Anawim (pronounced ah-nah-weem), is a Hebrew word for the "poor and lowly ones," the ones who remain faithful to God during times of trial and difficulty. In the Old Testament, the anawim were the vulnerable ones, the ones deprived of wealth and belongings, those with no earthly power. Instead, they were entirely dependent on God, entrusting all to Him and surrendering to Him.

Jesus spoke to his disciples at the Sermon on the Mount of these anawim, saying, "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). In this context, the word poor is not only used to represent a social class but is instead a spiritual choice. It is meant to indicate any person of any social rank who recognizes their complete dependence on God and not on the material possessions of this world.

The anawim are outcasts, people who go unnoticed, those who are not prestigious... the list can go on and on, but they live with joy because they know of God's great plan for them and His love for them. They live their lives to the fullest with this pure joy and humility flows greatly from them.

In our world today, we live in a society filled with power, money, Photoshop, fame, technology, pornography, etc. There are many temptations we are faced with that can test our character and can keep us living a comfortable, lukewarm life. It is easy to hide our faces behind computer screens, avoid eye contact by staring down at our phones, and how awesome would it be to know that people like us and talk about us? But this is not the life we are called to live. Pope Benedict XVI said to us, "The world promises you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness."

I'm sure you all have occasionally heard people say things like, "There's a reason you were born today" or something cliche like that. There is so much truth to it, though. As God's children we are called to "bring light to the darkness," by bringing God's truth to the world. In this way we are called to be the anawim in this modern world. Naturally, it is common for us to define our worth based on exterior, worldly achievement, and it is easy to compare what we have (or don't have) with what another person has. I for one have a bad habit of defining my self-worth based on the grades I get in school. This past school year I got a bad grade on a test, and even though I didn't fail the class (phew!), at the time I got really upset. I started doubting my capabilities, I got so hard on myself that I started believing lies that I was not capable of succeeding and I was worthless. It sounds extreme, but how many times do we all believe that little voice in our head that tells us we can't do it? I am here to be a different little voice who tells you that your worth is not defined by success or what you have and you can do it. Always remember this from St. Edith Stein: "The world does not need what you have, but instead needs who you are."

Being the anawim in today's society has its challenges for sure, but when we become totally dependent on God we will see the blessings in our lives. We will be living life with full joy, and this joy will spread to the nations; it does not go unnoticed.

How we can live as anawim:

1. Pray

Prayer is essential and cannot be avoided if one wants to be totally dependent on the Lord. I for one am very independent and like being in control of my life, so when the Lord calls on me to let things go or offer them up to Him, it is definitely challenging for me. To do this, we must pray the Lord will bless us with the faith and strength necessary to stand out in today's world and make a difference. Also pray for others, because we are not the only ones who need prayers.

2. Trust and Abandon

I put these two together because they go hand in hand. The way I think of it is this: Trust is when we internally acknowledge our reliability on the Lord. Abandonment is the action, when we lay our lives at His feet and firmly believe that He will provide. This part is hard and involves a great deal of forgetting our pride and letting God take charge.

3. Live Joyfully

Every day is a blessing! If you start believing you have nothing to thank God for, look around you. The blue sky, the green trees, your beating heart, the sound of rain falling... these are all gifts from the Lord for you to be amazed by. He loves seeing the look of awe from His creation. Life is worth living (I promise I am not trying to quote Justin Bieber's song), and our joy from God can transform the world.

So let's all agree today to be anawim and to help each soul with little acts of kindness and love. There are many people that just need one small act of love to transform their lives. We do not need fame to do this, we do not need money or success, all God asks is that we do what we can knowing that He is God and He loves us, for we are blessed abundantly.