22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

A group of women who assisted the Catholic Church in praying for the dead was making a vigil in the house of a councilor. After praying for the dead, each of them was handed with plates and utensils to dine except for one woman. The said woman was the wife of a barangay official who happened to side the opposition party against the councilor. This was why he intended neither to give her anything to drink or to eat during the wake. When the woman was asked why she still prayed there every night, she humbly said that it was not her duty to take something to eat in a wake but to pray. Her answer showed what kind of a woman she was –a woman with humility.

Humility is a virtue and is not about being inferior compared to others. It is a virtue of accepting oneself without regard to what others say about him/her –either to praise or humiliate him/her. This is a virtue which Jesus taught to his followers which is found in Luke 14: 1,7-11. Jesus even said that the one who humbles himself will be exalted. So who is the real follower of Jesus –the woman or the councilor in the story? Well, praise to the woman and curse to the councilor.