The Building Blocks of our Character

We went to a kids recreation area and I was fascinated by how my children were excited to play with wooden building blocks. I guess I'm so used to seeing plastic toys with lots of fancy designs. With the blocks, their imagination started to work and they tried out their own design ideas. With a solid base of blocks, my son was able to build a tower! The simplest of toys gave them great joy and tons of fun.

What is our character made of? What are the values that we consider to be building blocks of who we are? On the surface we can try to express and even impress, but sooner or later when unguarded, our true character comes out.

Let us recall the times when we were in crisis or when people offended us. How did we react? How do we behave at home? These are the unguarded times when we find out the strength of the foundation of our character.

I have heard once in a homily that humility is the mother of all virtues. It is the strength of God and the weakness of the devil. The crucifixion of Christ was an act of utmost humility that saved us all.

Funny thing about humility is that when you admit that you are humble you automatically lose the virtue.

Like the wooden blocks, it is humble in appearance but rich in value. Let humility be the foundation of the building blocks of our character. May humility be evident in our unguarded moments, when no one is around to judge. May Christ, our sure foundation, build us up to be like Him.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld