Week 535–The Word–Fr Tony Percy–Descend into the Fertile Valley of Humility

The Word–Fr Tony Percy– Descend into the Fertile Valley of Humility (Fr Tony says that in this Gospel with Jesus observing that the Scribes and Pharisees, he identifies that there's a certain problem. The pharisees think they're going to rise and ascend to God much easier, much quicker with a greater facility than other people and Jesus in fact says, no, that's not the case at all. In this Gospel there definitely is this idea of ascending to God, but there is also very much part of the tradition that if you want to ascend to God, then you must descend to humility. St. Therese of Lisieux, an extraordinary woman, just a very simple French nun, wrote a book called The Story of a Soul in which she says, "Yes, you want to ascend the mountain with God and scale the mountain with God, but in fact, you've got to descend. You've got to go down to the fertile valley of humility where Jesus is waiting for you.” The very first descent, the greatest descent that has ever taken place, of humility, is the second person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word becoming flesh, coming, and living among us. The second one is his descent into sin, the sinless one has been made into sin for us so that we are reconciled to the Father. Yes, we do want to ascend to God, but first we must descend into the fertile valley of humility, where God is assuredly waiting for each and every one of us.)