Humility

Pride makes us hate our equals because they are our equals; our inferiors for fear that they may equal us; our superiors because they are above us. – St John Vianney

We are not the focus of the universe

… even though some of us act as if we are. That might come as a big surprise, but we are not. I have been considering the aspect and the discipline of humility. It appears to me that, amid the immensity and the grandeur of the cosmos, we humans are small and dependent beings whose chief glory – if not our very purpose – is to reflect God’s brilliance as the moon reflects the sun. Too often, though, we allow our pride to get in the way, causing needless sorrow for ourselves and others while preventing ourselves from being what God intended us to be.

Francis had a keen understanding of power – both public and ecclesiastic – and the dangers of human pride. He condemned pride as spiritual enemy number one. Like so many other saints and holy people who had gone before him, he realized that the only way to harness our pride is to practice the virtue of humility.

“The gate of Heaven is very low; only the humble can enter it.” – St Elizabeth Seton

It was pride that disrupted the blissful sojourn of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Pride made them want to become like God, created a situation where they ate of the forbidden fruit, and allowed them to turn their back on the very God had created them. Over the last several thousand years, pride has ceased to be an original concept, but it functions much the same way as it did in the Garden: deluding us into thinking that we will be happier going our own way, creating barriers between ourselves and God and putting up walls of competition, suspicion, envy, and distrust between ourselves and our brothers and sisters.

Pride inflates our egos and desires, making us insist on getting what we want instead of trying to live out the message of the Lord’s Prayer: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If left unchecked, pride can be a ravenous cancer that takes over our very souls and ultimately leads to a more permanent death.

The only antidote to pride is humility

Francis articulated a way of life that takes pride more seriously and takes steps to minimize its destructive influence. The cornerstone of this way of life is a clear-eyed comprehension of our humility and our utter dependence on God. But breaking the bonds of pride requires nothing less than a complete conversion, or – more precisely – a lifelong series of conversions. Some of these will be small and insignificant. Others will be more earth-moving and/or devastating. Through these daily conversions, though, God will continue to lead us by the hand and show us that we are not God, only God is.

Pride is everywhere! One needs only to stroll through a bookstore and see the racks of books praising the values of aggressiveness, competition, self-centeredness, and confidence. But Francis taught a radical message of “downward mobility”, living a life of littleness, humbleness, submission, obedience, and service. In every daily situation, Francis chose poverty over wealth, powerlessness over power, and serving over ruling. He wrote: “It is not for us to be wise and calculating in the world’s fashion; we should be guileless, lowly, and pure.”

Testing for humility

One of the best tests of a person’s commitment to humility is to see how he or she treats others. St Paul tells us to consider others as better than ourselves. But how do we do that? How can we be sure that showing humility and treating others as better than ourselves will not lead to a false sense of humility?

I strive, personally, to practice this aspect of humility by treating every person equally and appreciating their unique personalities, talents, gifts, abilities, and willingness to serve the community. For instance, we would starve pretty quickly if other folks didn’t plant, nurture, harvest, and ship their products to the market. Likewise, there are all sorts of folks whose daily work sustains us without our even realizing it.

Of course, nothing keeps us humble like self-awareness. I am acutely aware of my own egotism and the blackness that can dwell at the center of my soul. There is a fine line between being pessimistic or a perpetual malcontent bent on making myself miserable and insecure here. As Francis saw there is a vast spiritual chasm separating the goodness of God and the evil of humanity. While some folks are uncomfortable talking about human evil – possibly in fear of injuring their self-esteem – I am positive it exists. Other people are skeptical about the possibility of human redemption. I am here to tell you that redemption exists.

Francis prefers to construct a world view in which humanity appears as a dust-covered mirror. While it was designed to reflect God’s glory, it is now too dirty to efficiently do the job. But, God and His love can clean us, purify us, and, in the end, make us creatures of spiritual beauty. We are both sinful and spiritual, both frail and dignified. Understanding the balance here will help us to remain humble while allowing us to have a healthy self-esteem without slipping in to some false egotism.

Francis’ emphasis on humility sprang from his desire to imitate the humility of Jesus whose life was framed by two episodes of extreme humility: the Incarnation where He emptied Himself of any divinity to be born in human form and walk amongst us and the Crucifixion where He gave up His life for a sin-filled world. In between these two bookend events, Jesus served the poor and needy, washed the feet of his disciples, and advised those who would follow Him to sit in the lowliest places. Indeed, the very celebration of the mass, the central sacrament of the Church, clearly re-enacts the basic-but-divine humility of Jesus wherein He humbles Himself to hide within the form of a little morsel of bread.

Humility should lead to obedience – a pre-requisite to knowing and doing the will of God. Of course, we Americans worship our individualism and demand independence from governmental or religious control. Mention the word obedience and people conjure up all sorts of images of an abusive religious cult or a nun or priest rapping students’ knuckles.

Francis lived in a world that shared some of our distaste for submission to religious authority. The Church had become entrenched in public affairs – the international disputes between kings and princes – and had grown rich and decadent. Its message held a hollow ring for the people. A series of self-proclaimed reformers and prophets traveled Europe, broke off with Rome, and created their own autonomous movements.

While people have substantially portrayed Francis as a religious revolutionary, he was actually a loyal member and servant of the Church.

While he could have easily led his band of supporters astray and into his own movement, he went to the Church for guidance and approval.

While he was an outspoken critic of the hypocritical and power-hungry leaders, be they religious or secular, he still respected the centuries of Christian tradition and the spiritual authority of the Church.

Practice

There are many opportunities for me to practice and grow in the virtue of humility. Here are ways I have worked out for myself to cultivate this:

When I am around other people, particularly in work-associated meetings, I will endeavor to elicit and promote other peoples’ opinions and views – rather than attempting to drive my own point to the forefront or striving to be the last one to speak on an issue.

When on the Interstates, particularly when driving to/from work, I will be more realistic and treat other drivers with kindness and respect – rather than being shocked at their insensitivity or concentrating on their inability to drive correctly (within the speed or lane limits).

When I deal with other people, particularly those who provide service in public settings (restaurant servers, store clerks, police and fire personnel, etc), I will relate to them as real persons whose service, skill, and humanity mean something to me.