Today’s Letter of James tackles the subject of arrogance in our lives, of how we often eschew the humility God calls us to by thinking we have control of our lives and of the future. We often take our health for granted when we aren’t having any problems, until an illness or affliction strikes us without notice or warning. When we get sick or lose a job or when a crisis strikes us or a loved one, then we understand how we are not in control of what the future brings.
When I think of humility, I think of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, who served as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death in 1996. Chicago’s priests can be a very difficult group to deal with, but Bernardin was very beloved by both the priests and the people in this very important Catholic Archdiocese here in our country. Cardinal Bernardin’s humility can be seen in the works he undertook as Archbishop: being a voice in the Catholic-Jewish dialogue, bringing Liberal and Conservative elements in the Church in America together in the Catholic Common Ground Project, speaking out against nuclear proliferation, and speaking about the pro-life movement in a way that tried to bring different elements of the Church together. In a book about Saints that I read, written from the perspective of Protestantism, Bernadin is noted as one of the great pastoral leaders of the 20th century and a man who one day could become a saint in our Church. May the Lord help us to emulate the humility that Cardinal Bernardin exemplified in his life. May it lead us to confront the arrogance and selfishness that can take over our lives.
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