Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada explained the role of humility in Christian life on Tuesday, the feast of St Demetrius the New.
The bishop celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St George the Great Martyr Diocesan Cathedral in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, where he highlighted the saint’s example: a “simple man, a shepherd who later became a monk and devoted himself to the ascetic life”, and the virtues reflected in his life.
Bishop Ioan Casian also emphasised humility as an expression of communion with God.
“What we are called to learn from Christ is to be gentle and humble in heart,” he said.
“Gentleness and humility teach us to see the world through God’s eyes. Because Christ was gentle and humble, when we look at the world from this perspective, we begin to see it as God sees it.”
“A Christian must have the discernment to recognise whether what is being proposed to them in society, in the community and in personal relationships is in keeping with God’s work or not,” the Bishop of Canada added.
Every person’s vocation
Bishop Ioan Casian explained that humility is the path through which each person discovers their vocation.
“If everyone wants and tries to be something other than what God has given them to be, the body becomes dysfunctional. The Church is a body. This is precisely what humility teaches us.”
“God gives one person one role and another person a different role. Why? Because, by bringing all these together, we form one body and achieve harmony. If we believe we have the same calling as someone else, we will enter into the dynamics of the desire for power,” the bishop said.
The hierarch encouraged humility and discernment in understanding the place each person occupies in the world.
“We are called to grow towards the measure of Christ, who is the fullness and who embodies divine life. This is the ultimate end, the final purpose of our lives.”
St George the Great Martyr Cathedral is located at 2010 Boulevard Marie, Saint-Hubert, Quebec.
