I like Spring because of all the bright colors and new growth…the sense of hope and future, but Fall is my favorite. Similar to Spring, Fall certainly has its attraction from a color standpoint, but as much as Spring is about new beginnings, what tends to strike me most in Fall is the impending sense of completeness and calm. The frenetic pace of the earlier part of the year slows down… and like smoke-pots that calm a beehive, the scent of leaves being consumed by the flames of a backyard fire is a harbinger of the tranquility of closing another year. The faint hint of waning busy-ness lingers. There’s a sense of humility that permeates this time of year for me. I’m reminded that we are temporal beings and that time brings the latter seasons whether we’re ready or not. I’m humbled that the world continues to turn and I’m reminded that in the scheme of things, whatever I leave behind will be burned-up like detritus from the trees in my yard or at best, will deteriorate over time and possibly become fertilizer for whatever is next.
We heard about that sense of the humble in the gospel reading about the Pharisee and the tax collector recently at Sunday Mass. I picture the Pharisee with head held high, as he pounds his chest with pride while the tax collector, eyes to the floor, strikes his breast in a gesture of unworthiness; as if he’s attempting to force the sins from their comfortable resting place in the soul. We use the same gesture of humility at Mass during the Confiteor. Perhaps you even bow your head while the prayer is prayed.
Monastic societies are consistent in their perpetuation of humility. All orders of monks and nuns include humility as a primary virtue. One of my favorite poets is a monk named Paul Quenon. He’s written several books of poetry and other things as well. I like his work in particular because it’s clear and unadorned. It causes me to think, but it doesn’t force me to. In one of his poems he speaks about how he has always wanted to amount to “nothing”. He wants to be so humble that he sees being “nothing” as an ultimate goal. He writes about “a humility so grounded it ascends by descending, a humility that does not know it is a virtue.” I can’t think of a better way of describing it. Another of my favorite writers is CS Lewis. Those of you who have studied Lewis even a little, know that he has several famous quotes about humility. A favorite of mine is, “Don’t shine so others can see you, shine so that by you, others can see Him.” That’s humility AND evangelization all at the same time, a veritable prescription for life as a Christian in a nutshell.
I’m blessed with lots of exemplary humilitarians (that’s not a real word, but you get the meaning) in my life. On Saturday mornings I meet with a small group of gentlemen from my parish. We talk about what we did to further the kingdom of God in the past week. This isn’t a brag session. We also talk about our failings for the week and we talk about the times during the week when we felt closest to God. These weekly meetings are a reconciliation of the heart; an expression of gratitude for the gifts we’ve been given in the opportunities to love our neighbor. Nearly all of these men are retired. They were CEOs, educators, Airforce pilots and healers; leaders of battalions and counselors. They’ve had good, full Christian lives, reared children and loved their wives. In their time of retirement, theoretically their time to rest, one volunteers at the local cancer center. Two others work with abused children, and another takes care of his wife as they navigate a long-term illness. Our comic relief is a guy with purple sneakers and a heart so big that it barely fits in his scrawny frame. He teaches CCD and is a leader in the Knights of Columbus. Not one of them has a proud bone in their body. They serve… and I learn humility from them. If I have anything to brag about, it’s that I learn from the best.
So, if it’s just the Fall of the year or perhaps like me, you’re entering the Fall of your life, take a little time and sit by the fire. Remember what you’ve been given and be grateful and then pass it along. Be an humilitarian, because it’s what Christ calls us to and… although money, prestige and possessions are not stamps on your eternal passport, humility is.
