January 28, 2026
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate to-morrow on the second degree of humility, which consists in treating ourselves with contempt and in always looking upon the lowest place as good enough for us. We shall see: 1st, that Our Lord teaches us this lesson by His example; 2d, that reason itself persuades us to follow it. We will then make the resolution: 1st, in everything to leave the best for others and to take the worst for ourselves; 2d, in our conduct, as well as in the exercise of virtue, to avoid as much as possible notice and eclat, and to delight in not being thought of by others. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Gospel: Sit down in the lowest place (Luke xiv. 10).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore the Incarnate Word descending from the sweet bosom of His Father and from the abode of glory, in order to come and dwell on the earth, where He is misunderstood and where He hides His divine being under the veil of humanity in its most abased condition. He there treats Himself as the last of men; in everything He takes the lowest rank as His portion (Philipp. ii. 8). Let us render Him homage in this state; let us thank Him for this lesson, and let us give Him our heart that He may form therein the same disposition.
FIRST POINT
Jesus in the Cradle Teaches us to Treat Ourselves with Contempt, and always to Look upon the Last Place as Good Enough for us.
The Word of God, willing to make Himself man, might not have chosen to be born of a woman, but have shown Himself all at once as a consummate man, such as Adam was, when he was born; He preferred to pass through the stage of infancy, as being more vile and more abject (Philipp. ii. 7). Willing to be born of a woman, He might have chosen an illustrious princess: He preferred a poor work-woman gaining her bread by labor. Willing to be born in Judea, He might have been born in Jerusalem: He made choice of a despised little town. In this town He chose the most abject place, a stable; the most disagreeable season and weather, winter, and the middle of the night. Having thus entered into the world, He assumes the livery of poverty; He allows Himself to be circumcised, as a slave and a sinner; at the Presentation He allows Himself to be ransomed by the offering of the poor. When Herod persecutes Him, He chooses the most abject way of escaping, which was by flight. In the temple, in the midst of the doctors, He questions them like an ignorant person who needs to learn. In the house at Nazareth, He takes the last place, which is that of obeying Mary and Joseph. Later on, upon the banks of the Jordan, He receives baptism as a sinner. In the desert He allows Himself to be carried in the arms of the devil. Amidst His disciples He is as their servant (Matt. xx. 28), and washes the feet of them all, even Judas. After such examples as these, who would not love to be below others, or to pass for a person worth nothing or of a very low condition? Who would be ambitious to occupy the first place, to be in pre-eminent and superior positions? Who would run after praise and esteem? Who would dare speak of himself, and who would not voluntarily accept reproofs and reproaches? What a subject for examination, and what a reformation to work in our sentiments, our language, and our manner of acting!
SECOND POINT
Reason Tells us to Treat Ourselves with Contempt, and always to Consider the Last Place as Good Enough for us.
1st. This second degree of humility is the rigorous consequence of the first; for if we feel that we are contemptible, it is illogical to desire to be honored and not to be treated with contempt. Justice wills that to every one should be rendered that which is his due: to nothingness and sin, rejection and contempt. God will live in us only in proportion as we do ourselves justice, according to the truth of what we really are (Jer. iv. 2), that is to say, as long as we stifle in ourselves all desire for honors and dignities, for riches and praise, and thus mocking at these desires as though they were a piece of insanity, we cheerfully accept contempts and humiliations as things which are our due. 2d. To treat ourselves with contempt is the means of living well with God, with our neighbor, and with ourselves: 1st, with God, for it is to render ourselves like to Jesus Christ; it is to keep in our true place, which always attracts the complaisance and the graces of God; 2d, with our neighbor, for there are then no susceptibilities, no disputes about precedence, but an amiable exchange of good offices, of respect and consideration; 3d, with oneself, because then we have a safeguard for our humility and our peace, those two sources of happiness; we have a safeguard for our innocence and we cannot fall, for great falls are those from elevated places, and whoever is cast down upon the earth cannot fall. Let us ask God for grace rightly to understand and to put in practice these important truths.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.