Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Humility = Total Pwnage

I just finished reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time, and maybe someone who’s read it more often can find this quotation for me. I think it was Gandolf telling probably Boromir why it was better to send a few with the Ring instead of raising an army and fighting -- to fight would only rouse the anger of Mordor. It seems to me like a good plan. Get your army together, and the enemy’s up and ready to fight; slip in silently and the enemy’s caught off guard. It may be more glorious to taunt your enemy and ride in on the battlefield with spears, but probably more people will die. Furthermore, if glory is your primary goal, you probably don’t belong on the good side anyway.

St. Louis de Montfort makes a similar point in True Devotion to Mary. “[Satan] fears her not only more than all angels and men, but in a sense more than God Himself… Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God” (trans. Faber. TAN, 1985. 29). Our Lady is great because Satan gets beat by a girl, making the victory, in a way, even more glorious.

Humility is our best weapon: it most safely wins the most glorious victories. Humility doesn’t often jump on a faithful steed and ride into the battlefield with colors flying. Humility sneaks silently in the back door, like Frodo. Humility recognizes and admits its own weakness and inability, and because of this submits entirely to the will of God, like Mary. We win the war by not fighting battles; we win the most glory by seeking the opposite of glory.

The experts say -- and I am not an expert, but I say this too -- the best place to start is the Litany of Humility by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val, secretary of state under Pope St. Pius X. (I think the cardinal’s cause is open.) I first saw this taped to a dorm-room door at University of Steubenville. When I read it, I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach. “Ugh. This is going to be good for me,” I thought. Here it is:


O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should. Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

2 comments:

  1. St. Therese of Lisieux - "I prefer the monotony of obscure sacrifices to all ecstasies. To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul."

    St. Josemaria Escriva - "Many who would let themselves be nailed to a cross before the astonished gaze of thousands of spectators won't bear the pinpricks of each day with a Christian spirit! But think, which is the more heroic?"

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  2. I love the idea of the "everyday saint" because sometimes just getting through life a day at a time seems far more difficult than any heroic battle or trial. I think your post is basically a "how-to" guide!

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