Christ warned His disciples: "You must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi... the greatest among you must be your servant". Without humility and a spirit of service there can be no true Christianity and it is impossible to practise charity. Without humility there is no holiness, for Jesus does not want conceited self-centered friends in His service: the instruments of God are always humble (St John Chrysostom).

In living our true Christian life we can offer to others, the little acts of service since it is Jesus who really does and motivates the work. When we serve our capability it bears no relationship to the supernatural fruits we seek. Without grace one's best efforts are in vain: "no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit", Grace is the one thing that can raise the power of our human talents so as to achieve by them what would otherwise have been beyond our possibilities. "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).

Let us struggle always to attain this humility in our life and work to become effective and strong. We ought to be constantly vigilant, because the worst kind of ambition is to strive for one's own exaltation as the Pharisees did. Pride attacks on all flanks and its victim finds it all around. Finally, above all, let us realise that our Christian life is to be instruments of God in the presence of God with the spirit of service.