Vol.5 No.25 DoM E Message
Spiritual Gift of the Week
We ask for the grace of humility.
Let us not fall into the sin of presumption—as Paul wrote:
Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.(1 Cor. 10: 12)
Rather, let us pray Mary’s prayer: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…”
Spiritual Instruction of the Week,
Be presumptuous about nothing.
Humbly pray about everything.
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Dear Beautiful Daughters of Mary,
Lenten Logic
Have you ever wondered how things might have gone differently in the Garden of Eden? We know the story. The crafty serpent approaches Eve with a question: “Did God say: ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Eve answered: “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.” The serpent said: “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The rest of the story is “history.” Eve looks at the fruit and it looks good—so she eats it—and then, she offers it to Adam! But what if Eve had responded differently? What if she had reflected upon her options? What if she had interrupted the serpent at any point in the conversation? What if she had turned to God: “Did you know our dear Lord, that there is a serpent here in the garden? Did you know that he is contradicting you? Did you know that the apple he offered looks absolutely delicious—and I am utterly dying to eat it…?”
If only Eve had given God a chance to rebut, to explain, to convince, to instruct, to guide, to protect, to lovingly offer His grace. If only Eve had not “presumed” the serpent could be trusted over her God—the God who had in fact given her the Garden. If only she had given God the benefit of the doubt…and assumed his love and mercy were true. If only Eve had trusted the logic of God’s goodness.
Eve’s logic however was outweighed by her presumption. Eve was presumptuous and proud.
Presumption and pride in the Hebrew Scriptures are used interchangeably. Pride is a disordered self love, or vanity, by which one brazenly and arrogantly presumes his/her own greatness. In “Seven Deadly Sins for Dummies” we read: “Pride fools you into thinking that you’re the source of your own greatness.” Pride, C. S. Lewis said is “the utmost evil— the “Great Sin.” To G.K. Chesterton “pride is a poison,.” “Pride is the beginning of all sin,” said St. Augustine. Pride is the “Queen of Sin,” according to Saint Gregory the Great.
To be proud is to presume we are our own god, (self sufficient). To be proud is to presume God is for us more than for others, (self important, that is , making oneself the standard by which others are judged). To be proud is to presume we are more godly than others, (self-exaltation). To be proud is to presume we are more than God himself, (self-glorification, that is, denying the glory of God). Pride is the fullness of self—and the emptiness of God’s goodness. Prideful presumption in other words is a distortion of God’s logic.
So what would have been the logical thing for Eve to do? Think about the story going in the following way: The serpent says to Eve, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And Eve responds: “Do you mind if I get back to you on this? I do not want to presume anything at this point. I would like to run it by my Creator and Lord, the One who has given me all. The one who has given me life. The one who is all loving and merciful. He will hear my plea for counsel and strength, and love. Let me turn to the One who is good, for only God is good. “ God’s goodness is God’s logic.
Eve could have proclaimed the goodness of the Lord. Eve could have been humble, for humility is the antidote to presumption and pride. But she didn’t. She did not respond this way—the first Eve did not, that is.
But in the logical goodness of God, the New Eve did. Our Blessed Virgin Mary did respond without presumption, for throughout her life God protected her heart from pride. The words of her Magnificat tell us so: “My soul proclaims the goodness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” God gave our dear Blessed Mother, the New Eve, the gift of humility—and humility presumes nothing except the goodness of God.
In God’s goodness, Mary raised her son Jesus to do the same. Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, suffering the cruelest death on the Cross, uttering no complaint and showing no presumption (1 Pt 2:23). Jesus proclaimed God’s goodness even with his last breath—“Into your hands I commend my Spirit.” In all this, Mary, his humble mother, watched— and Eve’s serpent was crushed. “Learn of me,” Jesus tells us, “because I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). Humility surrenders to God’s logic.
What could Eve have done? Eve could have been humble. More importantly, what can we do? What is the logical thing for us to do when presumption tempts us. We can pray—for prayer opens our hearts to the goodness of God. Let us pray… From the sin of pride deliver me, O Lord. Give me the grace of humility—let my soul proclaim your goodness…Amen.
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One more thought about presumption:
“One who believes may not be presumptuous;
on the contrary, truth leads to humility,
because believers know that, rather than ourselves possessing truth,
it is truth that embraces and possesses us.”
(Pope Francis, The Church of Mercy)
Veni, Spirito Santo, la misericordia di Dio ci salva—Come Holy Spirit, it is by God’s mercy that we are saved,
Deb
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