A humble monk

Fr. X died many years ago. Requiescat in pace. Gone quietly. Humbly. Peacefully. As he lived. Always polite. Always a pleasant greeting. And for the 17 yeas that I have known him, I have never once heard him speak an unkind word. I have never once heard him complain about anything. I have never once heard him have a laugh at someone else’s expense.

                These are qualities of character that are won through a lifetime of hard work, a lifetime of dealing with things always silently, always humbly, always looking to see the good buried in what can often be a most distressing package. Basically, these are the qualities earned through a lifetime of practicing Saint Benedict’s Fourth Step of Humility, that “under difficult, unfavorable, or even unjust conditions, the monk’s heart quietly embraces suffering and endures it without weakening or seeking escape.” St. Benedict also wisely notes elsewhere that “few of us have strength for this,” and consoles us with the admonition “never to lose hope in God’s mercy.”