Humility

is the foundation of the spiritual life
is the acceptance of our nothingness
is the relation of honesty with all reality: God, ourselves, others, all creation

CF: 36, 131
BP: 64, 65
FG: 48
SMM: 116
IL: 44, 97
DT& A: 47, 62, 63, 64, 65, 83, 91
HC: 21
STL: 7, 10
DR: 101, 210, 237
MG: 35
OMOH: 72, 100

Real humility is consent to God’s presence and to all reality which leads us to accept the truth about ourselves and our defects. When we acknowledge our faults, God loves to take them away.

Humiliation is the way to humility, and in the process we lose the sense of shame and gain inner freedom. Humility leads to the forgetfulness of self.

Related Concepts

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Reflection

Description

The experience of the presence of God is more humbling than the remembrance of our sins. It accompanies each stage of the Spiritual Journey and eventually merges with Love (Agape) in the Transforming Union. The opposite of humility is pride, which is the root of every sin.

Humility is a constant and permanent disposition that puts one in tune with the universe and with whatever is happening in the present moment, whether to oneself or others. Humility is very close to the virtue of Hope which thinks neither of the past nor of the future. It thinks nothing of reward; it simply is totally dependent on God’s mercy which is boundless. You might say that the whole spiritual journey might be summed up in the words “humble hope.”

Reflection: Listening

Humiliation sets off the emotional programs for happiness.

Reflection: Reflecting

Have you recently experienced humiliation? Were you able to wait, take time to process emotions, and pray so that you could act peacefully and not react?

Reflection: Responding

The truth sets us free. “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)