Prayer: Dying to Ourselves

"You will grieve, but your grief will become joy." Jn 16:20

In Thursday's gospel Jesus provides us with this quote, telling his disciples that their grief over his death would soon be turned into rejoicing. I was struck by this reading because of the recent passing of Jeanette Sandora, wife of Butch Sandora for 41-years and long-time friend and advocate of the Farm. Jeanette's death made me think of a phrase I heard in college, "dying to ourselves."

It is this theme of dying to oneself that emphasizes our life not as our own but as a glorification of God. The service we do is not for our own good, but rather the good of God's creation and God's coming kingdom. It is quite a difficult thing to do though, to always remind ourselves that it is not about us but it is about God, especially in a culture and a world that is so focused on the satisfaction of others. Dying to ourselves also calls us to a humility that recognizes the fact that we are human and that we all have certain gifts and limitations. In coming to know ourselves in this way, in dying to ourselves, then we can rejoice in turning our lives over to God. Many times we are discouraged by those limitations, and in some sense we mourn the fact that we are so human. But, instead of being discouraged, it seems more appropriate to rejoice in our humanity and the gift of God's creation, and to live a life that glorifies God.

So this week let us turn our grief into joy, let us reflect on Jesus' Ascension into heaven with the hopes that we too can be so dedicated to God that we may one day be with Jesus. Let us die to ourselves and remind ourselves that everything we do is for the glory of God, not our own glory.