OCTOBER 29, 2011
DAILY PRAYER WITH REGNUM CHRISTI
FRIEND, GO UP HIGHER
October 29, 2011
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Father James Swanson, LC

Luke 14:1, 7-11
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading
Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told
a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were
choosing the places of honor at the table. "When you are invited by
someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of
honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by
him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with
embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he
may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will
enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will
be exalted."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you with a faith that never
seeks to test you. I trust in you, hoping to learn to accept and
follow your will, even when it does not make sense to the way that I
see things. May my love for you and those around me be similar to
the love you have shown to me.
Petition: Lord, please help me to replace my selfishness with love.
1. I Want to Hear All about Myself: Sooner or later we all
experience the displeasure of having to be around someone who is
always promoting himself. Perhaps we do it ourselves, without
realizing how it disgusts the people around us. I remember working
with one such fellow myself. He was the nicest guy in the world
otherwise, but he consistently and continually talked about himself.
He was his own favorite subject. It was his only noticeable flaw, but
a fatal one. I'm sure he didn't realize it. Probably if you asked
him if he talked about himself more than other people talk about
themselves, he would have answered that he talked about himself about
the same amount as others do. He had plenty of other virtues, and I'm
sure if he had rid himself of his major flaw he would have been one
of the most well-liked people where I worked. But he was always
putting himself in first place, and in our hearts we were always
putting him in one of the last places.
2. Number One in your Heart: On the other hand, you sometimes run
into people who don't wave their own flag. They seem to exist to
support and help others. Maybe you don't always notice when they are
around, but you notice the effects. Everyone is happier. There is
less stress. People seem less worried. These people grease the
wheels. If you need a hand, they'll give it to you and you don't even
need to ask. Their support and friendship are givens. You know you
can count on them. They are assets wherever they work because they
know how to make the people around them more effective. Everybody
likes them. They may not have the greatest personality or a lot of
social skills, but nobody cares because the goodness seems to just
ooze out of them. While they seem unassuming and unimportant,
everyone who is around them prizes them highly. Without even
realizing it, they are at the highest places in everyone's hearts.
3. Will I Develop my Ambition or my Love? Which kind of person am
I? Am I a shameless self-promoter, always focused on getting as much
for Number One as possible? This strategy might work well in a
company where people are faceless widgets instead of personalities,
where the bottom line is the bottom line, but it is never very
successful in real life relationships. Perhaps I do what I can to
help others whenever I can, to make others feel good. That is the way
to real fulfillment. After all, Jesus said that those who wanted to
be first must be the last of all and the servant of all. Have I been
foolish enough to think that Jesus was saying that the way to achieve
my ambitions is to serve? No way. Jesus isn't concerned with us
achieving ambitions, he is telling us how to be first in hearts. If
you want to be first in hearts, be a servant of all. If you have the
humility to serve others, you will attain to a high place in others'
hearts. When you take a low place, they will always raise you higher.
Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, I am always trying to serve
myself and my ambitions, and you want me to be concerned with serving
others. Help me to be more focused on what really matters - loving -
than on what the world prizes - empty, self-serving actions.
Resolution: Today, I will perform some act of service for another
person, preferably for someone close to me, preferably without their
notice. These are the acts that most deeply express love. Remember,
if you expect something in return, even just thanks, it isn't love,
it's business.
meditation.regnumchristi.org