Stories told in the Gospels give Catholics insight on how to follow Jesus' example.  

Jesus lived a human life but lived to help others by doing things like healing the sick and being an "understanding friend," Sr. Dianne Bergant said. The examples those stories provide may be hard for people to follow no matter how clear the example is, because humans can be selfish.

In the message published in the Sept. 27 bulletin of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Safford, Bergant pointed out that in his letters to the Philippians, St. Paul repeatedly said Jesus "emptied himself." This is likely because the Philippians were having problems that were tearing them apart and the issues were rooted in arrogance.

"These attitudes of arrogance infect our communities even today," Bergant said. She referred back to Paul's letters where he wrote that if Jesus could "empty himself of such dignity" to help other people, then people should be able to unify by putting aside their arrogance.