At mass on Tuesday morning I heard this reading:

He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

Two pews in front of me, a three year old girl stared at me while picking her nose.

The family is fed, the kids are bathed, read, and in bed, the dishes are done, the laundry’s folded, the house . . . um, clean enough, and the bills aren’t due tomorrow, so today is a happy day.

Once upon a time, I remember saying, “I’m not afraid to have kids, they won’t change my life that much; after all, I’ll still be myself.”

Ahhh, silly Doug.

Trying to “be myself” causes 100% of the problems in my life. The more I let go of myself (that is to say, the more I let go of my pride), the happier my family is.

THE core teaching of Christianity is self-sacrifice. That is what Christ did for us, and what he asks us to do for each other. Self-sacrifice is an important part of love. I’m not talking about full-blown martyrdom, but rather, simple humility.

Absolute Truth: You cannot love without begin humble.

I don’t know how marriages work if they aren’t founded on the principals of Christianity. You might think that is an incredibly ignorant statement, and I’d agree with you. I don’t know enough about other faiths to know whether if self-sacrifice plays a part in their beliefs, but self-sacrifice is the most important thing Christ did for us, it is the first thing he asks us to do, and it’s the most important element of marriage. Not communication. Not commitment. Humility: the constant struggle to love others as much as you love yourself.

That is what makes a family work. When I get home from work, I want to sit down and read a good mystery novel, but my son loves Richard Scarry, so that’s what we read. I want a cool new ultra-portable eee pc, but the car needs new tires. Being selfish always has horrible consequences.

And what do I get for all this? Love. True love. Powerful love. Straight from God, passed on through my beautiful wife, and kids. The kind of love that makes you know that life has meaning. Joy. Security. For Eternity. And if you’re wise enough (or in my case, the Holy Spirit shields you from your own stupidity) you’ll find a spouse who can teach you the true beauty of humility, a spouse who is easy to love. I adore my wife.

“There is no beauty as enduring as a humble and gentle spirit”
~phs 1 Peter 3:4