Mass at Santa Marta- There is no humility without humiliation

There can be neither humility nor holiness
without taking the path of humiliation. Francis spoke of this truth as he
recalled the story of David during Mass at Santa Marta on Monday morning, 1 February.

“In
the first reading the story of King David continues”, the Pope began, referring
to the day’s passage from the Second Book of Samuel (15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13).
The story, he explained, “began when Samuel went to the house of [David’s]
father, and David was anointed king”, even though he was still a boy. Then “he
grew up, he had his problems, but he was always a man respectful of the king
who did not like him”. In fact the king “knew that he would be his successor”.
And “in the end David managed to unite the kingdom of Israel: everyone together
with him”. However, “he was
feeling insecure and his zeal for the house of the Lord began to weaken”.

Precisely “at that moment — we heard the
other day — David was one step away from becoming corrupt”, Francis continued.
Thus “the holy King David, a sinner but a saint, became corrupt”. But then “the
Prophet Nathan, sent by God” helped him “understand what a bad thing he had
done, an evil thing: because a corrupt person doesn’t realize it. It takes a
special grace to change the heart of a corrupt person”. Thus, “David, who still
had a noble heart”, recognized his sin, “he recognized his fault”. What did
Nathan say to him? These were his words: “The Lord has forgiven your sin, but
the corruption you have sown will grow. You killed an innocent man to hide
adultery. The sword shall never depart from your house”. Thus, the Pope
explained, “God forgives sin, David converts but the wounds of corruption are
difficult to heal. We see this in so many parts of the world”.

This
is the point in David’s story, Francis affirmed, that “we arrive at in today’s
passage: David’s son battles against his father. He wants power: his son is
already corrupt”. But “what does David do? With the nobility that he had won
back after his sin — and also the penance he had done to save the son who had
died, the child of adultery — he rejoins his own: ‘Let us flee the city lest
Absalom — his son — should overtake us, then visit disaster upon us and put the
city to the sword’, as was customary in those times”.

The
Pontiff recalled that “God castigates David harshly: ‘The sword shall never
depart from your house’”. But, Francis continued, “he defends the house and
flees, he leaves”. Is he perhaps “a coward? No, he is a father”. And “he allows
the ark to return”, he does not “use God to defend himself”. In other words,
David “leaves in order to save his people: this is the path of holiness that
David began to follow, after the moment in which he became corrupt”.

The
passage, the Pope continued, presents David weeping as he climbs the steep
Mount of Olives. “His head was covered”,
a sign of mourning, and he was walking barefoot. He was doing penance.
“And all those who were with him also had their heads covered and they were
weeping as they went: weeping and penance”. Scripture also tells us that “some,
who did not like him, began to follow and curse him”. Among them was Shimei,
who called him “murderer”, reminding him of “the crime he had committed against
Uriah the Hittite in order to cover his adultery”. Abishai, one of the people
closest to David, “wanted to defend him” and wanted to take off Shimei’s head
in order to silence him. But David goes “a step further: ‘If he is cursing it
is because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David!’”. He then “says to his
servants: ‘My own son, who came forth form my loins, is seeking my life”. He is
referring to his son Absalom. This is why he turns again to his servants
saying: “Let this Benjaminite curse, for the Lord has told him to”.

The
question, Francis explained, is that “David is able to see the signs: it is the
moment of his humiliation, it is the moment in which he is paying for his
fault”. Therefore, he says: “Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction and
make it up to me with benefits for the curses he is uttering this day”.
Basically, “he entrusts himself to the Lord’s hands: this is David’s path, from
the moment of corruption to this entrustment to the hands of the Lord. This is
holiness. This is humility”.

The
Pope continued. “I think”, he said, “that each one of us, should someone say
something bad about us”, would react by saying “No, I didn’t do it, this isn’t
true, no!”. In fact, we “immediately try to say that it isn’t true”. Or else
“we do as Shimei did: we say something even worse in response”. But humility,
Francis stated, “can reach a heart only through humiliation: there is no
humility without humiliation”. And, he said, “if you are not able to bear some
humiliation in your life, you are not humble. That’s how it is: I would say it’s
that mathematical, it’s that simple!”.

For
this reason, the Pope continued, “the only path to humility is humiliation”.
Therefore, “David’s goal, which is holiness, is reached through humiliation”.
Also, “the goal of holiness that God gives to his children, gives to the
Church, comes through the humiliation of his Son who lets himself be cursed,
who lets himself be borne on the Cross, unjustly”. Francis clarified that “this
Son of God who humbles himself, is the path of holiness: David, with his attitude,
prophesies the humiliation of Jesus”.

Before
ending his homily Francis asked of “the Lord, for each of us, for all the
Church, the grace of humility, but also the grace of understanding that it is
impossible to be humble without humiliation”.