“Every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” —Luke xviii, 14.

SYNOPSIS.—The necessity of humbling ourselves. The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. Humility most pleasing to God.

I. Humility a virtue most necessary.
II. Our reasons for practising this virtue.

I. Humility as necessary for our salvation as the sacraments of Baptism and Penance. Pride produces every sin, humilty every virtue. Nothing so pleasing to God as this virtue. Children loved by our Saviour because they are humble. The Blessed Virgin owes her great exaltation to this virtue. Christ mentions humility first in the Beatitudes. Humbleness also pleasing to men. Humility the foundation of all other virtues. In what humility consists. Exterior and interior humility. Exterior humility: (1) Avoiding to praise ourselves, (2) hiding our good deeds, (3) feeling no pleasure when praised by others, (4) avoiding disputes, (5) not feeling sad when despised by others, (6) not excusing our faults. Interior humility: (1) thinking little of ourselves, (2) not minding if others know our faults, (3) satisfied if others surpass us in good qualities or wealth.

II. We should be induced to practise humility (1) by the consideration of God’s glory, (2) by the example of Jesus Christ, (3) by our own wretchedness.

Could our Redeemer, my dear brethren, have pointed out to us more clearly or distinctly than in these words the necessity of humbling ourselves, of holding ourselves in disesteem in our thoughts as well as in our words and actions, so that we might be exalted to sing the praises of God for a11 eternity? When Jesus once was in the company of Pharisees, and beheld that many of them boasted of their good deeds, and how they despised others, He gave them this parable: “Two men,” He said to them, “went up into the Temple to pray. The one was a Pharisee, the other a Publican. The Pharisee stood proudly erect, and prayed by himself thus: O God, I thank thee that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I fast twice in the week, and give a tithe of all I possess.” This is his prayer, St. Augustine tells us. You can very well perceive that this prayer is only an affectation of vanity and pride. He does not come to ask God to grant him grace, but to extol himself, and to treat with contempt those who really do pray. The Publican, on the other hand, stood afar off from the altar, and did not even venture to raise his eyes up to heaven. He struck his breast, and said: “My God, have mercy upon me a sinner.” “I say to you,” Jesus Christ added, “that this one went home justified, rather than the other.” The Publican’s sins are forgiven him, but the Pharisee, with all his good deeds, returns to his home more culpable than when he left it. If you wish to know the reason, it is this: The humility of the Publican, although a sinner, was more pleasing to God than all the superficial good works of the proud Pharisee. And Jesus Christ in this example, demonstrates that every one who exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he who humbleth himself shall be exalted. Yes, dear brethren, the only way which leads to exaltation in the next life is humility. Without humility, that lovely and rare virtue, you will be as unlikely to reach heaven as without Baptism. Let us, therefore, to-day, dear brethren, understand the duty of humbling ourselves, and the motives which should encourage us to do so. I will show you:

I. That humility is a virtue which is absolutely necessary for us if we wish to please God by our actions, and to be rewarded in the next life.
II. That we have every reason to practise it, toward God, as well as toward ourselves.

 

I.Before making you comprehend how greatly we stand in need of this beautiful virtue, which is as necessary as Baptism, as necessary as the Sacrament of Penance after mortal sin, I must tell you in what consists this amiable virtue, which gives to all our actions such great merit, and adorns all our good works so abundantly. St. Bernard, the great Saint who practised it in such an extraordinary manner, forsook fortune, friends, parents, and relations to pass his life in the desert with wild beasts, and there to lament his sins, tells us that humility is a virtue by which we learn to know ourselves; and it is just this which impels us to think little of ourselves, and above all things not to take pleasure when we are praised. I say (1) this virtue is absolutely necessary for us if we wish to see our actions rewarded in heaven, for Jesus Christ Himself has told us that we can as little expect to gain heaven without humility, as without Baptism. St. Augustine tells us: “If you ask me which is the first virtue for a Christian, I tell you that it is humility. If you ask me which is the second, I say to you it is humility. If you again ask me which is the third, I still say that it is humility, and as often as you ask me this question I shall always give you the same answer.”

If pride produces every sin, we can just as well say that humility produces every virtue. With humility you have everything which you ought to have to please God and to save your soul, and without humility all the other virtues will be of no avail. We read in the Gospel that some mothers presented their children to Jesus Christ that He might bless them. The Apostles wanted to turn them away, but our Lord would not permit this, and He said to them: “Suffer the little children to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” He embraced them, and gave them His blessing. Why did the divine Redeemer receive them so lovingly? For the reason that children are simple, humble, and without guile. If, therefore, my dear brethren, we desire to be received kindly by Jesus Christ, we too, must be simple, and humble in everything that we do. “This,” St. Bernard tells us, “was the beautiful virtue on account of which the eternal Father regarded the Blessed Virgin with delight, and if this virtue,” he says, “drew down upon her God’s regard, it was also by her humility that she conceived the Son of God. If the Blessed Virgin is the Queen of angels, she is also the Queen of the humble.” St. Teresa once asked our Lord why the Holy Ghost imparted and revealed Himself in the Old Testament, to the Patriarchs and Prophets, but does so no longer? Our Lord answered her that this happened because they were more simple and humble; but now men have a false heart, and are full of pride and vanity. God does not impart anything to them. He does not love them as He did the good Patriarchs and Prophets who were simple and humble. St. Augustine tells us: “If you were profoundly humble, and acknowledged that you were nothing, deserved nothing, then God would grant you abundant graces. But when you exalt yourselves, and think so much of yourselves, then He will withdraw Himself from you, and abandon you to your misery.”

In order to show that humility is the most beautiful, as well as the most precious of all virtues, our Lord begins His beatitudes with humility, by saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them belongs the kingdom of heaven.” St. Augustine tells us that the poor in spirit are those who have humility for their portion. The prophet Isaias said to God: “Lord, upon whom does Thy holy spirit descend? Is it perhaps upon those who bear a great name in this world, and upon the proud?” “No,” said the Lord, “but upon those that are humble of heart.”

This virtue renders us not only pleasing to God, but also to man. Everybody likes an humble person; they are glad to be in his or her company. Otherwise, what is the reason that children are so generally loved unless it is because they are simple and humble? A person who is humble yields in all things, never contradicts any one, or grieves them; is always contented, and strives to hide from the eyes of the world. Just as much as proud persons are disliked, are humble persons liked, because they make no pretensions; every one respects and loves them. This is the reason why the society of those who possess this beautiful quality is so much desired.

(2) I say humility is the foundation of all other virtues. Whoever earnestly desires to serve God well, and to save his soul, should begin to practise this virtue in its entirety. Without this our piety will resemble straws, which we have planted, and which the first storm of wind will blow down. Yes, dear brethren, the evil spirit is not much afraid of piety which has not humility for its foundation, because he well knows that he can destroy it if he wants to.

It is related in the life of St. Anthony that God showed to him the world full of snares, which the evil one had set to entrap men into sin. He was much surprised and frightened, and he said to God: “O Lord, who is able to avoid so many snares?” Then he heard a voice which said to him: “Anthony, those who are humble; because God grants His grace to the humble, so that they may resist temptation, while He permits the evil one to deride the proud, who, as the opportunity presents itself, fall into sin. Persons, on the contrary, who are humble, he does not dare to assail.”

When we are tempted, dear brethren, let us remain protected under the cover of humility; then we shall find that the evil spirit has very little power over us.

In what does humility consist? Listen, I will tell you in the first place that there are two kinds of humility: exterior and interior humility. The exterior humility consists (1) in that we do not praise ourselves, that we do not talk of our ability and cleverness. (2) That we hide the good which we may have done. For instance : alms-giving, prayers, our works of penance, the services which we have rendered to our neighbor, the interior graces which God has granted us. (3) That we take no pleasure in being praised; that we divert the conversation from the success we have had, by ascribing it to God, or by showing that it is distasteful to us. (4) That we never dispute with others. We should yield to them in everything that is not contrary to our conscience. We ought not to think that we are always right. If we think we are right, we ought also to think that we are easily mistaken, and we must never want to have the last word, which is a proof of a very proud spirit. (5) We should never be sad when people appear to despise us, nor complain of this to others. That would be a proof that we have no humility, for if we had we should think they could never treat us as bad as we deserve on account of our sins. We should, on the contrary, thank God, as King David did, who returned good for evil, because he thought how little he himself had appreciated God by his sins. (6) We should never excuse our faults, when we have done anything to draw down censure upon ourselves. Even when we are wrongfully accused, unless the honor of God is at stake, we should rather suffer in silence.

You see here, dear brethren, in what exterior humility consists. Now, in what does the interior consist? It consists (1) therein, that we have a poor opinion of ourselves; that we never approve of ourselves at heart when we have done anything well, but that we look upon ourselves as unworthy and incapable of bringing a good deed to a successful termination without the help of God. (2) That we do not mind other people knowing our faults, that thereby we may have occasion to improve our lives. (3) That we should be quite contented that others should surpass us in wealth, in intelligence, in virtue, and in other things. That we should subject ourselves to the will and opinion of others, when this is not in opposition to our conscience.

This, my dear brethren, is called possessing Christian humility, which renders us so pleasing to God, and so amiable to man. Look well now whether you have it or not. And if you have it not, then spare no pains, if you would be saved, to implore it of God, until you obtain it, because without it we can not enter heaven.

 

II.And why should we practise humility? Dear brethren, a Christian who knows himself thoroughly should feel urged to humble himself for more than one reason. I will name three: the consideration of God’s glory, the example of Jesus Christ, and our own wretchedness. ( 1 ) Who can contemplate the immensity of a God, without humbling himself into the dust at the thought that God created heaven and earth out of nothing, and that with one word He could turn heaven and earth into nothing again? A God who is so great, and whose power is boundless; a God filled with every perfection; a God with His never-ending eternity, His great justice, His providence, who rules everything so wisely, and looks after everything with such care, and we a mere nothing!

(2) I say: The example of Jesus Christ should make us humble. “When I,” says St. Augustine, “contemplate a God who from His Incarnation unto the cross, led only a life filled with abasement and ignominy, ought I to be afraid of humbling myself? A God seeks abasement. I, a worm, should exalt myself ? My God, destroy this pride, which separates us so much from Thee!”

(3) The third motive, dear brethren, which ought to humble us, is our own wretchedness. We need only consider it more closely, and we shall find innumerable reasons to humble ourselves. “Ah,” the holy job tells us, “what are we? Dust before our birth, miser able when we come into the world, waste when we leave it. We are born of woman,” he tells us; “we live only a short time. During our life we weep a great deal, though it is but short, and how soon are we snatched away by death!” Judge, then, if we have the slightest occasion to exalt ourselves! Whoever, therefore, has the presumption to think that he is of some account is a fool who has never known himself, because when we know ourselves we can only despise ourselves.”

We have no less reason to humble ourselves as regards grace. The few gifts and talents which we have, all come from the generous hand of the Lord, who bestows them when He likes, and we can not, therefore, boast of them.

Finally, I say: We ought to humble ourselves at the sight of the glory and blessedness which await us in the next life; for of ourselves we do not deserve anything. O how loving is God who gives us the hope of such benefits, we who have nothing, and deserve nothing!

What, then, should we conclude from this, dear brethren? We should daily ask God with our whole hearts for humility, for the grace to know that we are nothing of ourselves, and that our corporal as well as our spiritual welfare proceeds from Him alone. Let us, therefore, practise humility as much as we are able. There is no virtue more pleasing to God than that of humility, and in possessing it we shall possess all the other virtues. Even if we are great sinners, we still have the certainty that if we are humble, God will forgive us. Yes, dear brethren, let us hold fast to this beautiful virtue. It is that which will unite us to God, which will let us live at peace with our neighbors, which will make our crosses less heavy, which will give us the blessed hope of one day seeing God. He, Himself, tells us this: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall see God!” This it is that I wish you all. Amen.