What do you do to practice humility?

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An excellent reference on humility and Christian virtue in general is the classic, The Imitation of Christ. I’ve read it regularly for nearly 20 years now. It’s a fantastic guide through the trials of daily life.🙂
 
elts1956 said:
I would rather practice the belief that each and every person deserves to be given the respect and dignity that I myself would want. Love your neighbor AS you yourself want to be loved.
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Hi Elts…I wholeheartedly agree with you…we are called to love others and respect and give them the dignity that we would ask and like for ourselves. But if we don’t get it ourselves, it is not at all perturbing or upsetting, or one strives for this at best I guess. What I would like for myself, what I actually get and then again what I might deserve are *probably *three different matters.😃
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
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Thanks Pug, obviously our saints were well versed in the above …for I must confess my concept re humility was drawn more from the writings of our saints on humility, than any familiarity with the above quotation…but now you have drawn my attention to it, the quotation will now stay with me. Thank you.

Blessings and regards…Barb:)
 
Kera, good question.
And it usually takes a convert to ask cradle Catholics the interesting questions that really sets us thinking. Most of us are taught about but not necessarily trained in humility…and it’s hard to put into practice. At a job, you have to assert yourself to get ahead. I guess try a little every day - in small ways. (And after reviewing my words here, I realized I said, “in small ways”. You may want to read about St. Theresa of Lisieux. She’s known for her “little way” of serving God in daily life. Perhaps, those words were inspired to refer you to her.)

But I’d like to thank Philomena who has mentioned a “Litany of Humility” - that’s one I hadn’t heard about. Good luck to all of us! We’re only human, and I think humility is one of those traits that’s really not considered often and probably hard to put in practice unless you’re behind monastery walls.
 
Kera said:
I realize this is sort of a strange request and I hope it makes sense when I finish…But, I am wondering what to do to build character traits such as humility in myself. I am asking because of a situation at work where I realized that I was being very prideful. I want to change that, but since I was not brought up with any religion (I have only been Catholic for a year.) I am not exactly sure how to go about it. I was raised by my single father who never taught me any of these things. (I know that sounds strange, but it’s true.) So, long story longer…I am looking for specific things I can do, places to go, people to see, books to read, scriptures to study, etc… that will help me to build humility in myself.

PS: Do you think admitting to all of you that I am prideful shows humility? LOL Just kidding…😉
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I just keep the words from Ash Wednesday in my head.

“Remember man, thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.”
 
The problem with humility is that once you have it, you’ve lost it.

Matthew
 
Kera said:
I realize this is sort of a strange request and I hope it makes sense when I finish…But, I am wondering what to do to build character traits such as humility in myself. I am asking because of a situation at work where I realized that I was being very prideful. I want to change that, but since I was not brought up with any religion (I have only been Catholic for a year.) I am not exactly sure how to go about it. I was raised by my single father who never taught me any of these things. (I know that sounds strange, but it’s true.) So, long story longer…I am looking for specific things I can do, places to go, people to see, books to read, scriptures to study, etc… that will help me to build humility in myself.

PS: Do you think admitting to all of you that I am prideful shows humility? LOL Just kidding…😉
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I serve with charity.

Love and serve the Lord and be a witness onto others.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.
 
Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved…
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others…
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
From the fear of being despised…
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected …

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X
 
I found this gem from Blessed Mother Theresa:
Mother Teresa gave these rules to her Sisters to help them develop the virtue of humility:
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  1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.
  2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.
  3. Avoid curiosity.
  4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.
  5. Accept small irritations with good humor.
  6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.
  7. Accept censures even if unmerited.
  8. Give in to the will of others.
  9. Accept insults and injuries.
  10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.
  11. Accept injuries and insults.
  12. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.
  13. Do not seek to be admired and loved.
  14. Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.
  15. Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.
  16. Always choose the more difficult task.
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Kera,

Confession!!! I see the Sacrament of Reconciliation as one of the most humbling experiences we can engage in. A weekly trip to the confessional always reminds me of what a sinful person I am and that my only hope is in Christ our Savior. Talk about feeling small and humble!

Simon
 
beckycmarie said:
I found this gem from Blessed Mother Theresa:
Mother Teresa gave these rules to her Sisters to help them develop the virtue of humility:
  1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.
  2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.
  3. Avoid curiosity.
  4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.
  5. Accept small irritations with good humor.
  6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.
  7. Accept censures even if unmerited.
  8. Give in to the will of others.
  9. Accept insults and injuries.
  10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.
  11. Accept injuries and insults.
  12. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.
  13. Do not seek to be admired and loved.
  14. Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.
  15. Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.
  16. Always choose the more difficult task.
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Oh, this is so beautiful!!! I hadn’t seen this before. I confess I’m guilty of not doing many of those. I’m going to print this out and post on my office wall as a constant reminder. Thanks!!

Simon:thumbsup:
 
Confession keeps me pretty humble. When I realize what a sinner I can be, it helps me keep focus on “putting on Christ”.
I also look back on my life and wince occasionally at the dumb things I have done, and it pricks any self-importance balloon I might have.
 
RWMorris said:
Confession keeps me pretty humble. When I realize what a sinner I can be, it helps me keep focus on “putting on Christ”.
I also look back on my life and wince occasionally at the dumb things I have done, and it pricks any self-importance balloon I might have.
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I can identify with your post, RWMorris. Ego is one of my biggest problems. I dont’ take credit for my station in life but I do have a huge problem with trying to be the authority in my extended family. My parents are retired and enjoying life but 3 of my 4 brothers are just floundering. They call me the “rich brother” because I’ve “succeeded” in life (great career, great financial stuff, the only surviving marriage, etc.), whereas all of them (including the 4th brother) have all divorced (2 of them multiple times), left the Church, and basically haven’t really tried to live Christian lives, although they will tell you differently.

So I fail in trying to be a humble Christian because I try to tell my brothers how to live truly Christian lives, how to find happiness (in God) and stop being irresponsible people. They always reject this saying they believe in God and Jesus and they are doing fine. The problem is that has led me to sort of act that way with anyone who tells me their problems. Not that I jump down their throats but I feel I can council them better than most. That is my biggest failing in trying to be humble. I feel I can council people correctly (God forgive me!).

However, I do recognize before God that I’m a lowly sinner, unworthy of His Love and Grace, yet begging him for both. That there is humility before God, but, boy, I need to develop humility with my neighbor.

Geez, what a diatribe! Please forgive me!

Sinnergy
 
Quoting Sinnergy:
Geez, what a diatribe! Please forgive me!
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Thank you for sharing. Very often in the sharing of our own story, it can speak to others in a similar situation or in some other way.👍 Blessings and regards…Barb:)
 
beckycmarie said:
I found this gem from Blessed Mother Theresa:
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Thanks. I copied these for my personal ‘wisdom book’. A few don’t correspond well with the demands of my profession – teaching. Most are very helpful. 👍
 
KingAlfred said:
Thanks. I copied these for my personal ‘wisdom book’. A few don’t correspond well with the demands of my profession – teaching. Most are very helpful. 👍
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LOL- I am teacher of middle school students. Many of those would not work well in dealing with the kids - but I’ve tried to put them into practice with colleagues.

Accepting small irritations with good humor in dealing with 11 to 14 -year-olds is a good sanity saver, though. 😃
 
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