Nothing
“It is a great thing to know oneself to be nothing before God, because that is how things are.” (Saint Josemaria, “Furrow” at 260).
It is so easy to think to myself that I am a big deal. It is so easy to think to myself that I am doing something amazing and that I am going to be able to make a serious difference in the world. I can look at my skills and work and talents – all things of this world – and think to myself that I am truly marvellous. I can show off in front of others and can show people that I am just so amazing!
And it is easy – when you have received many blessings from God – to allow myself to become very puffed up with pride…
Saint Josemaria wrote in “Furrow” at 260, “It is a great thing to know oneself to be nothing before God, because that is how things are.”
And there are so many hints that I am being too proud. I might think that my words are worth more than the words of others. I could have become spoilt and think that I should have everything my own way. I could stubbornly insist on my argument – whether I am correct or not. I could always be the loudest voice in the room, expressing my opinion in every scenario instead of holding back and waiting for someone else to have a turn to speak.
These are little signs and warnings that something is amiss. And I have been reflecting on that today as I have been considering the idea that the gifts and talents that I have are no more mine than is the gold that mined from the earth. I do not have claim to these things – they are just transient things. Everything – everything – can be taken away from me. I could even lose my mind and ability to reason. I could lose all my money and my family and my reputation and my good name. In fact, this is exactly the situation that Crist Himself was in. He lost His friends, His good name and all the hard work that He had done during His lifetime at the moment of His death. If you observe that moment, He died poor and alone under terrible injustice. All His friends deserted Him and nobody spoke for Him. He did not eve hear from one person who wanted to defend Him.
Only after His death did some among His friends venture to retrieve His Body from the Cross. For that they climbed up to reach Him and prised the nails from His Hands and Feet. They felt His Blood stain their skin and clothes and bore the weight of His flesh as His Body was handed down from the Cross. They heard His Mother cry. They saw His Friends run away. They became ritually unclean for having touched Him. And they did it anyway.
And I have been thinking about that today, because it seems to me that this is the clearest sign that in fact nothing is lost and everything is gained through the loss of all our worldly things. And I know this because Christ proved this to me – through His own Precious Body and own Precious Blood.
And knowing this, it seems utterly absurd to be worried about anything at all of this world. For I am nothing. And my God is everything! And what a blessing it is to really understand something of that!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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