Humility

I have found that the most “dangerous” prayer to pray is the Litany of Humility because God seems to respond instantly. You very soon realize that you just liked the idea of the virtue, not the actual humiliation.

It’s been said that pride is the root of all sin, so it makes sense that humility is dear to Jesus’ Heart. It’s a virtue that seems elusive, because even with all the nice intentions, worldly desires and temptations war against it and sometimes win without us even realizing it. Through reading the Diary of St. Faustina, I have come to change my view of humility: from it being a seemingly unobtainable, distant virtue that you pray for quickly so God won’t really hear you, to a beautiful and necessary gift that gives you a thousand and one opportunities to grow and remind you that you are living for Someone else.

I love how St. Faustina describes humility:

(1306) O humility, lovely flower, I see how few souls possess

you. Is it because you are so beautiful and at the same time so difficult to attain? O yes, it is both the one and the other. Even God takes great pleasure in her. The floodgates of heaven are open to a humble soul, and a sea of graces flows down upon her. O how beautiful is a humble soul! From her heart, as from a censer, rises a varied and most pleasing fragrance which breaks through the skies and reaches God Himself, filling His Most Sacred Heart with joy. God refuses nothing to such a soul; she is all-powerful and influences the destiny of the whole world. God raises such a soul up to His very throne, and the more she humbles herself, the more God stoops down to her, pursuing her with His graces and accompanying her at every moment with His omnipotence. Such a soul is most deeply united with God. O humility, strike deep roots in my whole being. O Virgin most pure, but also most humble, help me to attain deep humility. Now I understand why there are so few saints; it is because so few souls are deeply humble.

As I was first reading her diary, I noticed the countless times St. Faustina goes on about how she is the worst of sinners, most wretched, etc.

And when I read this I would think, “Really Faustina? Really?”

I would roll my eyes and shake my head and think she was being ridiculous or overly sensitive.

But then Jesus would say to her, “You see what you are of yourself, but do not be frightened at this. If I were to reveal to you the whole misery that you are, you would die of terror. However, be aware of what you are.” (718)

And I would look at myself and think, “…Well, this isn’t good…”

She isn’t the first saint to have said this. And she, like the other saints, isn’t trying to engage in some who-can-insult-themselves-the-most contest.Like the saints before her who have said this, St. Faustina did not compare herself to others, only to God. And so, even one sin, compared with the perfection of God, filled her with disgust and grief. When she looked at herself, St. Faustina tried to look at herself with the eyes of Christ, so she was able to see the misery of her human brokenness made beautiful by the mercy and love of her Spouse. She was able to see the truth of herself and in that light, she saw how utterly dependent she was on God and His Mercy. So how could she refuse Him anything He asked of her? Though she was the recipient of apparitions and spiritual encounters few ever experience, she did not take this as a sign she was spiritually “superior” to others. She constantly begs for God’s Mercy for her soul and the souls of all those around her.

Making room for humility leaves less space for pride and jealousy – two very destructive vices (and really, when compared with the perfection of God, and realizing our complete dependence on Him, what do we have to be prideful of?). Humility gives you freedom to love completely, because your focus has turned outward to the rest of the world instead of inward on yourself. Humility allows for more trust in God and His plans, without fear keeping you from stepping out into the unknown.

Yes, on some stressful weeks, praying the Litany of Humility still sometimes make me hesitate, thinking, “It’s a rough time right now, put off praying that, so nothing else will go wrong right now.”

Ridiculous, I know.

And it is in those moments of hesitation that I remind myself that humility is not measured by how stressful your day is. Humility is constantly letting go of fear and selfishness and pride and instead focusing on opening yourself to all the graces He has ready for you so you can view today as a chance to bring others to heaven.

That others become holier than I, provided that I might become as holy as I should, Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.