Humility
“He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” — St. Luke 14:11
TWENTY-SIXTH DAY.
To be reprimanded for one’s faults and not excuse one’s self is more helpful to perfection than to have heard ten sermons with the best dispositions. It is a sign that one is not ambitious for the esteem of creatures, and in accustoming one’s self not to seek excuses in such circumstances one listens as if it were of a stranger they were speaking. — St. Teresa.
Father Alvarez having been accused in a provincial assembly of fault of which he was not guilty, and publicly reprimanded in the most severe manner, he said not a word in his defense, neither at that time nor ever afterwards. Our Lord recompensed his heroic silence by extraordinary favors.
Prayer.
My God, I take the resolution never to excuse myself, never to justify myself. Grant me grace to be faithful to this resolution which Thou hast inspired me to make, as a proof of my love for Thee.