Good morning. “He has scattered the proud in their own conceit.” These words from the Canticle of Mary or the Magnificat, offer us an understanding of the response Jesus’ cousin John the Baptizer gives to those who inquire as to who he is. In true humility John the Baptist responds saying: “He (Referring to Jesus) must increase; I must decrease.” This reading today from the Gospel of John (Jn 3:22-30) offers us as parents valuable instruction. The lesson John offers us here is an awareness of humility, a virtue we need to model for our children in order for them to truly experience joy in their lives. John the Baptist’s life clearly demonstrated an awareness and healthy appreciation of who he was and what his calling was in life. His life had direction, it had purpose. If as parents we can successfully teach our children to experience that same sense of humility, and sense of purpose, they will come to experience much joy, because their sense of self will not get in the way of knowing and appreciating the gifts God has bestowed upon them.
The difficulty we parents encounter today is that we live in a culture that is absorbed with this idea of “self-esteem.” Our society, where it involves children, often tends to offer unfounded praise; there is this trend towards trying to foster positive self-regard by means of rewarding children for simply participating, by letting everyone be a winner. Everyone gets a prize just for showing up. “So, what’s the harm in that?” you ask. The problem is that children, as a result of this “everyone’s a winner” approach, fail to develop an accurate appreciation of themselves, and at times wind up emotionally devastated when life doesn’t go their way. They will however develop an accurate awareness and appreciation for their gifts as well as their limitations if they come to develop humility. Like John the Baptist, a truly humble person comes to appreciate who they are, and knows to put things into perspective with those things that are really important. It may be helpful to remind ourselves that the word humility as well as the word for humor both originated from the Latin word “humus” meaning earth. “"Remember, man, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." If as parents, we can learn to laugh at ourselves, our children will as well learn to laugh at life when it doesn’t go their way. Make a great day!
Today we recall the good life and works of Blessed Eurosia Fabris.
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