The man chosen by God to lead the children of Israel from slavery, and to give the world the law and the ten commandments, was beloved by God because he was "the most meek and humble of men."

"Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth." (Numbers 12:3) "And whosoever will be first among you shall be the servant of all." (Mark 10:44)

"Since (God) is the virtue of supreme humility, he loves you with supreme humility and esteem and makes you his equal, gladly revealing himself to you in these ways of knowledge, in this his countenance filled with graces. . . . (He says to you:) "I am yours and for you and delighted to be what I am so as to be yours and give myself to you." (St John of the Cross, "Living Flame of Love," Stanza 3, Commentary 6)

The Lord speaks through Isaiah:

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

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"Humility is the bedrock of truth which comprises the foundation of the spiritual life. The truth about us is that, compared to the Infinite God, we are 'nothing.' For we were created from nothing, and with our creation there is no increase in perfection, wisdom, or love, all of which existed in infinite plenitude prior to our existence. Moreover, St Paul asks, 'what do we have that we have not received,' for we are incapable of a single good act without first receiving an actual grace from God. And if all were taken away from even our best free acts, nothing would remain as the act is entirely from God as its first cause."(paraphrase of Fr. R. Garrigou-Lagrange)

The self-giving love of charity, or agape, is the perfection of the spiritual life. Such self-giving to God and neighbor flowers in the spirit of humility, which is opposed to the sin of pride. Pride kills agape love as it is a sinful desire to exalt self above love of God and others. Pride attempts such exaltation of self through lies and self-delusion about our total dependence and poverty before God, and expresses such attitude through acquisition and attachment to ego-inflating honors and possessions. These latter become hardened into our proud false-self which must be destroyed by the dark nights of God's refining fire.

Man becomes his true self when he finds his center united with the God for whom he was created. But before that can happen, he must find his center in ”humility.” Again we may ask, why is humility such an important virtue? What does it mean for the soul to have its “center in humility?” Why does the Church look for the signs of this important virtue in candidates proposed for public recognition as saints?

In its deepest meaning, humility refers to a “state of soul” from which all the idols of self-worship have been removed. This is the state of a soul open to self-giving love of God and neighbour, as described in the first and second commandments, and which has been purified of all lesser loves and attachments. Such humility is the state of a soul which is “empty” of “self-will,” and which has mortified all clinging to natural and supernatural possessions. Such a soul lives in present-time, without dwelling on past pleasures or future satisfaction, and finds its contentment in doing the “will of God” here and now, as it comes to it in the grace of the present moment.

From this description we can see that to dwell in the center of one’s humility is to dwell in the real self, a temple of spiritual purity made in the image of God. It is to dwell in the emptiness of that place in the soul which has been cleared of all idols, and which has been made ready for transforming habitation by the Beloved, the Holy Spirit of God. God is united to the soul, and is only found in His fullness, when love for Him alone abides in the temple of man’s spirit, which is another way of saying “when He is sought through this center of humility.”

St Paul reminds us that, to the worldly wisdom of man, humility is foolishness. However, in the widom of God, where there is greater humility, there is greater manifestation of His power:

"For, seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that believe. For both the Jews require signs: and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified: unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God."

"Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God."

"It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord." (St Paul, I Cor. l)

"Humiliation" is when one is made to feel inferior, or when one's vulnerability, weakness, or pretense is exposed. "Humility" in one's spirit, removes the "sting" of humiliations, as one is willing to accept criticism and the defects, even unfair criticism, for love of God. Indeed, humiliations often open the door to profound spiritual growth, if we are capable of using them positively, as they point out to us the very areas of pride where God has no foothold in our spirits. For with God there is no humiliation. Whenever I feel humiliated, I should realize that it is because there is something proud still in me that needs to be removed from my spirit by the power of God, at some point, if I am to continue advancing in my prayer program.

The spiritual life is an attempt to regain that union with God precluded by our proud false-self. As pride diminishes, humility increases. Humility from a certain point of view is "the capacity" for Love, for God, for Truth, and for Reality. It is "emptiness" of egoism, or the false self. It is spiritual "poverty," a state of "non-attachment" to the false-self and finite goods.

But you say, sometimes the pain of life is more than I can bear. This person physically intimidated me, or totally humiliated me. Now all these people know what happened to me, and that I was afraid, and they'll think me pathetic, and a coward. How can I live with the shame painfully pounding in my soul day and night?"

And the answer is.............you can't, if you have no serious Christian faith! In superman warrior societies, like those of Japan under Bushido, or in "fundamentalist" groups in the West, they'd rather die than live with the pain of public humiliation. It's called Hari Kiri in Bushido, the only way to atone for dishonor. Then, in the not too distant past, people in the West killed each other in duels rather than face the pain of public insult. That's why some European and Latin societies became, and still are, "macho." The men are "stand-up guys," who would rather maim, batter,kill, and destroy one another than suffer the pain of humiliation and the public disclosure of their human weakness.

The point about the pain of humiliation is that it can be radical, very powerful, and overwhelming. So when the evil is radical, what must the remedy be, if not equally radical. And the only radical remedy that will work in the unfair world of fallen man, ambition, ego, and sometimes outright evil, is the " Cross of Jesus Christ." For the Cross is the Plan God devised for the salvation of the world, ages and ages ago. It's the "mechanism" by which the misery and pain which are part of everyone's life, and which get your attention when everything else fails, can become the vehicle for "Transformation," and Eternal Life. And natural crosses become supernatural crosses when you embrace them for Love's sake, joining them to the Blessed Cross of Calvary, and allowing God to use them for your personal purification and transformation.

For He has told us, "Quit trying to win and dominate over others. That's not good enought for you! I created you for 'Love,' including Love for the least of the brethren, and those who don't deserve it. Lay down your natural life and your ambition and participate in the "sacrifice" leading to Eternal Life. The humiliations and pain I am sending you are powerful messages telling you that the life you are leading is not good enough. For I am calling you out from among the "lukewarm," to a special Intimate Union with Me. You know perfectly well it is I calling you through pain to "Overcoming Love." When will you give up remedies leading to more pain and more failure and begin to respond to my call. I thirst for your love. Take up your cross and follow Me!"

For the Cross is the Way of death to the natural self, and all that its selfish ambition, and all its desire for glory in this world. And while it is death to the natural self, it is "Abundant Life" streaming through the wounded, battered, visage of the "Suffering Servant," in fulfillment of the promise by God thousands of years ago through the prophets. It is the instrument of your ultimate happiness, and it starts now, in "this" life, or it doesn't start at all!

Humility, poverty, purity, and emptiness are words all pointing to the same quality of spirit. A humble spirt has removed all the excess furniture and possessions of the spirit that keeps God from "moving-in." With humility, it is specifically "proud" possessions comprised of pride, selfishness, self-will, and delusions of grandeur that have been removed from the soul. And the saints were souls who plumbed the depths of humility in the process of plumbing the depths of Love. For humility is like a vessel, the depth of which determines the quantity of Love that can be held. And humility at the level of sanctity becomes a vessel of infinite depth, and corresponds to the following described by Fr. Garrigou-LaGrange:

"In every case(of great sanctity) there is the purification of humility and the three theological virtues from every human alloy, so that the formal motive of these virtues takes increasing ascendancy over all secondary motives. Humility grows according to the process described by St. Anselm, and repeated by St. Thomas: ' (I) To know that one is contemptible; (2) to feel affliction at this knowledge; (3) to confess that one is despicable; (4) to wish one's neighbours to know this; (5) patiently to endure their saying so; (6) to submit to being treated as worthy of contempt; (7) to like being so treated." (Fr. Garrigou-LaGrange, "Three Ways of the Spiritual Life, Ch.3)

So if we havn't reached this level of humility, we have a ways to go. And such humility and contempt is not directed to the gifts and talents that God has bestowed upon us, or to a proper self-love which thanks God for the gifts. It is rather directed to the inclination to pride inherited from our first parents which attaches itself to self-glorification and a prostitution of the gifts in feelings of superiority and contempt for others. Maybe we've seen some of that in ourselves and in our fellow men in the post-modern world. And this pride in us goes deeper than we can imagine, and so must humility.

"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.

For, in truth, all goodness belongs to God. And when we claim any goodness as our own, as if we had not received it, and then glory in it, we become enemies of Truth, and this makes us enemies of God. For God's Spirit is Infinite Truth, and as well as His infinite attributes of Goodness, Power, Fortitude and Majesty, He is supremely Mild, Merciful, Gentle, Humble, and Self-Giving. And we are made in the image and likeness of God. And, therefore, humility, mercy, and self-giving are the truths of our being as well, which, due to Original Sin, we must re-discover through much effort and the transformative process provided by Contemplative Prayer.

And as noted in the Catholic Encylopedia:
"Humility, which in the Christian scheme is the necessary groundwork of all sanctity (Matt., xviii, 3), was previously to His teaching an unknown virtue. The sense of personal unworthiness in which it consists, is repugnant to all the impulses of unregenerate nature. Moreover, the humility which Christ demands, supposes as its foundation a clear knowledge of the guilt of sin, and of the mercy of God. Without these it cannot exist. And these doctrines are sought in vain in other religions than the Christian." (G.H. JOYCE Transcribed by Robert B. Olson)

These aspects and qualities of God's Love are shown to us in the Life of Jesus Christ, and are described in the writings of John of the Cross. And such attributes are the foundaton of the Love among the Trinity of Persons, in Whom there is no self-exaltation. Rather, each of the Persons glories and rejoices in Loving Surrender to the Will, Beauty, Power, and Majesty of the Other. And if we would have our spirits transformed and united with the Living God, and if we would be capable of True Love, then we must take on the same qualities of mildness and humility found in the Trinitarian Love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

"Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:(1Peter5:6)

Humility is an openness to love. Other words that describe this quality are "poor in spirit," or spiritual "emptiness." They all signify the removal of the "false-self" which has heretofore filled our emptiness. The perfectly empty man is the saint, or New Man in Christ, who is poor in spirit, humble, empty, and meek. He has nothing of his own to which he is spiritually attached, therefore he is "needy." He is in need of Love. And he lives, moment to moment, in the center of his humility, with no inner empire to defend, and, therefore, unafraid of other men. Rather, he is grateful for the gifts of Love that God sends to him through contact with other people, and the mundane circumstances of his very ordinary life. But most of all, he is grateful for the Gift of Himself which God sends him from moment to moment.

St Thomas says, "Since God's love is the cause of goodness in things, no one thing would be better than another if God did not will greater good for one than for another. "What has thou that thou hast not received?" If this man who has committed this crime had received the same graces that I have received, he would perhaps have been less unfaithful than I.

Fr. R. Garrigou-Lagrange reminds us of the difference between humility and its conunterfeits:

"How greatly this abasement of genuine humility differs from pusillanimity, which is born of human respect or of spiritual sloth! Human respect is the fear of the judgment and wrath of man; this fear turns us away from God. Humility, far from being opposed to grandeur of soul, is united to it. A Christian should tend toward great things worthy of great honor, but he should tend toward them humbly, and if necessary, by way of great humiliations. Humility does not flee great things, on the contrary it strengthens magnanimity by making man tend humbly toward lofty things. There is this quality in all the saints, the more humble they are, they less they fear human respect and human opinions, however formidable these may be. Therefore, the truly humble man performs great works for God, but without losing his sense of humility. He does not seek, nor does he take pleasure in praise. In fact, the humble man prefers reproaches. When Our Lord asked St John of the Cross what he desired, the saint replied: "To be scorned and to suffer for love of thee."(Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, "Three Ages of the Interior Life," pp. 122-125)

Father Caussade, S.J., advises us:

"To be satisfied with the present moment is to delight in, and to adore the divine will in all that has to be done or suffered in all that succession of events that fill, as they pass, each present moment. Those souls that have this disposition adore God with redoubled love and respect in each consecutive humiliating condition; nothing can hide Him from the piercing eye of faith. The louder the senses proclaim that in this, or that, there is no God; the more firmly do these souls clasp and embrace their God. Nothing daunts them, nothing disgusts them.

"Oh! what delightful peace we enjoy when we have learnt by faith to find God thus in all His creatures! Then is darkness luminous, and bitterness sweet. Faith, while showing us things as they are, changes their ugliness into beauty, and their malice into virtue. Faith is the mother of sweetness, confidence and joy. It cannot help feeling tenderness and compassion for its enemies by whose means it is so immeasurably enriched. The greater the harshness and severity of the creature, the greater by the operation of God, is the advantage to the soul. While the human instrument strives to do harm, the divine Workman in whose hands it is, makes use of its very malice to remove from the soul all that might be prejudicial to it.(Abandonment to Divine Providence, Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade, S.J, see Perfect Praise)

"For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.(lPeter2:19)

So if we want to know what humiliation and the pain of "loving neighbor" sometimes looks like in this world, we must take a look at Jesus before Pilate:

"Some began to spit on him. They blindfolded him and struck him and said to him, "Prophesy!" And the guards greeted him with blows... So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,... after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified. The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him." (Mark 14:65; 15:16-20)

John of Ruysbroeck has this to say about humility:

"We lay down humility as the foundation of the virtues. Humility, that is lowliness or self-abasement, is an inward bowing down or prostrating of the heart and of the conscience before God's transcendent worth. Righteousness demands and orders this, and through charity a loving heart cannot leaveit undone.

When a lowly and loving man considers that God has served him so humbly, so lovingly, and so faithfully; and sees God so high, and so mighty, and so noble, and man so poor, and so little, and so low: then there springs up within the humble heart a great awe and a great veneration for God. For to pay homage to God by every outward and inward act, this is the first and dearest work of humility, the most savoury among those of charity, and most meet among those of righteousness.

"The loving and humble heart cannot pay homage enough, either to God or to His noble manhood, nor can it abase itself as much as it would. And that is why a humble man thinks that his worship of God and his lowly service are always falling short. And he is meek, reverencing Holy Church and the sacraments. And he is discreet in food and drink, in speech, in the answers which he makes to everybody; and in his behaviour, dress, and lowly service he is without hypocrisy and without pretence. And he is humble in his devotions, both outwardly and inwardly, before God and before all men, so that none are offended because of him.

"And so he overcomes and casts out Pride, which is the source and origin of all other sins. By humility the snares of the devil, and of sin, and of the world, are broken, and man is set in order, and established in the very condition of virtue. And heaven is opened to him, and God stoops to hear his prayers, and he is fulfilled with grace. And Christ, that strong rock, is his foundation. Whosoever therefore grounds his virtues in humility, he shall never err."(John of Ruysbroeck, "Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage," Book II, Ch. 12, Resources)

St. John of the Cross comments on "humility:"

"But those who at this time are going on to perfection proceed very differently and with quite another temper of spirit; for they progress by means of humility and are greatly edified, not only thinking naught of their own affairs, but having very little satisfaction with themselves; they consider all others as far better, and usually have a holy envy of them, and an eagerness to serve God as they do. For the greater is their fervour, and the more numerous are the works that they perform, and the greater is the pleasure that they take in them, as they progress in humility, the more do they realize how much God deserves of them, and how little is all that they do for His sake; and thus, the more they do, the less are they satisfied.

"So much would they gladly do from charity and love for Him, that all they do seems to them naught; and so greatly are they importuned, occupied and absorbed by this loving anxiety that they never notice what others do or do not; or if they do notice it, they always believe, as I say, that all others are far better than they themselves. Wherefore, holding themselves as of little worth, they are anxious that others too should thus hold them, and should despise and depreciate that which they do. And further, if men should praise and esteem them, they can in no wise believe what they say; it seems to them strange that anyone should say these good things of them.

"Together with great tranquillity and humbleness, these souls have a deep desire to be taught by anyone who can bring them profit; they are the complete opposite of those of whom we have spoken above, who would fain be always teaching, and who, when others seem to be teaching them, take the words from their mouths as if they knew them already. These souls, on the other hand, being far from desiring to be the masters of any, are very ready to travel and set out on another road than that which they are actually following, if they be so commanded, because they never think that they are right in anything whatsoever.

"They rejoice when others are praised; they grieve only because they serve not God like them. They have no desire to speak of the things that they do, because they think so little of them that they are ashamed to speak of them even to their spiritual masters, since they seem to them to be things that merit not being spoken of. They are more anxious to speak of their faults and sins, or that these should be recognized rather than their virtues; and thus they incline to talk of their souls with those who account their actions and their spirituality of little value.

"This is a characteristic of the spirit which is simple, pure, genuine and very pleasing to God. For as the wise Spirit of God dwells in these humble souls, He moves them and inclines them to keep His treasures secretly within and likewise to cast out from themselves all evil. God gives this grace to the humble, together with the other virtues, even as He denies it to the proud.

"These souls will give their heart's blood to anyone that serves God, and will help others to serve Him as much as in them lies. The imperfections into which they see themselves fall they bear with humility, meekness of spirit and a loving fear of God, hoping in Him. But souls who in the beginning journey with this kind of perfection are, as I understand, and as has been said, a minority, and very few are those who we can be glad do not fall into the opposite errors.(Dark Night of the Soul, Ch. 2, p.6,7)

St. John comments on the humility produced by the Dark Night of Sense:

"Wherefore, from the effects of the dark night, the soul knows the truth that it knew not at first, concerning its own misery; for, at the time when it was clad as for a festival and found in God much pleasure, consolation and support, it was somewhat more satisfied and contented, since it thought itself to some extent to be serving God. It is true that such souls may not have this idea explicitly in their minds; but some suggestion of it at least is implanted in them by the satisfaction which they find in their pleasant experiences.

"But, now that the soul has put on its other and working attire--that of aridity and abandonment--and now that its first lights have turned into darkness, it possesses these lights more truly in this virtue of self-knowledge, which is so excellent and so necessary, considering itself now as nothing and experiencing no satisfaction in itself; for it sees that it does nothing of itself neither can do anything. And the smallness of this self-satisfaction, together with the soul's affliction at not serving God, is considered and esteemed by God as greater than all the consolations which the soul formerly experienced and the works which it wrought, however great they were, inasmuch as they were the occasion of many imperfections and ignorances.

"From this new understanding and humility, the soul learns to commune with God with more respect and more courtesy, such as a soul must ever observe in converse with the Most High. These it knew not in its prosperous times of comfort and consolation, for that comforting favour which it experienced made its craving for God somewhat bolder than was fitting, and discourteous and ill-considered. Even so did it happen to Moses, when he perceived that God was speaking to him; blinded by that pleasure and desire, without further consideration, he would have made bold to go to Him if God had not commanded him to stay and put off his shoes. By this incident we are shown the respect and discretion in detachment of desire wherewith a man is to commune with God.

"When Moses had obeyed in this matter, he became so discreet and so attentive that the Scripture says that not only did he not make bold to draw near to God, but that he dared not even look at Him. For, having taken off the shoes of his desires and pleasures, he became very conscious of his wretchedness in the sight of God, as befitted one about to hear the word of God. Even so likewise the preparation which God granted to Job in order that he might speak with Him consisted not in those delights and glories which Job himself reports that he was wont to have in his God, but in leaving him naked upon a dung-hill, abandoned and even persecuted by his friends, filled with anguish and bitterness, and the earth covered with worms. And then the Most High God, He that lifts up the poor man from the dunghill, was pleased to come down and speak with him there face to face, revealing to him the depths and heights of His wisdom, in a way that He had never done in the time of his prosperity.

"Likewise, humility is the contrary virtue to the first capital sin, which, is spiritual pride. Through this humility, which is acquired by the said knowledge of self, the soul is purged from all those imperfections whereinto it fell with respect to that sin of pride, in the time of its prosperity. For it sees itself so dry and miserable that the idea never even occurs to it that it is making better progress than others, or outstripping them, as it believed itself to be doing before. On the contrary, it recognizes that others are making better progress than itself.

"And hence arises the love of its neighbours, for it esteems them, and judges them not as it was wont to do aforetime, when it saw that itself had great fervour and others not so. It is aware only of its own wretchedness, which it keeps before its eyes to such an extent that it never forgets it, nor takes occasion to set its eyes on anyone else. This was described wonderfully by David, when he was in this night, in these words: 'I was dumb and was humbled and kept silence from good things and my sorrow was renewed. This he says because it seemed to him that the good that was in his soul had so completely departed that not only did he neither speak nor find any language concerning it, but with respect to the good of others he was likewise dumb because of his grief at the knowledge of his misery.

"Softened and humbled by these aridities and hardships and other temptations and trials wherein God exercises it during this night, it becomes meek with respect to God, and to itself, and likewise with respect to its neighbour. So that it is no longer disturbed and angry with itself because of its own faults, nor with its neighbour because of his, neither is it displeased with God, nor does it utter unseemly complaints because He does not quickly make it holy.

"Then, as to envy, the soul has charity toward others in this respect also; for, if it has any envy, this is no longer a vice as it was before, when it was grieved because others were preferred to it and given greater advantage. Its grief now comes from seeing how great is its own misery, and its envy (if it has any) is a virtuous envy, since it desires to imitate others, which is great virtue "In this condition, again, souls become submissive and obedient upon the spiritual road, for, when they see their own misery, not only do they hear what is taught them, but they even desire that anyone soever may set them on the way and tell them what they ought to do. The affective presumption which they sometimes had in their prosperity is taken from them; and finally, there are swept away from them on this road all the other imperfections which we noted above with respect to this first sin, which is spiritual pride.(Dark Night of the Soul, Ch. 12)

And while living in the world, it is virtually impossible to put on the spirit of "humility," unless we simultaneously put on the spirit of "courage." For at the level of Divinity, all virtues are a unity, forming the Qualities of the One Spirit, which will become our spirit, as adopted Sons of God. So with humility in place as the truth of our consciousness, we are able to go forth confidently, full of courage, without fear of the scorn of men or of the obstacles we may find before us in our daily tasks.

For with our confidence placed in God, our humility eventually manifests itself to the world in courage and "bold works." With such humility and dependence on God, we can move mountains in our love for Him and for each other. For in the world, Christ told us, we shall find hatred and tribulation. Then he added, "But fear not, for I have overcome the world!" And he also told us we must not let human respect and fear of others keep us from "letting our light shine before men." For as Isaiah reminds us, "those who trust in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not grow faint, they shall mount up with wings, as eagles." O how beautiful are your gifts, O Lord, to those who find their strength in You!

Father Garrigou Lagrange, O.P., provides us with important concluding considerations regarding the viture of "Humility":

"...in our Lord and in Mary there never was a first movement of pride to repress, and nevertheless there was in themm and there still is, the eminent exercise of the virtue of humility...The act proper to humility consists in bowing toward the earth...To speak without metaphor, its essential act consists in abasing ourselves before God and before what is of God in every creature. To abase ourselves before the Most High is to recognize...our inferiority, littleness, and indigence, manifest in us even though we are innocent, and once we have sinned, it consists in recognizing our wretchedness...(Humility)sings His glory as when the archangel Michael said: "Who is like to God?" (Fr. R. Garrigou-Lagrange, "Three Ages of the Interior Life, p.ll8)

"The interior soul experiences a holy joy in annihilating itself, as it were, before God to recognize practically that He alone is great and that, in comparison with His, all human greatness is empty of truth like a lie....At its root are two dogmans. Prmarily it is based on the mystery of creation ex nihilo,...We have been created from nothing; this is the basis of humility according to the light of right reason. (Secondarily)humility is based on the mystery of grace and on the necessity of actual grace for the slightest salutary act...it is expressed in the words of the Savior: "Without Me you can do nothing" in the order of salvation. (Ibid)

"Humility, far from being opposed to grandeur of soul is united to it. A Christian should tend toward great things worthy of great honor, but he should tend toward them humbly, and if necessary, by way of great humiliations. (The perfection of sanctity is such grandeur of soul to be sought by every Christian)(Ibid)

"In fact, every man, considering that of himself he is nothing, that what he has of himself is only his indigence, defectibility, and deficiencies, ought to recognize that all he has of himself as coming from himself, is inferior to what every other man has from God in the order of nature and that of grace... Wherefore every man in respect of that which is his own, ought to subject himself to every neighbor, in respect of that which the latter has of God's. (Ibid, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange)