For everyone who exalts himself will be humiliated, and whoever exalts himself will be exalted.

Jesus noticed that guests liked to choose the best seats. In our churches, however, we tend to do the opposite: we try not to push ourselves too far into the foreground in the ‘front row’ before the altar, and we keep a certain distance. Perhaps this stems from humility, or perhaps even shyness or fear. Even at school, children preferred not to sit on the front bench next to the door, as if they knew it was better to avoid being too closely under the teacher’s supervision or within their reach. Yet our Lord has something else in mind. He wishes to tell us that whoever wishes to discover a truly rich spiritual life and a deep friendship with God must always begin with profound humility and silence, not self-assertiveness or an urge to push one’s way to the front.

A wise mystic spoke of his life in this way: ‘When I was young, I was a revolutionary—full of vigour and pride, and I believed I could change the whole world. When I reached middle age, I realised that half my life had passed and I hadn’t changed a single person. At that time, I implored God to change at least those amongst whom I lived – my family and my friends – and that was enough for me. Now that I am an old man, I realize that I was foolish, and I pray: ‘Lord, grant me the grace to change only myself.’ Had I asked for this change from the very beginning, I would have wasted my whole life. St Augustine said: ‘Start with small things if you want to achieve great things.’ Lay a deep foundation of humility if you want to build high.

“Friend, come up!” – says the Lord Jesus to us, inviting us to set out on the path of our spiritual growth. Our drawing nearer to God, our progress and ascent, take place as He Himself draws each of us to Himself. This is the only true and sure path. Anyone who tries to map out the individual steps of this spiritual journey under their own steam will soon realise that they are being driven towards something that goes beyond their current abilities and possibilities. In the spiritual life, it is very important to allow oneself to be guided, to be humble and obedient, and to exercise restraint, rather than seeking something for oneself at any cost.

In politics, one often observes struggles for power and popularity, as well as self-assured gestures, whereby the ambition to attain the highest possible position can come into conflict with the duty to serve others and to devote all one’s energies to that end. Conversely, there are many examples in the lives of the saints where the calling to the highest ministry – such as the office of the Pope, the office of a bishop or the priesthood – was linked to these humble hearts who bore a heavy burden, and where only God’s will helped them to make a difficult decision and to ‘move forward’.

Ján Mária Vianney, the Curé d’Ars, was still a nightmare for his teachers at school. Although he was determined to become a priest, he found learning extremely difficult and had to repeat years. He was so clumsy that, at the age of 21, he had to rely on the help of a 12-year-old classmate. On one occasion, this schoolmate was explaining a maths problem to John, but he couldn’t understand it. At that point, the 12-year-old schoolmate lost his temper and struck John in front of the others. But John did not strike back; he knelt down before him and said: “Forgive me. I’m sorry, I’m so stupid.” The classmate hadn’t expected this, and Johannes’ behaviour shook him so much that he wept.

For us, too, at the time of Holy Communion, the words apply: ‘Friend, come forward.’ At this moment, the distance between God and humankind seemed to vanish. He permeates us, and his perfect life unites with our wretched and fragile existence. Dag Hammarskjöld wrote: ‘To be both humble and proud in the spirit of faith means to realise that I am nothing before God, but that God is within me.’