Humility is everything?

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G.K. Chesterton via Father Brown in The Hammer of God:
Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.
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What makes the Christian truly, uniquely Christian? It seems to me that Humility is “our” virtue; the only one, which, if truly followed, makes us Christ-like.

Fr. John Hardon, S.J., said we need to be humble, for nothing pleases God but humility. God has only ever worked with the humble. That was His way before Christ, and it has been His way ever since. It isn’t just being “small” and self-effacing, however. The humble person doesn’t just serve others, but even allows others to serve him when he needs it.

Can we say that true humility is glorifying the good name of others, preferring their lives to your own, and never acting for your own glory? Is humility truly The Christian Virtue? Does its meekness, gentleness, littleness, and kindness set it apart from other virtues? What is humility, according to the saints?
 
Part 4 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church starts off with and explanation that humility is the basis of prayer with God.

Humility is applying God’s rule of life to our own, in every situation.

I’ve read some author recently who was talking about the sin of spiritual pride.We must remember that all we are and all we have comes from God.

I’m reading c.s.lewis’s* meditations on the psalms* and I think it is in there that he discusses not only backing off but even walking away from a bully – if we discover that we don’t have any special God-given talent for dealing with a bully.

I think humility involves always doing what is right.
 
Sincere humility makes more room for God to fill. It helps us unite with Him.
 
+JMJ+

The word humility comes from the Latin word humus, meanin “dirt”. Humus is also the root for the word human. Therefore humility is all about knowing and (most especially) accepting that you are human, and all that it implies.

To be humble is to be grounded in truth.

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6

As St. Therese of Lisieux wrote:

[God] showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues…

If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals, or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.
 
nuntym said:
+JMJ+

The word humility comes from the Latin word humus, meanin “dirt”. Humus is also the root for the word human. Therefore humility is all about knowing and (most especially) accepting that you are human, and all that it implies.

To be humble is to be grounded in truth.

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6

As St. Therese of Lisieux wrote:

[God] showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues…

If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals, or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.
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Wow…that’s great! Thank you.
 
“Let us be very clear in what we are saying. We believe that God not only created everything in our lives to enable us to reach heaven. He not only was our Creator. He is our Creator now. He is guiding every moment of our lives in such a way that everything is mysteriously part of His loving plan. The secret is to see God’s hand in every who, every which, every when, every thing that touches our lives. This is what St. Ignatius, my Father in God, tells us when he says, “There are few people who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves entirely into His hands, and let themselves be formed by His grace”. This grace is everything in our lives which God intends to enable us to reach our eternal home.”
~Father Hardon

“How are we to be humble? How can we possess without being proud? Only through being in the presence of Jesus Christ.
The most gifted creature ever produced by the Creator was also the lowliest in her own eyes. That is the key to humility: seeing everything we are, everything we have, everything we hope to become, everything we hope to achieve or possess – seeing everything as a free, undeserved and totally gratuitous gift from God. But this is possible only by the grace with which the God who became man provide us. The same grace He provided Mary by His Real Presence with her, He provides by His Real Presence with us today.“
~Father Hardon

“We are not, out of false humility, to hide the gifts of grace that God has given to us. In true humility, we are to share with others what He has generously given to us. Why? So that people might praise us? No, so that seeing your good works, they will glorify the Father who is in heaven.”
~Father Hardon
 
Very good and helpful replies, everyone… but special recognition to nuntym. Thank you for that etymology and those quotes!

If anyone is interested in Fr. John Hardon’s “take” on humility, through the eyes of St. Benedict of Nursia, please listen to these audio lectures:

Master site:

(therealpresence.org/archives/MP3/RP0099000.htm)

Specifically on Humility:

therealpresence.org/archives/MP3/0099/0099015.mp3
therealpresence.org/archives/MP3/0099/0099016.mp3

He defines humility in the 11 steps laid out by Benedict.It’s very enlightening.
 
nuntym said:
+JMJ+

The word humility comes from the Latin word humus, meanin “dirt”. Humus is also the root for the word human. Therefore humility is all about knowing and (most especially) accepting that you are human, and all that it implies.

To be humble is to be grounded in truth.

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6

As St. Therese of Lisieux wrote:

[God] showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues…

If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals, or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.
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Thanks for your cool post!👍
 
A PRIVATE LITANY OF HUMILITY
Code: 
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honoured, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of comfort and ease, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being criticized, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being passed over, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being lonely, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being hurt, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering, deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, strengthen me with your Spirit.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, teach me your ways.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
help me put my self importance aside
to learn the kind of cooperation with others
that makes possible the presence of your Abba’s household.

Adapted from a prayer by Rafael, Cardinal Merry Del Val,
from the prayer book, For Jesuits, 1963, Loyola University Press.
 
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