• Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
The Texas Catholic
The Texas Catholic

Dallas, Texas

Today is Thursday, March 30, 2023
  • Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Instagram
Home
Columnists

Father Dankasa: Advent reminds us of John the Baptist as model of humility for our world

Friday, December 17, 2021

By Father Jacob Dankasa
Special to The Texas Catholic

In my last column I reflected on how we can live out our desert experience every day. I presented John the Baptist as a model for our own type of spiritual desert. He invited the people to the desert to have an encounter with God, to change their lives, to repent of their sins, and to abandon themselves to God (Mk. 1:1-11). This was an invitation to self-emptying.

In the season of Advent John the Baptist is a prominent voice inviting us to self-empty our hearts and allow the King of Glory to come in. His very life gives us an example of the self-emptying and abandonment that are expected in the life of the present-day follower of Christ. John arrived before Jesus did. He had many followers and was revered by the people, who saw him as a great man, a prophet. But when Jesus came, John stooped low and was ready to give up all that greatness. John presents us with a lesson in humility as an act of self-abandonment; he gave up his greatness for somebody else. Mustering the courage to acknowledge that someone else is better or greater than you are is a herculean task for many of us. But to acknowledge and praise the good and the greatness of a perceived competitor, and to publicly proclaim how much mightier he is than you are, is indeed a saintly act. And this was exactly what John the Baptist did. He didn’t just say that someone mightier than he was had arrived in town (Mk. 1:7). He went even further, admitting and proclaiming that he [John] must decrease while Jesus must increase (Jn. 3:30).

To learn to be humble, as John the Baptist was, we must learn to fight against our ego, which ignites our selfish desires and prevents us from opening ourselves enough to see the greatness in others as a blessing rather than a competition. We must learn to appreciate the greatness that God has given to somebody else. People are gifted differently, and if we dig deeply we’ll realize that we are all gifted. Each gift can be used differently to achieve many things. Do you know that the ability to appreciate and celebrate the gifts of others is also a gift? Anyone who cannot find anything good in someone else must come down from that mountain. You may be standing on a mountain of pride that is preventing you from seeing a good that is down in the valley. Come down, and you may see clearly that God has made everyone unique and special. There is something good in even the worst of us. We are all children of God.

John the Baptist in his lesson of humility invites us to come down from our mountains and work to rid ourselves of those instances in our lives that make us go into unhealthy competition and mindless undermining of other people’s abilities. Unhealthy competition deters us from appreciating the gifts that God has given to our friend, sibling, spouse, or colleague. This competitive spirit causes jealousy, envy and other related vices; a lack of humility leads to many vices that prevent Christian growth. If someone is better than I am at something because of a gift that God has given him, I should rejoice for him rather than being sad or envious. The disposition of being sad because of someone else’s progress is depressing and draining to our mental state. You are mentally healthier when you are happy for someone else’s good, someone else’s gift – being joyful reduces stress. By accepting Jesus’ greatness John the Baptist became even greater. Jesus himself declared to his followers: “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John….” (Lk. 7:28). Sincerely rejoicing over the good fortune of others is a doorway to becoming even greater.

Let us open our hearts to celebrate one another. If the good is from God, we should guard against being angry or bitter about it. Otherwise, we may find ourselves being bitter and angry with God instead.

Father Jacob Dankasa is pastoral administrator of Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church in Irving.

  • Tags
  • Columnists
  • Faith
  • Father Jacob Dankasa
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article Spirit of giving fuels St. Pius X students’ fundraiser for SVdP effort
Previous article Agencies team up with Ennis parish for first of its kind food pantry

Related Posts

Father Esposito: Happiness as the blessed life Columnists
Friday, March 10, 2023

Father Esposito: Happiness as the blessed life

Father Dankasa: Two voices in one Columnists
Thursday, March 9, 2023

Father Dankasa: Two voices in one

Prayerfully using Lenten seeds for Easter growth Columnists
Friday, March 3, 2023

Prayerfully using Lenten seeds for Easter growth

Texas Catholic Classics

A look at the five Dallas law enforcement officers who gave their lives while protecting citizens during a mass shooting in downtown Dallas in July 2016.

 

How a child with special needs inspired a high school volleyball team, community and a family who heeded God’s call to protect life.

 

After a young runner collapsed at a Dallas marathon, grace and providence unfolded for those involved in the valiant effort to help her.

   

In the summer of 2016, 50 students and 25 chaperones from Dallas Catholic high schools traveled to Nicaragua for a 10-day mission trip.

 

Early on a November morning, Kenndrick Mendieta bounded from the gym at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep toward the campus’ athletic fields as clouds lifted on a fresh new day.

 

Subscribe

Get the award-winning Texas Catholic delivered to your door. Use the menu below to subscribe now.


Subscription length




 

Photo Gallery

Click here to find your favorite Texas Catholic photographs.

The Texas Catholic Newspaper

Catholic Diocese of Dallas
Michael Gresham, Editor

3725 Blackburn Street
Dallas, Texas 75219
(214) 379-2800

Our Affiliated Sites

Texas Catholic Youth

Revista Católica

Legal and Other

Contact us

Terms of service

Privacy policy

Site map

Site powered by TexasCatholicMedia

© 2013-2019 The Texas Catholic Publishing Company. All rights reserved.