Saturday January 11th: Humble submission

“He must increase, but I must decrease”

John 3:22-30

In his own ministry of baptism and evangelization, John the Baptist never attempted to equate himself with Jesus or be greater than Jesus. He was always the forerunner of Jesus and the foreteller of His coming. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he always proclaimed the greatness of God through the presence of His Son, Jesus Christ.

In this Gospel passage, John steps back even further, proclaiming not only that Jesus ‘must increase,’ but that he, John, ‘must decrease.’ This is such a clear demonstration of true humility. How many of us can practice such humility? In particular, how many of us can practice humility in undertaking our respective ministries? Too often, we do the opposite and puffed-up pride becomes the order of the day in serving the Lord!

Let us pray fervently for hearts of humble submission as we undertake our responsibilities in the service of the Church, as well as in our day-to-day responsibilities. Let us be humble always and dare to pray the “Litany of Humility.”