"Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.""Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land."
Meekness is the outward expression of humility. It is the primary characteristic which our Lord bids us imitate in Himself. "Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart." It is not only the fruit of humility, but the nurse of humility. We continually fail in humility without being conscious of it, but we cannot well fail in meekness without knowing it. We see the effect on others - we hear our own angry words. If, therefore, I wish to be humble, I must cultivate meekness.
How beautiful, too, is meekness in itself! Meekness turns away anger; silences the evil speaker; makes men ashamed of their own cruel words; makes us to be conformed to the image of the Lamb of God. Moses was dear to God because he was of men the meekest. "Remember David and all his meekness," says the Psalmist. Our Lord Himself before His enemies was an example of perfect meekness. Alas! how deficient I am in this virtue! Perhaps I even call the meek poor-spirited, and pride myself on my power of self-defense and my mischievous pugnacity.
"The meek possess the land." How true this is even on earth. Men yield to the meek where they would not yield to those who opposed them. The meek are liked and are listened to, and some-how in the end remain masters of the situation. How much more will they be the happy possessors of the heavenly country, the land of God's elect!
- taken from The Ministry of Jesus Christ: Short Meditations on the Public Life of Our Lord, by Father Richard Frederick Clarke, SJ