Meekness and humility are characteristic traits of the Spirit of God. These traits must become characteristic of those who seek perfect imitatation of God's Spirit in the the transforming union of spiritual marriage. For when God revealed himself to man in Jesus Christ he said, "Take up my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls."

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The Man Who Blest Trees
by Andrew Richards

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,... But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1)

Dressed in ragged garb, a smiling man moved through the crowd,
In his spirit he rejoiced, his manner was cheerful and bright,
First a murmur filled the crowd, then laughter full and loud,
As animals and trees, he blessed, in fullness of morning light.

A group of men spoke back and forth, is this the crazy merchant's son?
Why comes he back to this bazaar, why comes he to the village square?
In times gone by he was so bold, in feats of arms, he always won.
Why has he changed his soldiers garb and why such rags he dares to wear.

Just then a former soldier friend beheld his ragged style,
He yelled aloud, "You there, come here! I'll have a word with you!
The man complied, and over he went, smiling all the while.
The soldier threatened, "Tell the truth, or I'll certain run you through."

With smiling look, the man did say, "What truth is that dear sir?"
The soldier slapped him cross the mouth, and blood did trickle down.
"You're the one who's stole my purse, tis you I know for sure."
The soldier's purse was on his belt, he saw it with a frown.

"Good friend," he said, "I see your purse lies hanging on your belt."
For well enough the soldier knew his purse had nowhere gone.
And then he slapped his face again, raising a bloody welt.
The man upon his knees did fall, while the soldier strutted on.

The crowd did jeer at sight of the man, a coward on his knees.
To himself he said, "Oh Lord I pray, make me a channel of peace!"
Then, up he got, and moving on, he continued blessing trees.
Then when he reached the end of the street, his smile did quickly cease.

He saw a group of drunk-crazed men knock a soldier to the ground,
One of the group had taken his sword, then raised it up to the sky,
Then over he ran, he who blest trees, facing each one all around,
With love in his heart, he said to them all, "Let me be the first to die!"

Each of the men was seized with fear, at the bravery of the feat,
The sword was dropped, as one by one, the group did steal away.
The ragged man at the soldier smiled, him kneeling in the street,
While kneeling he said, "Francis forgive me, for sinning against you this day!"

The crowd that had run from fear of the fight returned now awed by the show,
No longer jeering, Francis were they cheering, as tears fell to the ground,
Then to his feet, the soldier with Francis, on down the road they did go,
"Where there is injury, pardon Oh Lord," they sang to the cheers all around.

Then Francis stopped before a tree,
And kneeling there he prayed aloud:

O Blessed wood, O Blessed tree;
Whose apple blood brought death to me;
Your blessed wood restored my loss.
As God, Himself, bled on the Cross.

End

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Fr. R. Garrigou-Lagrange informs us that:

"Meekness is the charm of charity, it appears in the gaze, the smile, the bearing, and the speech; it is the visible expression of love for neighbor."

“Meekness has as its special effect the curbing of the inordinate movements of anger.”

“Meekness imposes rectitude of reason illumined by faith on the sensibility more or less disturbed by anger.”

“When assertiveness is necessary, meekness injects a note of calmness, as clemency mitigates merited punishment."

“Meekness is the moderation which causes the light of reason and that of grace to descend into the troubled sensible appetites.”

“Meekness should reign not only in our words, but in our hearts.”

“When meekness is inspired by a supernatural motive, and practiced even toward those who are acrimonious and make us suffer, it is the flower of charity.”

(Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., “Three Ages of the Interior Life”)

Chapter XIV. St Francis of Assisi on "poverty of spirit."

"Blessed (are) the poor in spirit, since theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mt 5:3). · There are many, who persisting in prayers and (liturgical) offices practice many abstinences and afflict their own bodies, · but because of a single word, which seems to be injurious to their bodies or because of anything, which is brought against them, being scandalized, they are continually disturbed. · These are not poor in spirit; since he who is truly poor in spirit, hates his very self and loves those who beat him in the face (cf. Mt 5:39).(St Francis of Assisi, "Admonitions")

Richard Rolle on Meekness:

"The degrees also of meekness are: to hold the eyes low, not high; to have a measure in speech, and not to pass it; to hear gladly their betters and those more wise; and to will wisdom should be heard from others, rather than from themselves. Not to take the time of speaking too soon...To set others before thyself; to know thy frailties and to deem thyself worse than all others. If truly I wished to come among men, I have desired that I might sit last in number, and be held least in opinion, and so all my joy should be in Christ Jesu; and thus I should take no heed to man's praising or blaming, but with busy devotion I should desire after God."(Richard Rolle, Fire of Love, Ch. 9)

End

As reported above, Jesus tells us, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart." And He also tells us: "You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council. And whosoever shall say, Thou Fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew 5:21,22)

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

"For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.(Jas 1:19)

The perfect Spirit which was in Jesus was meek and humble. For a meek and humble man is a man with the capacity to receive and give love. He is an eminently attractive man, for these qualities attract others, and through attitude and body language, tell them that it is possible to respect and love such a person. The proud man, on the other hand, can neither give nor receive love, for his loving capactity is totally bound up in love-of-self. He practices self-idolatry, and has no love for others or for God. And his love is firmly "attached" to his own opinion, his intellect, his will, what he wants, his self-image, his perceived status in society, his body, his future, his rights, etc. And he must always be "in control" so that he is never in danger of being "dethroned" from his delusion of personal deification. Therefore, he must avoid situations where he is no longer in control as when practicing obedience to others or to authority and tradition. Pride and a "rebellious attitude" always go hand-in-hand. And it is only through the transformation of spirit coming through Contemplative Prayer, suffering, and the practice of virtues such as humility, meekness, self-abnegation, and obedience, that the proud man can be gradually brought to know the Self-Giving Love of Jesus Christ.

And the meek and humble spirit of Christ is the Spirit which must be in us if we too would be perfect. For Scripture also tells us, "an angry man worketh not the righteousness of God." For the proud man is easily given to anger and rage. And in the acquisition of humility and meekness, we are dealing with a subject that is only for those who are "serious" about perfection and advancing in the love of God. For there is nothing more difficult for the proud natural man than giving up anger and the desire for vengeance when he is hurt by others. And we are all aware of those claiming to be "religious" who have given scandal by failing in this area. St Paul adjures us in the Book of Romans 12:14-21:

"Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

"Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

"Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."

The spirit of the world is a spirit easily given to wrath. For it is a spirit of self-seeking and acquiring possessions in competition with others. And as the T.V commercials tell us, "He who dies with the most toys wins!" And anything that is perceived as a threat to our self, our social status, or to something we want, causes anger or rage to arise in us. And depending where and when this anger arises, it may cause a range of mean actions from hateful hand signals, arguments and verbal fights to assaults and murder. And the person who gives in to his anger is always in the right. For there never was an angry man who didn't feel himself justified in his anger. And so the world is full of self-righteous, angry people demanding their rights from other self-righteous angry people. It is a vicious circle that has no end. And we all know it, but seem to be helpless to do anything about it.

The reason we can't do anything about our anger is found in our mind-set that we carry out into the world each day. And this includes many pople in professional religion. Instead of putting on the meek and humble mind of Christ, which makes us vulnerable and tends to think well of others and give them the benefit of the doubt, we meet the people and events of the day from a position of personal strength, with a defensive, judgmental attitude that protects us, our rights and our self-image. And this way, we stay in control, and attempt to avoid the cross that we must always carry when we interact with fallen human beings and try to love them as Christ loved us. And yet we end up angry and resentful and just as incapable of love as everyone else. And everyone around us is doing the same thing. As long as we refuse to give up this defensive attitude, we will make no progress in overcoming anger, resentment and inability to love our neighbor.

For the serious seeker after perfection knows that love of neighbor must increase if one is to make progress on the spiritual road. And he knows that anger and resentment keep interfereing with his ability to achieve such love. And in order to finally overcome such anger, he must put on the meek and humble mind of Christ, which also means becoming vulnerable to the cross of pain that others sometimes cause him. And failure to "accept" the Crosses that God sends us actually exacerbates the pain of suffering and humiliation, and makes it almost impossible to bear. So the next time you are "brooding" over a painful experience or humiliation, and making it ten times worse, try this. Give the experience and the pain to Almighty God. Tell Him you accept this Cross He has sent you, and that you are going to forget about it, and leave it for Him to deal with. And then, thank Him for sending the Cross to you, and for all the Crosses of your life. For these Crosses are now, and always will be, the Royal Road to Wisdom and transformation in His Self-Giving Love. And when you accept them, you are given insight into His Mercy, and the depth of the humility of spirit necessary for union with the God of Infinite Humility and Mercy.

So transformation in the Love of Christ means giving up attachment to pride of self, possessions, status, opinions, rights, and everthing else we're trying to protect. For if he is to eventually become perfect, the serious seeker will have nothing left to defend or get angry about. And if he is serious, and not just playing at being a Christian, he will not retaliate when insulted. He will accept the Cross. He will actually turn the other cheek and make an effort to forgive the offending party. He will bring himself as much as humanly possible in line with the meekness and mildness found in the mind of Christ. This will become his mind-set. With this attitude, he will go out into the world and find that he is less susceptable to anger, and more acceptable to other men, as he undertakes to love them in spite of the pain he knows they will inevitably cause him from time to time. And through contemplative prayer, he will find that he is not alone when he suffers as he tries to love his neighbor.

We're not serious enoough about perfection and our spiritual journey to ask ourselves whether we really want to be part of the competitive race to get "one-up" on everyone else before we die. Maybe there's a better way for us to live? Maybe, without breaking vows, or neglecting our current responsibilities, we should begin to plan a gradual change from the lifestyle of the "dog-eat-dog" mentality. Perhaps accumulation of possessions is not leading us where we want to go. So we must pray about this, and with compassionate consideration for all those concerned, begin to make those changes which are realistically possible within our chosen vocation. And as to the rest, we must bear our crosses and carry our responsibilities, and not be upset as we spiritually and psychologically "get off the merry-go-round," and refuse the "rat-race" those demands which don't fit in with making God first in our lives!

Whether we are aware of it or not, the goal of the perfect in this life is to become crucified to all proud possessiveness and selfishness regarding ourselves and this world. And in the advanced stages, this can only be accomplished in an habitual manner by the Spirit of God working, and transforming our spirit from within. For in advanced stages of spirituality, God's Meekness and Humility will become our meekness and humility. However, until then, we must use our natural efforts to go as far as possible in putting on the mind of Christ. We must strive to "put on" the spirit of meekness before we encounter other people in our daily round. We must be friendly and eager to forgive. And this attitude will nourish love for others in our actions and in our thoughts about them. And if we find that we are still victims of anger and resentment after our best efforts, then we must realize that we are not yet perfect...and try again! And if we still fail, then ...we must try again! For if we do not make our best effort, then God will not accept it, and we will never reach the goal we are seeking, i.e., transforming union with Him.

"He who has a clear concept of what God is in his infinite majesty and realizes that God has mercifully pardoned him thousands of times, how can he dare to exact with haughtiness and disdain that which is owed to him by his neighbor (Matt. 18:23-35)? We must pardon injuries, and we must treat all our neighbors with exquisite humility and meekness. We n should consider them to be better than we are, at least in the sense that perhaps they have not resisted grace as much as we have, or they would not have sinned if they had received the gifts God has given us." (Fr. Jorndan Aumann, "Spiritual Theology," Part II, Section 10)

For when we are perfect, which is ultimately a gift of God, and something we can never achieve by our efforts, alone, we will have the mind of Christ perfectly within us. It will then be a meek, humble, loving, and forgiving mind. For as the saints keep telling us, God is the senior partner in our spiritual relationship. He will take our best natural efforts and, through His love and mercy, suddenly transform them into supernatural Charity. And at that point, we will stop failing in our efforts at love of neighbor. From then on, He will make it possible for us to live without the anger and resentment that have dogged us prior to this point in our spiritual journey. And then we will realize that this freedom from anger we were seeking was only possible through the fullness of grace which we had not yet received. And we will find that the Spirit of God that is now within us is palpably Meek and Mild and Gentle, and that, somehow, it has become our own spirit. And it is also a Cross-Accepting, Courageous Spirit, that refuses to run from the pain and suffering necessarily encountered when one tries to love one's neighbor, fallen man. For an example of spirituality that embodies the spirit of humility, see (The Little Way).

Let see what two of the masters of true spirituality have to say:

John of Ruysbroeck comments on meekness and gentleness:

"Meekness gives a man peace and rest in all things. For the meek man can bear provoking words and ways, uncivil looks and deeds, and every kind of injustice towards himself and his friends, and yet in all things remain in peace, for meekness is peaceful endurance. By meekness the irascible or repulsive power remains unmoved, in quietude; the desirous power is uplifted toward virtue; the rational power, perceiving this, rejoices. And the conscience, tasting it, rests in peace; for anger, fury, or wrath, has been cast out. For the Spirit of God dwells in the humble and the meek; and Christ says: BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH, that is, their own nature and all earthly things, in meekness; and after that the Country of Life in Eternity.

"Out of the same source wherein meekness takes its rise springs kindliness, for none can be kind save the meek man. This kindness makes a man show a friendly face, and give a cordial response, and do compassionate deeds, to those who are quarrelsome, when he hopes that they will come to know themselves and mend their ways. By gentleness and kindness, charity is kept quick and fruitful in man, for a heart full of kindness is like a lamp full of precious oil; for the oil of mercy enlightens the erring sinner with good example, and with words and works of comfort it anoints and heals those whose hearts are wounded or grieved or perplexed. And it is a fire and a light for those who dwell in the virtues, in the fire of charity; and neither jealousy nor envy can perturbe it.

"Out of kindliness springs compassion, which is a fellow- feeling with all men; for none can share the griefs of all, save him who is kind. Compassion is an inward movement of the heart, stirred by pity for the bodily and ghostly griefs of all men. This compassion makes a man suffer with Christ in His passion; for he who is compassionate marks the wherefore of His pains and the way of His resignation; of His love, His wounds, His tenderness; of His grief and His nobleness; of the disgrace, the misery, and the shame He endured; of the way in which He was despised; of His crown; of the nails; of His mercifulness; of His destruction and dying in patience. These manifold and unheard-of sorrows of Christ, our Saviour and our Bridegroom, move all kindly men to pity and compassion with Christ.

"Compassion makes a man look into himself, and recognize his faults, his feebleness in virtues and in the worship of God, his lukewarmness, his laziness, his many failings, the time he has wasted and his present imperfection in moral and other virtues; all this makes a man feel true pity and compassion for himself. Further, compassion marks the errors and disorders of our fellow- creatures, how little they care for their God and their eternal blessedness, their ingratitude for all the good things which God has done for them, and the pains He suffered for their sake; how they are strangers to virtue, unskilled and unpractised in it, but skilful and cunning in every wickedness; how attentive they are to the loss and gain of earthly goods, how careless and reckless they are of God, of eternal things, and their eternal bliss. When he marks this, a good man is moved to compassion for the salvation of all men.

"Such a man will also regard with pity the bodily needs of his neighbours, and the manifold sufferings of human nature; seeing men hungry, thirsty, cold, naked, and sick, poor, and abject; the manifold oppressions of the poor, the grief caused by loss of kinsmen, friends, goods, honour, peace; all the countless sorrows which befall the nature of man. These things move the just to compassion, so that they share the sorrows of all. But their greatest pain springs from this: that men are so impatient of this suffering, that they lose their reward, and may often earn hell for themselves. Such is the work of compassion and of pity.

"This work of compassion and of common neighbourly love overcomes and casts out hatred or Envy. For compassion is a wound in the heart, whence flows a common love to all mankind and which cannot be healed so long as any suffering lives in man; for God has ordained grief and sorrow of heart before all the virtues. And this is why Christ says: BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN: FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED. And that shall come to pass when they reap in joy that which now, through compassion and pity, they sow in tears. (John of Ruysbroeck, "Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, Book I, Ch. 16, Resources)

St Francis de Sales comments on meekness and gentleness:

"Two virtues very specially conspicuous in our Dear Lord Himself, and which He has specially commended to us, as though they, above all things, drew us to Him and taught us to imitate Him: "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." 1 Humility makes our lives acceptable to God, meekness makes us acceptable to men. Balm, as I said before, sinking to the bottom of all liquids, is a figure of humility; and oil, floating as it does to the top, is a figure of gentleness and cheerfulness, rising above all things, and excelling all things, the very flower of Love, which, so says S. Bernard, comes to perfection when it is not merely patient, but gentle and cheerful. Give heed, then, daughter, that you keep this mystic chrism of gentleness and humility in your heart, for it is a favourite device of the Enemy to make people content with a fair outside semblance of these graces, not examining their inner hearts, and so fancying themselves to be gentle and humble while they are far otherwise. And this is easily perceived, because, in spite of their ostentatious gentleness and humility, they are stirred up with pride and anger by the smallest wrong or contradiction.

"And so, my child, say I to you. This miserable life is but the road to a blessed life; do not let us fall out by the way one with another; let us go on with the company of our brethren gently, peacefully, and kindly. Most emphatically I say it, If possible, fall out with no one, and on no pretext whatever suffer your heart to admit anger and passion. S. James says, plainly and unreservedly, that "the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." 3 Of course it is a duty to resist evil and to repress the faults of those for whom we are responsible, steadily and firmly, but gently and quietly.

"The same Saint Augustine, writing to Profuturus, says that it is better to refuse entrance to any even the least semblance of anger, however just; and that because once entered in, it is hard to be got rid of, and what was but a little mote soon waxes into a great beam. For if anger tarries till night, and the sun goes down upon our wrath (a thing expressly forbidden by the Apostle Paul), there is no longer any way of getting rid of it; it feeds upon endless false fancies; for no angry man ever yet but thought his anger just.

"Depend upon it, it is better to learn how to live without being angry than to imagine one can moderate and control anger lawfully; and if through weakness and frailty one is overtaken by it, it is far better to put it away forcibly than to parley with it; for give anger ever so little way, and it will become master, like the serpent, who easily works in its body wherever it can once introduce its head.(St Francis de Sales, "Introduction to the Devout LIfe," Part III, Ch. 8, Resources)

Note on "Just War:"

The use of coercive force to protect life or prevent serious physical injury to innocent individuals, or loss of property, operates under a different set of rules than that discussed under "Meekness," and is justified by the natural law. It is an act of charity to risk life and limb in order to prevent serious evil from befalling innocent individuals. We employ individuals as agents of the state in order to protect the innocent. Thus we have law enforcement and police officers. The force used must be limited to that which is necessary to safely secure life and property. And the same natural law gives the state the power to fight a just war in defense of innocent citizens. So in the discussion of Meekness above, we are talking about our attitude and behavior in daily interpersonal relations involving our own individual rights and privileges, which we waive in the name of Christ love. We are not talking about being Meek in behaviour, or refusing to act in defense against serious evil of the person and rights of other innocent individuals.

CATHOLIC CRITERIA FOR JUST WAR: