Charity: November 30
Of all the means of acquiring and preserving union with and love for God and neighbor, I have found nothing better or more efficacious than holy humility. Humility causes us to place ourselves below everyone, considering ourselves the least and the most unworthy of all. It keeps us from thinking evil of anyone. Self-love and pride, on the other hand, lead us to uphold our ideas against those of others, and thus the love we owe them grows cold.
In the course of a sermon, a Franciscan preacher strongly condemned a vice of which a certain Marquis, present in the congregation, was guilty. After the sermon, the latter went up to the priest and heaped insults upon him. He then demanded, "Do you know who I am?" The Franciscan answered: "Yes, and I deem myself honored to know such a noble man, I who am a peasant by birth, and the least of men." Appeased by such an answer, the Marquis left with tears in his eyes and a sincere veneration for that priest.
