Youth Ministry: February 2011

Humility

By Mary Lou Rosien

In December, my column contained an error. I attributed particular emotions to God the Father. A kind reader, Michael Towle, wrote to me and stated,

"While some recent theological scholarship has tended to depict God as a God who feels and experiences emotions, the fact of the matter is that the Church clearly teaches that God was and is completely Impassible/Immutable--perfect and simple in the sense that no change occurs in God, which therefore precludes emotional distress. I was perplexed by your phraseology, which led me to pursue the matter… 

St. Thomas Aquinas, himself, takes up this very discussion in question 9 of the first part of his Summa Theologiae. A modern look at the same question is taken up thoughtfully by Fr. Thomas Weinandy in his book Does God Suffer? ” 

I bring this up for two reasons. First, even though my editors printed a clarification within the article, I wanted regular readers who may have not seen the correction to be aware of it. Second, I made a mistake. I want you, dear reader, to know that I did. Even though I have been studying and teaching the Faith for many years, I can mess up…royally!

I think this is, in part, what Scripture warns us of when we are told, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; 6

In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prv 3:5,6).

We are blessed to have the fullness of Faith through the Catholic Church along with Scripture. It is too easy for us to develop our own image of faith or even God without the guidance of the Catholic Church. I spend a lot of time with people of other faiths and I am impressed by the intensity of their love for God and Scripture. However, without proper assistance, even the most well-meaning person can misinterpret Scripture.

I once asked my priest confessor how to maintain a sense of humility. He told me to remember that everything, even knowledge and faith, are a gift from God. Without God I would accomplish nothing at all.

So I am not upset that I made an error. I am truly grateful that Mr. Towle took the time to point out my mistake to me. I would never want to mislead anyone in matters of faith and this has given me an opportunity to increase my own study, acknowledge my error and increase in my practice of humility. Thanks for understanding and I ask for your forgiveness. 

Mary Lou Rosien writes from North Chili, NY.  She is the author of Managing Stress with the Help of Your Catholic Faith (OSV Publishing). Email her at mrosien@rochester.rr.com.