XX — BLESSED ARE THE MEEK

Presence of God. — O Holy Spirit, pour ever more into my heart the oil of piety and gentleness.

Meditation

1 — The Holy Spirit who, through the gift of fortitude, strengthens our heart, through the gift of piety wants to make it meek and gentle. By exercising virtue of gentleness, we ourselves do all possible — and must do so at any cost — to acquire that meekness of heart so recommended by Jesus and which, as He Himself said, bears fruit of interior peace: “Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls” (Mt. 11:29).

Yet we still do not succeed in establishing ourselves in habitual gentleness and continual peace. Indeed, before unforeseen situations, contradictions, wrongs, offenses, gentleness fails and peace of heart vanishes, at least for a moment. These daily experiences, though painful and humiliating, are salutary, because much better than any reasoning they make us understand insufficiency of our efforts and extreme necessity of divine help — help God Himself has already established to give by infusing in us the gift of piety.

By putting this gift into act, the Holy Spirit will extinguish in us all residues of resentment toward neighbor, finish dissolving our hardness, and, so to speak, take our heart in his hands to establish it in habitual meekness and peace. As long as this poor heart remains in our own hands, we shall never be fully masters of it. But even if every day, despite often renewed resolutions, we must record failures in gentleness, we should not therefore abandon the enterprise; rather, we should resume our efforts with good will and at same time humbly and insistently invoke divine help: Veni, Sancte Spiritus, flecte quod est rigidum, fove quod est frigidum, rege quod est devium — Come, Holy Spirit, bend and conquer my hardness, warm my coldness, direct and straighten what makes me deviate from meekness.

2 — The beatitude corresponding to the gift of piety is reward promised to souls who, through their efforts and help of the Holy Spirit, have reached perfect meekness: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land” (Mt. 5:4). Which land? First of all that of one’s own heart, since, says St. Thomas, “meekness makes man master of himself” (II-II, q. 157, a. 4).

Without this interior mastery over one’s impulses — movements of animosity, antipathy, indignation, anger, etc. — one may cloak conduct with appearance of sweetness, as worldlings do for convenience, but cannot have that deep meekness which stands unshaken amid life’s collisions.

Moreover, this full self-mastery is precisely what — as Jesus said — will allow us to possess the earth in broader and more beautiful sense: to possess hearts of men. If we want to benefit our brethren and win their hearts to orient them toward good, truth, and God, we must use not force or imposition, which harden and provoke contrary reactions, but meekness, patience, long-suffering. This is method used by Jesus, whose mission was announced as work of gentleness: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me ... He has sent Me to preach good news to the poor; to heal the contrite of heart ... to set at liberty those oppressed” (Lk. 4:18-19).

To us too has been given “the Spirit of the Lord,” the Holy Spirit, and our hearts too have been anointed with oil of piety and gentleness so that we might continue in the world Jesus’ mission. To this He invites us saying: “Go: behold I send you as lambs among wolves” (Lk. 10:3), and He commands us, as He commanded Apostles, to go without staff or weapon of defense, though knowing we shall meet opposition, struggles, enemies.

As Jesus, Lamb of God, conquered the world by meekness, so we shall conquer our brethren’s hearts insofar as, mastering ourselves, we become lambs of gentleness, ready like Him to suffer rather than impose ourselves and defend ourselves by force.

Colloquy

“O Jesus, Savior of the world, in midst of insults, persecutions, and sufferings You did not threaten, curse, defend Yourself, avenge Yourself, or excuse Yourself. They spat in your face and You did not hide it; they stretched your hands and arms on the Cross and You did not withdraw them, but in all things You abandoned Yourself to will of your executioners to accomplish work of Redemption. This is mystery of infinite mercy, but it is also example. Thus, Lord, You give us example of meekness and patience in tribulation and adversity; You teach us not to return evil for evil, but rather good for evil.

“Read, then, O my soul, read again in this book of life which is Christ Crucified! Read there God’s infinite meekness. How can you still protest, murmur against tribulations, against those who make you suffer, when your God has immolated Himself for you as most meek Lamb?” (cf. Blessed Angela of Foligno).

“O Holy Spirit, give me a simple heart that does not fold back to savor its own sadness; a magnanimous heart in self-giving, quick to compassion; a faithful and generous heart that forgets no good received and keeps no rancor for any evil. Form in me a sweet and humble heart, ready to forgive, able to bear all contradictions gently; a heart that loves without demanding to be loved in return, content to disappear in other hearts by sacrificing itself before the heavenly Father; a heart great and indomitable, so that no ingratitude can close it and no indifference can tire it; a heart tormented for glory of Jesus Christ, wounded by his love with a wound healed only in heaven” (cf. Fr. Leon de Grandmaison, SJ).