the lesson of the Heart of Jesus, and to model our heart on His, we must work assiduously to uproot every trace of pride and self-love. It is a task to which we must give our attention day by day, always beginning again, and never allowing ourselves to be discouraged by the constant recurrence of the attractions and resentments of our "ego." We can only win this battle by never giving up the struggle.
To arouse our courage, let us remind ourselves that our strivings are not only good for our own soul but useful also to others, for, as Pius XI says, "the more we have sacrificed our self-love and passions, the more abundant will be the fruits of propitiation and expiation which we shall reap for ourselves and for others" (Miserentissimus Redemptor). The battle against self-love and the practie of humility are both part of the program of a soul consecrated to the Sacred Heart, of one who has offered itself to Him asa victim of reparation.
from Divine Intimacy
by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD
