Humility

“O sublime humility! That the Lord of the whole universe … should humble Himself like this under the form of a little bread, for our salvation.”
— St. Francis of Assisi

1) What is Humility?

- Humility is recognizing the truth of who we are & who God is, and living out of that truth.
- In the order of love, the truth is that “I am third.” God is 1st, others are 2nd and I am 3rd

“Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.” (Phil 2:3b)

- Humility is becoming transparent so that Jesus may shine in us, even in our weakness.

“He must increase and I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

2) False Humility
- Humility is not putting ourselves down or belittling ourselves.
- True humility is being little and hidden in Christ so that He may be more clearly seen.
False humility is just plain hiding!

3) Our Weakness – Christ’s Strength
- In the work of evangelization, sometimes we are overwhelmed by our weakness & incapacity.
- Christ multiplies the five humble loaves that we give Him and He feeds the multitude
(cf. Matt 14:13-21).
- We hold the “treasure” of the Gospel in the “earthen vessels” of our lives.
Christ can even use “cracked pots” like us to carry his life giving water.

“For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord… But we hold this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.” (2 Cor 4:5-7)

Download this PDF handout on Humility ›


PRAYER: "O Jesus, meek and humble of heart. Make my heart like unto thine."
Ask for the grace to become third (God first, others second, I am third)
Download a PDF on Lectio Divina (a method of praying with scripture) › 

ACTION: Do an act of service or a chore around the house that will perhaps go unnoticed by everyone but God.