Righteous Living
The disciple is not above the master(Mt 10:24), nor is it fitting for servants of the humble Lord to be proud. Again and again, most beloved brethren, I am embarrassed, as often as I compare our pride, the pride of dust and ashes, with the humility of our Lord. For he, though he was God and Lord of the angels, did not disdain to minister to the poor, but we refuse to serve our fellow servants. The Son of God rose from the table to wait on his servants still seated. We consider it contrary to our dignity if a poor fellow servant—I will not say sits with us at table—but gets too close to us while we are eating. The Creator of heaven and earth washed the feet of poor disciples; but among us, how many there are who would more readily wash their own feet with wine than extend a cup of cold water to a poor man! He showed the services of kindness to his betrayer; we deny to friends the services we owe them. What could be called or thought more unworthy than that? Disciples, servants, and creatures refuse to be like the teacher, the Lord, the Creator, the Man from heaven.
Let us be affected in spirit, brethren, by the indignity of such a thing. Let us be moved by such humble submission in such majesty, and let us humble ourselves with the Lord, if we desire to be exalted with him. With him let us serve the poor, if we wish to reign with him. Let us wash one another’s feet, if we wish to be considered disciples of Christ. Let us conform ourselves in life to our head, and he will deign to conform us to himself in glory. Amen.
Saint Charles Borromeo
Saint Charles Borromeo († 1584) was a cardinal and the Archbishop of Milan, Italy, and a leading church reformer. [From Charles Borromeo: Selected Orations, Homilies and Writings, Ansgar Santogrossi, o.s.b., Tr. © 2017, John R. Cihak & Ansgar Santogrossi, Bloomsbury T&T Clark. Reproduced by kind permission of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.]
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