Friday, November 1 : Saint Gregory of Nyssa

If, therefore, as the Apostle says (1 Tim 1:11 ;6:15), the Divine alone is blessed, and man shares in this blessedness through the likeness with God, but if, on the other hand, it is impossible to imitate God, then beatitude is out of the reach of human life. There are, however, things belonging to the Godhead which are set up for the imitation of those who wish. Now what are these? It seems to me that by poverty of spirit the Word understands voluntary humility. As an example of this the Apostle adduces the poverty of God when he says: “Who for us became poor, being rich, that we through His poverty might be rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Now everything else that is being contemplated in the Divine Nature surpasses the limits of human nature; but humility is connatural and as it were a brother to us who walk on the ground, who are composed of earth and again dissolve into earth (Gn 2:7 ;3:19). If, therefore, you imitate God in what is possible to your nature, you will yourself have put on the blessed form. But let no one imagine that humility can be achieved easily and without labour. On the contrary, it needs more effort than the practice of any other virtue. Why? Though man had received good seeds, the chief of the opposite seeds-the tares of pride-sown by the enemy of our life, took root while he was asleep. (Mt 13:25). (…) Since, therefore, the vice of arrogance is ingrained in almost everyone who shares the human nature, the Lord begins the Beatitudes with this. He removes pride, the root evil, from our character by counselling us to imitate Him who became poor of His own will, who is the truly Blessed One. In this way we may, as far as we are able, become like Him by being poor of our own free will, and so be also drawn to share His Beatitude. For, as is said, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:5-7).

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team