Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Poor Job. His life a shambles, he had every reason to wail against his Creator. But Job isn’t the only figure in a tet-a-tet with God in this oft-told tale. Satan is a character in the drama, too. In ancient traditions and in the long ago religions of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, Satan’s original purpose was to serve as “prosecution attorney/accuser” regarding whether someone should or should not have the favor of the Almighty.
Placing a challenge before God, Satan’s ego could not tolerate Job's righteousness, so he pressed for Divine permission to bring harm to all Job held dear. In the end, God-fearing Job’s humility and stalwart faith prevailed and silenced the unbounded ego of Satan.
Today in the Gospel of Luke, the disciples exhibit likewise dreadful pride by questioning who is the greatest among them. As the story unfolds we learn that in the eyes of the Deity pride has no defense and in the end crumbles before humility. Jesus makes this clear as he silences them by presenting a child as a model for what they ought to be.
In 2024 humility seems far off our national grid. Notions like “America first” are anathema before the Gospel. The Bible is cherry picked, weaponized against those perceived as “the other.” Biblical gaslighting. Choosing gods more suited to self edification, the earth pulsates with greed — consumerism and power are the religions of the day. Our environment teeters on the brink. We hardly need Satan to accuse us before the Almighty. We are taking care of it quite nicely ourselves.
But humility is a force against which pride has no defense. The Evil One is helpless before it — truths that today’s scriptures present. The Holy One, who is love, will have the final word.
As a tonic against pride, here’s the “Litany of Humility” by Cardinal Rafael del Val:
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart! Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being sought after,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humbled,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may increase, and I decrease,
That others are chosen and I set aside,
That others be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire only you.
—Timothy J. Cronin