Humility and Justice – Week One of our Great Lenten Retreat.
Great Lenten Retreat
Last year we did a great decluttering challenge for Lent, to focus on detachment. This year we are going to do a seven week series on the virtues! We will start with the four cardinal virtues and a relatable virtue for each, and end our retreat with the three theological virtues. Each week will cover what the virtue really means, what the saints have to say about it, and practical ways we can live out the virtue in our lives this week.
I am sure I have asked The BadgerDad to explain the cardinal virtues to me several times throughout our relationship. So I appreciate how tricky some of these virtues are to nail down. And that is exactly why I want to spend this lent focusing on the virtues. I want to internalize their meanings, find ways to practice the virtues, and so to grow in holiness throughout these 40(+) days! And why would I do that all by myself when we can go on this journey toward the cross and resurrection together!
By the way, if you are pregnant, or have other reasons to want to do a Lenten fast beyond/different from the traditional meatless-dairy-free, we have answers. Check out our article: Further Fasting: Expanding How We Fast to find some ideas that can work for you.
Understanding the Virtues
Virtues exist as the balance between two vices – two extremes. This came up in an earlier article, Home to Haven: Finding the Balance Part One. And in that article I quoted Aristotle as explaining “Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency.” So in the coming weeks I am going to use this model as a way of looking at the virtues.
Humility
At its base, humility is seeing ourselves as God sees us. God knows us, and He loves us. He sees our depravity and weakness, but also how we might be perfected and purified through Him. And so being humble does not mean seeing ourselves as only the lowliest scum of the earth (which, to be fair, we basically are). It also means recognizing that we were made for God.
Sometimes that can feel contradictory. But this is why humility is necessarily coupled with another important virtue. Magnanimity. Magnanimity is the virtue by which we desire to do great things. And so we need humility to recognize our lowliness, but also to know that God did not make us to be left in our lowliness. Then we need Magnanimity to desire to do great things for the glory of God. And then humility again to remember it is only through God that we are able to do those great things.
Deficiency and Excess of Humility
If we are deficient in humility we are prideful. Humility can be a complicated virtue to work on, because the moment you notice you are being humble, you aren’t being humble any more. If we congratulate ourselves on being humble, we are not humble at all! This false humility is another form of pride. Because, in fact, we think highly of ourselves for acting humble.
With humility, we want to have a low opinion of ourselves.
Having a low opinion of self is not the same as a poor opinion of self. This is where the vice of excess comes in. If we go from thinking of ourselves as lowly to thinking of ourselves poorly, we have missed the mark of humility. The phrase hate the sin, love the sinner, applies to ourselves too! As baptized and confirmed Christians, our bodies are literal temples of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is living in us! Although we may accept trials and tribulations we undergo in our bodies, we still need to treat ourselves with love and care. Just not for our own sake, but rather for the sake of God who wills the good for us.
A Lenten Prayer for Humility
Free resources alert!
During Lent we pray the prayer of St Ephrem. In this prayer we ask for humility! . You can find it as a free printable in our eShop, both in colour and in black in white, here. Oh, and did I mention I made versions with US spelling and Canadian spelling? Because I did versions for both!
If you have children, check out our Prayer of St. Ephrem prayer book, which goes through the prayer and explains it in a child friendly way. This prayer book is available for free here.
Justice
We need to consistently and constantly give to God what is due to God, and to our neighbours, what is due to them. This is the virtue of justice.
What do we owe to God? In short – everything! But God also asks a few things of us in order for us to deal justly with Him. The first is the first commandment – thou shalt have no other Gods before me. God is the only true end to our devotion and worship. And so if we put work, money, or even family ahead of our worship of God, we need to get our priorities straight. Worshipping God is an act of justice. The second thing God asks of us is to never take His name in vain. Carefully respecting the name of God is another act of justice. A third command of justice toward God is keeping the Sabbath holy.
What do we owe our neighbours? Well, we need to honour our mother and father (including God and the Theotokos). Then we need to respect all human lives, and not commit sins of anger, lust, envy, pride, or greed against our neighbours. (These vices are against the sixth through tenth commandment respectively).
Excess and Deficiency of Justice
There are a few ways to look at the excess of justice. First of all, authoritarianism. This is a strict application of justice at the expense of the other person. And this is the difference between the just obedience we owe our governments and when we need the personal freedom to go against unlawful use of authority (such as mandating abortions). In our homes, this could be demanding obedience without consideration for our child’s needs or abilities.
Another way to look at an excess of justice is selfishness. If we demand what is owed to us without care or consideration for others needs, we are not actually pursuing justice any more. (And, in fact, we need to go back and focus on growing in humility again). Lack of gratitude is also a sign of lack of justice.
Deficiency in justice can be in the form of permissiveness or neglect. So we shouldn’t permit unjust behaviour or neglect to discipline ourselves and those under our care. It can be tempting to avoid conflict by not disciplining our children. However, we owe it to our children to form them into virtuous and capable adults!
Humility and Justice by the Saints
St Mother Teresa:
“Humility is the mother of all virtues; purity, charity and obedience. It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent. If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. If you are blamed you will not be discouraged. [And] if they call you a saint you will not put yourself on a pedestal.”
St. John Chrysostom – On Humbleness of Mind
“For humbleness of mind is the foundation of the love of wisdom which pertains to us. Even if you should have built a superstructure of things innumerable; even if almsgiving, even if prayers, even if fastings, even if all virtue; unless this have first been laid as a foundation, all will be built upon it to no purpose and in vain; and it will fall down easily, like that building which had been placed on the sand. For there is no one, no one of our good deeds, which does not need this; there is no one which separate from this will be able to stand.”
St. Augustine
Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem – Lecture XIII
“For we were enemies of God through sin, and God had appointed the sinner to die. There must needs therefore have happened one of two things; either that God, in His truth, should destroy all men, or that in His loving-kindness He should cancel the sentence. But behold the wisdom of God; He preserved both the truth of His sentence, and the exercise of His loving-kindness. Christ took our sins in His body on the tree, that we by His death might die to sin, and live unto righteousness.”
Practicing Humility
Accept Humiliations. Accept insults and injuries, contempt, and being forgotten. Offer these moments up to Christ through the Theotokos. Do not seek to be loved and admired. Rather, accept your crosses with patience, be grateful, and remember that all good comes from God.
Think better of others, rather than yourself. When you notice someone, think about something they do well or that you think is great about them. Do not dwell on the faults of others. Rather, if you catch yourself thinking negatively about someone, find three things about that person that are admirable. Seek feedback from others. And try to accept the criticism you get in return gracefully. Another thing related to this is not interfering in the affairs of others. So avoid being curious and getting into things that are not about you this week.
Contemplate the humility of Christ. First, remember how Jesus was born in a cave, meant to stable animals. Then, think about how He was constantly rejected by His own people. Finally, consider Christ crowned with thorns and crucified on the cross.
Acknowledge your nothingness. There is a reason we often hear “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” during Lent. Also, distrust yourself. Remember that you are not always right and do not have all the answers. (I have a poster on my wall I made to remind myself of this). And be sure to give in, in discussions, even if you are right! Listening to other people can also be an act of humility. Further to that, ask for help! Our pride makes it difficult to ask for help, even when we need it. So practice asking for help this week.
Finally, obey legitimate superiors. Prompt and joyful obedience can be an act of humility.
Practicing Justice
Practice Self discipline. Hold yourself accountable for your responsibilities this week.
Discipline children when they need correction. Hold children accountable to their responsibilities. Make sure you have set clear boundaries and expectations. And have a plan for corrective measures when your children need it.
Obey legitimate authority, but also take responsibility for those who are under your authority!
Read the 10 Commandments. All of these are concerned with justice to God and neighbour. Pick one commandment and work hard to especially do it justice this week.
Worship God in Church and in your home icon corner.
The Byzantine Life
If you enjoyed this week’s article, you might want to check out our Lenten Articles. For the pre-lenten season we have our article on Cheesefare and Meatfare, as well as one focusing on Forgiveness Vespers and Forgiveness Sunday.
We also have an article on Great Lent. It covers fasting and abstinence, saying Alleluia, Presanctified Liturgy, and ways to actively participate in Great Lent with your family. Finally, for the conclusion of Great Lent, we have an article about Holy Week: A Guide to What Happens During Holy Week.
Great Lent Virtues Retreat Schedule
(links will only work after publishing day, the Thursday prior to that week of Great Lent)
28 February – Week One – Humility and Justice – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-humility-justice/
7 March – Week Two – Living in the Moment and Temperance – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-temperance/
14 March – Week Three – Fortitude: Patience + Perseverance – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-fortitude/
21 March – Week Four – Diligence + Prudence – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-diligence-prudence/
28 March Week Five – Faith – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-faith/
4 April – Week Six – Hope – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-hope/
11 April – Week Seven – Love and Charity – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-love/
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