I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me…
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus.
Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930) in “the Litany of Humility.”
Today we lean into the fears that seek to stifle our humility and generosity.
It is human to fear being humiliated and despised, from suffering rebuke, from being calumniated, forgotten, ridiculed, wronged, and suspected. No one wants to endure such experiences.
But Jesus warned us that even as he was treated in these ways, we would be treated in these ways.
I had many daily readers say that they had to look up the word, “calumniated.” It means to be falsely accused. We recall how that happened to Jesus. When His opponents did it, he opened not His mouth.
We can walk in His footsteps. People will falsely accuse us of things.
We can let Jesus defend us. And we can avoid letting our fears control us and cause us to isolate ourselves and not live, give, serve, and love generously because of the many dangers that lurk in the shadows.
Don’t let that be you. Seek the Lord. He will answer and deliver you from your fears.
This seeking requires humility. With this humility will come the deliverance you need and the confidence to demonstrate radical generosity. You can do this. God’s got you.