A Beacon Of Light… Humility: The Virtue That Grounds Us In Our Faith
By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON Jr.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been away on a much-needed vacation. In order that I might have time to rest, I’m going to pause our series on the parables until I return. In the meantime, I want to offer this little reflection on the virtue of humility. As we look around the world today, it’s very hard to see the virtue of true humility being exercised. I believe this is the result of a lack of preaching about this beautiful virtue. Each one of us, me included, need to be reminded of the importance this virtue plays in grounding us in our faith.
A long time ago, St. Augustine was asked to name the three most important virtues. He gave an interesting answer. First, he said, humility. Then he said humility. Lastly, he said humility. Humility, St. Augustine says, is God’s favorite virtue; He longs to find it living in us.
Humility is the unifying idea that underlines the eight Beatitudes. If we remember, Jesus taught the Beatitudes as part of the Sermon on the Mount, where He was teaching the people not to just obey the law, but how to live them in everyday life. The beatitudes summarize Jesus’ teaching about how to live. Looking carefully at these statements of Jesus, however, there exists a common denominator: The person who is blessed [pronounced with two syllables: BLESS-ehd] is the person who is not thinking about himself all the time. The poor in spirit and those who suffer persecution gracefully realize that they are not the center of the universe: God is.
The clean of heart realize that other people don’t exist just for the sake of his pleasure. The peacemakers are concerned about the needs and problems of others. The merciful are concerned about the suffering of others. The mournful are concerned about the damage his sins do to the Church, the world, and other people. The meek care more about getting things done than about getting credit for doing things. Those who hunger for righteousness realize that their life has a higher purpose; that it’s part of a bigger story.
Underlying all the Beatitudes is this fundamental attitude that puts God and others ahead of oneself. It looks out at the world instead of staring in, fixated on self.
This is humility, the bedrock of basic human maturity. God loves this humility because it opens the soul to receive His gifts. The arrogant soul is closed in on itself. No one can get in, not even God, who wants to deliver His gifts. This is why the many times in Jesus’ ministry He is shown praising “the humble and lowly” and exhorting us to seek the Lord, to seek humility in all we do.
Because our secular society doesn’t think much of God, it doesn’t think much of humility. It considers humility a weakness and a hindrance, instead of seeing it as the only source of true, lasting spiritual strength. And since we live in this society, sometimes that view rubs off on us. But the truth is, humility only adds to true greatness; it never subtracts from that.
There is a true story about a snazzy, young French businessman traveling by train to Paris, many years ago. He was sharing a compartment with an old man who looked like a peasant — simple clothes, short hair, and a weather-beaten face. The up-and-coming businessman noticed the rosary gripped in the old man’s hands, and the devotion and concentration expressed on his face. The young man thought he would have some fun, so he said, “I see that you still believe in that medieval bunk about praying your beads. Do you also believe in all the other myths the priests try to teach us?” “Yes, indeed,” the old man answered, “Don’t you?” “Me? Do I believe in all that ridiculous superstition?” The young man laughed out loud. Then he said, “I gave that up in college. And if you want to be smart, you should throw those beads out the window and start studying some real, scientific truth.”
The old man answered, “I don’t understand what you mean. Maybe you could help me.” The young whippersnapper felt he had been a little harsh, so he answered, “Well, I could send you some articles, if you like. Do you know how to read?” More or less, the old man answered. “Good! So where should I send the material?” The old man fumbled in his coat pocket and then handed over a card. It bore a simple inscription: Louis [the “s” is silent] Pasteur [pass-TOUR] — Paris Institute for Scientific Research. Louis Pasteur was the nineteenth-century giant of microbiology who proved the germ theory of disease and invented the rabies vaccine. His humility certainly didn’t hinder his greatness.
As with all virtues, we grow in humility by exercising it. There is no better way to exercise humility than going to Confession regularly and frequently. Confession makes absolutely no sense for the arrogant. The arrogant deceive themselves into thinking that if they aren’t axe murderers or suicide bombers, they’re really pretty close to being a saint. But the saints are the ones who use Confession the most! St. Teresa of Calcutta went to Confession every week, and so did Pope St. John Paul II.
The Bible assures us that even the righteous man stumbles seven times a day. In other words, we are all fallen, and we are not living life as fruitfully, meaningfully, joyfully, and virtuously as we should be. We constantly give into selfish impulses. Sometimes we do it on purpose, with full consent. Other times we do it out of weakness or confusion. Sometimes the impulse is relatively small, like telling a little lie to get someone off our back. Sometimes it’s bigger, like living inside a whole web of lies in order to cover up ingrained habits of sin.
God knows that we are constantly battling against these impulses, and He instituted the Sacrament of Penance for our sake, to give us an objective way to repent, to receive His forgiveness, and to attain strength from His grace to keep fighting and improving.
Reflect On The Virtue Of Humility
When we kneel down in front of God’s representative and confess our sins and failings, admitting that we are not God and that we have done damage by giving into self-centered tendencies, we are giving the virtue of humility an Olympic-style workout. And if we do this every two weeks, our humility will quickly get into shape, helping us become the wise, patient, joyful, and courageous Christians we were created to be.
During these summer months, why not take some time to reflect on the virtue of humility? Maybe we will find areas in our daily lives where we have been too self-centered, like the young businessman on the train. Maybe we will surprise ourselves and see areas where we have exercised true humility after the example of our Lord, and grown in this much needed virtue in our times. Wherever we find ourselves, it’s important to remember that the spiritual journey requires moments of humility to keep us focused on what is really important.
Over the next few weeks, I encourage all of our readers to seek out the Sacrament of Penance and kneel humbly before the Lord who calls us to conversion and repentance. Humility is a virtue, and virtues only grow the more we practice them in our lives.