Self-forgetfulness
An heroic virtue – forgetting oneself!
But Jesus showed us the way because he descended first into the abyss of “nothing.” “He emptied himself;He took the form of a slave … Created in the image of God, we were essentially made to contemplate and love, but since original sin, the established order was reversed. Instead of the natural attraction that carried us to God, an irresistible slope takes us back constantly to ourselves to contemplate ourselves, admire ourselves and make ourselves the center of our self-love! Like the other sins, we must fight this fatal trend because Jesus taught us that “He who loves his soul will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it … or” Whosoever will come after me must deny himself . “… This doctrine is hard because it pulverizes our pride and ego and we are reduced to nothingness!
Many spiritual masters who taught that we had to forget oneself for Jesus let the opportunity take care of itself. St. Francis de Sales said that we should put it into practice as many times as we meet ourselves, in small as in great things. Obviously honor guards who want to offer everything to Jesus will understand how this notion is important for their spiritual advancement.
But how? In striving to drop those thousand self-esteem events that consume our time and energy, by abandoning our personal and selfish concerns, we need to focus more on Christ. … There is so much to do to fight against this wretched “I” .
If we are attentive and faithful to our desire to please Jesus, many opportunities arise every day: we can silence a word or action , accept a lack of respect or consideration without manifesting our annoyance, take a more humble place, accept a thankless task, give without expecting anything in return, make an offering discreetly, take time for a service, not to try to attract attention by our attitudes, our outfits …. We will find many challenges!
Jesus never sought himself, he gave himself without counting, freely. He alone can give us the strength to overcome our arrogant nature. We will fall but He will always be there for us to turn the corner of our selfishness. Take as a motto the words of St. Margaret Mary: “God alone, all glory; the neighbor, all esteem; to me alone, just contempt. “And we are ignoring ourselves!(Sr Mary of the Sacred Heart Bernaud)