We must have in our hearts the desire to have the same feelings that the Lord had. And that means, first and foremost, to be stripped.
“My brethren, be among you the same feeling that is in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2.5).
The Word of God in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, described in the reading of yesterday’s Mass, invites us to look upon our view of Christ Jesus our Lord. I call this to your attention, for this proclamation of this Word is made well when it is done before the crucifix. Looking at the crucified Jesus, we learn from Him what we should be!
Have the same attitude of Jesus means, first and foremost, to be stripped of oneself, i,e., to deprive oneself of oneself, the virtues you have or think you really have, the rights, honors and glories. To have the mind of Christ is to take humbly that you are less than would like to be: less loved, less valued, less recognized. You assume the poverty of spirit that Our Lord took upon Himself, because being divine, with God as the Father is, He did not avail of this equality; quite the contrary, He emptied himself of His condition and took on the human condition, practically a slave.
Emptying oneself does not mean to become an empty person, but to take upon oneself all evil, every perversion that pride and arrogance cause within us. Arrogance sharpens our inner self-perception to make us feel more important, better than others.That sad reality of pride that leads us to be selfish, Not to be wanting to share what we have with others and even despise, devalue and belittle the other person. We are full of us, of our pride often injured of our vanities, our own will and our desires.
To get closer to Jesus Christ, we must have in our hearts the desire to have the feelings that He has! Yes, let us pray to the Lord: “Make me poor and deprived, make me stop clinging to my stuff, and make me free to love Him first, loving my neighbor. Let me leave myself to meet the other. “
Humility, the dispossession, the emptying of Jesus help us emptying ourselves of our sins, and vain glory of glories, and cling only to the cross of Jesus!
God bless you!
Fr. Roger Araujo