In His goodness, God has a beautiful plan of loving service for the life of each person. This plan is for our good, not our ill; it brings us to true fulfillment. But sinful creatures that we are, we are prone to exert ourselves and our private desires contrary to God’s will. Frustrated when things don’t go our way, we force our will on the situation and seek to control it. But we must cultivate calm in the face of frustration. We must resign ourselves to the will of God — very often revealed in the ups and downs of everyday life.
In other words, we must faithfully fulfill the duties of our vocations, and follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. We must put away our wrath, and our pride, and lovingly accept God’s will.
Those who do so are called the Meek; they are following the path of Christian dedication. They have given up trying to control the world around them, in order that they may receive the goods of God’s loving providence gratefully from His generous hands. They are pious and godly-minded, and dutiful, true children of God. Their food, like that of their Lord Himself, is to do the will of the Father and to carry out His work (see Jn 4.34). They turn to the Lord, who is meek and lowly in heart, to learn from him; in so doing, they find rest for their souls (see Matt 11.28-29). For the angry and assertive will is without peace, but meekness calms the rebellious passions.
In what areas of your life do you often become frustrated and angry? What do you complain about? Pray to the Lord, that you may accept His will, and “do all things without grumbling or questioning.” Then you will “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2.14-16a).
The Meek will inherit the land. Those who let go and serenely submit their wills to the loving Father, will find that they, in the end, will reign. Letting go of self-rule, they will share in the rule of God Himself. In the place of a petty, small, unstable kingdom, they will inherit the Kingdom of God.
How does the “deep wisdom” of the Meek prepare us to evangelize?
The Meek follow God’s will for their lives. But the meaning of vocation is mission. The Meek are reaching their true potential in Christ, and so by definition they have entered into their God-given share in the mission of Christ. Those who bear witness to Christ in accordance with their personal, God-given vocation, therefore, will be more fruitful for the Kingdom of God than a person who evangelizes, but does not do so according to God’s plan for them. Likewise, meekness helps us with the concrete requirements of evangelization. The Meek are submissive and receptive, and so are more patient, better listeners, and not prone to get into arguments.
Dear Mark
I work in the field of Mental Health and I found your definition of the Meek very applicable to my line of work.
“Self-rule” in particular describes perfectly some of the features seen in conditions such as OCD and Autism.
As a practicing cradle Catholic, I noticed a significant improvement over the co-morbidity between Science and Faith, recently.
That would have encompassed a lot of friction just few years back.
I’m very much involved in Advocacy, what I see as a form of Evangelisation in itself.
I trust you ll agree…
I’m building an interactive website on the subject and your expertise would prove invaluable.
I plan to go online in a month or so and will be honoured to have you between my commentators.
Let me know if I can be of help in the meantime.
Consider that I am based in Japan with my Japanese wife and I am British-Italian.
I hope that helps… I am a big fan of the late fellow EWTN s Mother Angelica!
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
In Christ
John