Humility is at the heart of this weeks readings both in Sirach Chapter 3 and Luke 14 7-14. Humility defined from Merriam Webster is “freedom from pride or arrogances ….. humble has its  origin in the Latin word humilis, meaning “low."

Father Andy Alexander defines it beautifully in a previously written reflection (August 29, 2010 archives) “humility rarely just comes naturally. It is often born and nurtured in an environment of faith and respect for others, and, quite often, it has come from some suffering.”

Humility can come from experiences in life in which suffering has occurred. Job demotion or termination, failure of a class, dismissal from high school or college, arrests with time in jail, lost friendships, failed marriage, and more. Processing and reflecting on these failures provides rich, humbling learning experiences and major opportunities for personal and professional change. Recently I watched a movie made from a non-fiction book Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall. The major theme of the book/movie revolved around a millionaire art dealer Ron Hall who had made mistakes in his marriage, had lived a life of self-centeredness with a ‘blind eye’ toward others who were less fortunate. With his wife’s encouragement he begins to volunteer in a shelter and befriends an ex-felon and murderer Denver “Suicide” Moore. His wife is diagnosed with a terminal illness and dies. These life events, a new friendship with Denver and suffering with his wife’s death leads to a transformation in Ron Hall. This transformation includes a change in his focus, assumptions, how he spends his time and spends his money. His life has changed. I pray for myself and for others who suffer to recognize the value of humility in this experience of suffering and to have my/our hearts and eyes opened to learn, be humbled and to be changed.