Our ideal

 “…we need humility- to protect us in danger, to guard us from falls, to guarantee the fruitfulness of our works of charity…Our ideal is no one but Jesus.” Saint Mother Teresa

Signs

 

TEXTS OF ST. JOSEMARIA

April 26, 2026 “It is a great thing to know oneself to be nothing before God” It is a great thing to know oneself to be nothing before God, because that is how things are. (Furrow, 260) Allow me to remind you that among other evident signs of a lack of humility are: --Thinking that what you do or say is better than what others do or say; --Always wanting to get your own way; --Arguing when you are not right or -- when you are -- insisting stubbornly or with bad manners; --Giving your opinion without being asked for it, when charity does not demand you to do so; --Despising the point of view of others; --Not being aware that all the gifts and qualities you have are on loan; --Not acknowledging that you are unworthy of all honour or esteem, even the ground you are treading on or the things you own; --Mentioning yourself as an example in conversation; --Speaking badly about yourself, so that they may form a good opinion of you, or contradict you; --Making excuses when rebuked; --Hiding some humiliating faults from your director, so that he may not lose the good opinion he has of you; --Hearing praise with satisfaction, or being glad that others have spoken well of you; --Being hurt that others are held in greater esteem than you; --Refusing to carry out menial tasks; --Seeking or wanting to be singled out; --Letting drop words of self-praise in conversation, or words that might show your honesty, your wit or skill, your professional prestige ... ; --Being ashamed of not having certain possessions ... (Furrow, 263) Weekly texts

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When are we truly humble?

 April 17 

When are we truly humble? 

When we refuse to judge and criticize others. 

When we foster kindly thoughts toward others. 

When we rejoice in the good others accomplish for Jesus. 

When we find an excuse for the failures of others. 

When we are happy and cheerful with the poor, the sick, and the dying. 

When we have joy in the hour of humiliation. 

Then we are truly humble after the heart of Jesus.

Thirsting for God: Daily Meditations 

Saint Mother Teresa

Angelo Scolozzi

Queen of all vices

 

Pride vs. Humility

 "Pride makes us artificial, and humility makes us real." Thomas Merton

1, Humility is the key to gaining wisdom. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom." Proverbs 11:2

2. God looks to the humble to work through. "All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD. But this is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." Isaiah 66:2

3. Humility prepares the avenue to your heart for God's grace. "But He gives more grace; therefore, it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4.6, 1 Peter 5:5

4. Humility can defuse arguments. "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

5. You don't have to put on a false front when you are humble. Jesus warned the disciples, "Beware of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Luke 12:1

Bonus: "Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues; hence in the soul in which this virtue does not exist, there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance." 

Jeff Cavins, Daily Reflection, May 21 Pride vs Humility! Mark 9:30-37

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The Insolent Pride of Man

 

"Such disregard for the authority of sacred and divine law in public life, Leo wrote, “almost tends to the removal of the Christian faith from our midst, and, if that were possible, of the banishment of God Himself from the earth.” He went on to describe a state of affairs which bears an uncanny resemblance to our own turbulent and anxious times:

When men’s minds are raised to such a height of insolent pride, what wonder is it that the greater part of the human race should have fallen into such disquiet of mind and be buffeted by waves so rough that no one is suffered to be free from anxiety and peril? When religion is once discarded it follows of necessity that the surest foundations of the public welfare must give way, whilst God, to inflict on His enemies the punishment they so richly deserve, has left them the prey of their own evil desires, so that they give themselves up to their passions and finally wear themselves out by excess of liberty.

This is one of the great themes, perhaps the great theme, of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII. When man, in his pride, attempts to “free” himself from God, he instead becomes a slave to his passions. When man forgets God, he loses sight of himself."

June is for the Sacred Heart

2023 Virtue/Vice

 

Pride is heavy...

 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus offers to free us from the burden of our pride.

What is it that makes our lives heavy and weighed down? Precisely the burden of our own egos, the weight of one’s own self. When I am puffing myself up with my own self-importance, I’m laboring under all that weight. Jesus is saying, “Become a child. Take that weight off your shoulders and put on the weight of my yoke, the yoke of my obedience to the Father.” 

Anthony de Mello proposed the following parable to describe us prideful souls. A group of people sit on a bus that is passing through the most glorious countryside, but they have the shades pulled down on all the windows and are bickering about who gets front seat on the bus. This is the burden of pride: preferring the narrow and stuffy confines of the bus to the beauty that is effortlessly available all around. This, of course, is why Jesus can say, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” What the Lord proposes is not a freedom from suffering but, what is much more important, a freedom from the self.

Gospel Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections from Bishop Barron

The door to healing...

 The door to healing is opened by humility

Patient Humility

Pride is always ready to take offense, and with this disposition to resent slights and injuries, how is it possible to live in charity?  When we find two persons who are prone to disagree and to whom reconciliation is difficult, we cannot be far wrong in concluding that both are full of pride.  Therefore, it is obvious that charity cannot exist without humility. 

It is for this reason that St. Paul, after having exhorted Christians to brotherly love, advises them at the same time to be humble: “But in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves,” (Phil. 2:3), for well he knew that brotherly love cannot endure without humility.  For where pride exists, there will also arise contentions, quarreling and strife: “Among the proud there are always contentions” (Prov. 13:10). 

Let us accept the apostolic admonition, and do not let us blame others for their pride when they cause us displeasure, but rather blame ourselves for not knowing how to bear that displeasure with humility.  Let us begin by acquiring that patient humility ourselves which we desire so much to see in others, remembering that it is not through the patience and humility of others that we shall be saved, but by our own. 

Humility is the Remedy for Evil

We shall be speaking about humility

We shall be speaking about humility, for this is the virtue which helps us to recognise, at one and the same time, both our wretchedness and our greatness” (Friends of God, 94).

July 7

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“In his preaching, Our Lord Jesus Christ very often sets before our eyes the example of his own humility. 'Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart,' so that you and I may know that there is no other way, and that only our sincere recognition of our nothingness is powerful enough to draw divine grace towards us. St Augustine says: 'It was for us that Jesus came to suffer hunger and to be our food, to suffer thirst and to be our drink, to be clothed with our mortality and to clothe us with immortality, to be poor so as to make us rich.'”

Friends of God, 97

“Prayer is the humility of the man who acknowledges his profound wretchedness and the greatness of God. He addresses and adores God as one who expects everything from Him and nothing from himself.

”Faith is the humility of the mind which renounces its own judgment and surrenders to the verdict and authority of the Church.

”Obedience is the humility of the will which subjects itself to the will of another, for God's sake.

”Chastity is the humility of the flesh, which subjects itself to the spirit.

”Exterior mortification is the humility of the senses.

”Penance is the humility of all the passions, immolated to the Lord.

”Humility is truth on the road of the ascetic struggle.”

Furrow, 259

“'God resists the proud, but gives his grace to the humble,' the apostle St Peter teaches. In any age, in any human setting, there is no other way, to live a godly life, than that of humility. Does this mean that God takes pleasure in our humiliation? Not at all. What would he, who created all things and governs them and maintains them in existence, gain from our prostration? God only wants us to be humble and to empty ourselves, so that he can fill us. He wants us not to put obstacles in his way so that — humanly speaking — there will be more room for his grace in our poor hearts. For the God who inspires us to be humble is the same God who 'will refashion the body of our lowliness, conforming it to the body of his glory, by exerting the power by which he is able also to subject all things to himself'. Our Lord makes us his own, he makes us divine with a 'true godliness.'”

Friends of God, 98

“'The greater you are, the more in all things abase yourself, and you shall find favour with God.' If we are humble, God will never abandon us. He humbles the arrogance of the proud, but he saves the humble. He frees the innocent man, who is rescued because his hands are clean. The infinite mercy of Our Lord is not slow in coming to the aid of those who humbly call upon him. And then he acts as he truly is, as God Almighty. Although there may be many dangers, though the soul may feel harassed and find itself surrounded on all sides by the enemies of its salvation, it will not perish. This is not merely something that was true in days gone by. It continues to happen now.”

Friends of God, 104

“Let me remind you that if you are sincere, if you show yourselves as you really are, if you acquire that 'true godliness' by being humble and not proud, then you and I will be safe in any environment. We will always be able to talk of battles won and call ourselves the victors. Ours will be the intimate victories of God's love, which bring peace, understanding and happiness to the soul.”

Friends of God, 106

“Do you want to be daring in a holy way, so that God may act through you? Have recourse to Mary, and she will accompany you along the path of humility, so that, when faced by what to the human mind is impossible, you may be able to answer with a fiat! — be it done!, which unites the earth to Heaven.”

Furrow, 124

"Our wretchedness and our greatness"

You MUST wear the ribbon!

Love Isn't Just a Clever Slogan 

a true humbling of the heart

Fasting in Isaiah 58, then, is intended to be more than ritual. It is to be a true humbling of the heart that results not only in humility, but in actual identification with those who are lowly—the hungry and oppressed. This theme will later be appropriated by Christians who call for true forms of fasting as opposed to fasting for mere rituals.

Berghuis, Kent. Christian Fasting: A Theological Approach (pp. 24-25). Biblical Studies Press. Kindle Edition. 

His grace is sufficient

The danger of pride is greater and nearer than we think, and especially at the time of our highest spiritual experiences. The preacher of spiritual truth with an admiring congregation, the gifted speaker on a Holiness platform, the Christian giving testimony of a blessed experience, and the evangelist moving on in victory – no man knows the hidden danger to which these are exposed. Paul was in danger without knowing it. What Jesus did for him is written for our caution, that we may know our danger and know our only safety. If ever it has been said of a teacher or professor of holiness that he is so full of self, or he does not practice what he preaches, let it be said no more. Jesus, in whom we trust, can make us humble. 

Yes, the grace for humility is greater and nearer than we think. The humility of Jesus is our salvation. Jesus Himself is our humility. Our humility is His care and His work. His grace is sufficient for us to meet the temptation of pride too. His strength will be perfected in our weakness. Let us choose to be weak, to be low, to be nothing. Let humility be to us joy and gladness. Let us glory and take pleasure in weakness, in all that can humble us and keep us low. The power of Christ will rest on us. Christ humbled Himself, and as a result, God exalted Him. Christ will humble us and keep us humble. Let us heartily consent and, with trust and joy, accept all that humbles, and as a result, the power of Christ will rest on us. We will find that the deepest humility is the secret of the truest happiness, and of a joy that nothing can destroy.

Murray, Andrew. Humility [Updated Edition]: The Beauty of Holiness . Aneko Press. Kindle Edition. 

The Spirit of Prayer by William Law

All this to make it known through the region of eternity that pride can degrade the highest angels into devils, and humility raise fallen flesh and blood to the thrones of angels. Thus, this is the great end of God raising a new creation out of a fallen kingdom of angels. For this end, it stands in its state of war between the fire and pride of fallen angels, and the humility of the Lamb of God. That the last trumpet may sound the great truth through the depths of eternity, that evil can have no beginning but from pride, and no end but from humility. The truth is this: Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you. Under the banner of the truth, give yourself up to the meek and humble spirit of the holy Jesus. Humility must sow the seed, or there can be no reaping in heaven. Don’t look at pride only as an unbecoming temper, nor at humility only as a decent virtue. The one is death, and the other is life. One is all hell, and the other is all heaven. As much as you have pride within you, you have the fallen angel alive in you. As much as you have true humility, you have of the Lamb of God within you. If you could see what every stirring of pride does to your soul, you would beg of everything you touch to tear the viper from you, even if it required the loss of a hand, or an eye. If you could see what a sweet, divine, transforming power there is in humility, how it expels the poison of your nature, and makes room for the Spirit of God to live in you, you would rather wish to be the footstool of all the world than lack the smallest degree of it. The Spirit of Prayer by William Law, Part II, p. 73, Edition of Moreton, Canterbury, 1893.

Murray, Andrew. Humility [Updated Edition]: The Beauty of Holiness . Aneko Press. Kindle Edition. 

The Humility of Mary

It’s a part of humility to serve others. Consider how Mary didn’t hesitate to go and serve Elizabeth for three months. For this reason, St. Bernard says: “Elizabeth wondered that Mary should have come to visit her. But still more admirable is that she came not to be ministered to, but to minister.” 

Those who are humble are retiring, and choose the last places. St. Bernard remarks that this is why Mary, when wishing to speak to her Son when he was preaching in a house, would not of her own accord enter. Instead, she “remained outside, and did not avail herself of her maternal authority to interrupt him” (see Mt 12:46). 

For the same reason, when she was with the Apostles awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, she took the lowest place, as St. Luke notes: “All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:14). It’s not that St. Luke was ignorant of the Mother of God’s merits, on account of which he should have named her in the first place. Rather, she had taken the last place among the Apostles and the women. For this reason, he described them all in the order in which they were. That’s why St. Bernard says, “Rightly has the last become the first, who being the first of all became the last.” 

Finally, those who are humble love to be disdained rather than praised. So we don’t read that Mary showed herself in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, when her Son was received by the people with so much honor. Instead, at the death of her Son, she didn’t shrink from appearing on Calvary. She didn’t fear the dishonor that would come to her when it was known that she was the mother of the One who was condemned to die an infamous death as a criminal. —St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary 

From a prayer of St. John Neumann: O Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray to your divine Son for me, a poor sinner; beg him to make me humble. My pride, my self-esteem, my vanity are always against me. I struggle against them, and yet I allow them to surprise and deceive me so often.

Thigpen, Paul. A Year with Mary: Daily Meditations on the Mother of God (pp. 473-474). Saint Benedict Press. Kindle Edition. 

Humility

 

Pride

 

Seek the Glory that comes from God

In their very nature, pride and faith are incompatible. We will learn that faith and humility are at root one, and we can never have more true faith than we have true humility. It is possible to have strong intellectual conviction and assurance of the truth while pride is kept in the heart, but it makes living faith, which has power with God, an impossibility.

We only need to pause for a moment to discover what faith is. It is the confession of nothingness and helplessness, the surrender and the waiting to let God work! Isn’t it the most humbling thing there can be, the acceptance of our place as dependents who can claim, receive, or accomplish nothing apart from grace? Humility is simply the habit which prepares the soul for living on trust. Every breath of pride, in self-seeking, self-will, self-confidence, or self-exaltation, is just the strengthening of that self which cannot enter the kingdom. It cannot possess the things of the kingdom, because it refuses to allow God to be the All in All.

Friend, the only thing that can cure you of the desire for man’s praise or the hurt feelings and anger which come when it is not given, is by only seeking the glory that comes from God. Let the glory of the all-glorious God be everything to you. You will be freed from the glory of men and of self, and be content and glad to be nothing. Out of this nothingness, you will grow strong in faith, giving glory to God. You will find that the deeper you sink in humility before Him, the nearer He is to fulfill every desire of your faith.

Murray, Andrew. Humility [Updated Edition]: The Beauty of Holiness . Aneko Press. Kindle Edition. 

Psychological research: The H Factor

"I suspect that humility gets a bad rap because it is sometimes linked with subservience or weakness or introversion.

Psychological research actually indicates the opposite. Humility is most closely associated with a cluster of highly positive qualities including sincerity, modesty, fairness, truthfulness, unpretentiousness and authenticity."

Why Humble Leaders Make The Best Leaders

The HEXACO Model of Personality Structure and the Importance of the H Factor