euphemos

On the Feast of The Immaculate Conception, St. Faustina saw the Blessed Mother who said to her,

“I desire, My dearly beloved daughter, that you practice the three virtues that are dearest to me — and most pleasing to God. The first is humility, humility, and once again humility; the second virtue, purity; the third virtue, love of God. As My daughter, you must especially radiate with these virtues. When the conversation ended, She pressed me to Her Heart and disappeared” (Diary, 1415).

On another occasion, St. Faustina wrote

“humility, humility, and ever humility, as we can do nothing of ourselves; all is purely and simply God’s grace” (Diary, 55).

Most of us are familiar with the Stations of the Cross, in which the faithful consider 14 events of the Passion of the Lord. Less familiar to many, the Via Lucis offers an Easter analogy to the primarily Lenten Way of the Cross.

Blessed Pope John Paul II was a devotee of the Via Lucis. The Vatican Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy comments

Via Lucis moves from the experience of suffering, which in God’s plan is part of life, to the hope of arriving at man’s true end: liberation, joy and peace which are essentially paschal values.

The Via Lucis is a potential stimulus for the restoration of a “culture of life” which is open to the hope and certitude offered by faith, in a society often characterized by a “culture of death”, despair and nihilism.

Via Lucis

1. Jesus Rises From the Dead (Matthew 28:1-7)
2. The Disciples Find the Tomb Empty (John 20:1-9)
3. The Risen Lord Appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18)
4. The Risen Lord Appears to Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27)
5. The Risen Lord Is Recognized at the Breaking of Bread (Luke 24:28-35)
6. The Risen Lord Appears to His Disciples (Luke 24:36-43)
7. The Lord Gives the Power to Forgive Sins (John 20:19-23)
8. The Lord Confirms the Faith of Thomas (John 20:24-29)
9. The Risen Lord Meets His Disciples on the Shore of Lake Tiberias (John 21:1-13)
10. The Risen Lord Confers the Primacy on Peter (John 21:15-17)
11. The Risen Lord Entrusts to His Disciples the Mission to the World (Matthew 28:16-20)
12. The Risen Lord Ascends to the Father (Acts 1:6-11)
13. Waiting for the Holy Spirit With Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Acts 1:12-14)
14. The Risen Lord Sends the Holy Spirit Promised to the Disciples (Acts 2:1-13)

I found liturgies appropriate for either children or adults at http://www.vialucis.net/.

The Litany of Humility was composed by the private Secretary of St. Pius X, Cardinal Merry del Val.

Lord Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus

That others may be loved more than I, Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Over the past fourty days, the Lord has increased my desire for humility. He has accomplished this in three ways.

First, he showed me that there is joy in structuring my life around prayer instead of fitting in prayer where it is convenient, and that the path to humility lies not in comparing myself to others or in examining my own merits and shortcomings, but in fixing my eyes on Christ.

Then, he gave me the opportunity to have my joy stolen by the experience of my pride conflicting with the pride of my brother.

Finally, he gave me a glimpse of joy of humility by giving me the grace to be thankful for the opportunity to make an error in public.

Cardinal Merry del Val’s prayer is my prayer for the Octave of Easter.

Fr. Boy has been known to say upon occasion:

“Doubt is not the enemy of faith. Doubt strengthens faith. Indifference is the enemy of faith.”

Apparently St. Charles Borromeo agrees:

“Such is the nature of faith that the more are the obstacles it encounters, the more ardent it becomes.”