![]() ![]() ![]() There must be no dissimulation, no attempt at self-deception, but a facing up to one’s real self without flinching and turning aside. Bernard of Clairvaux writes, “There is nothing more effective, more adapted to the acquiring of humility, than to find out the truth about oneself. Given the nature of the virtue, it should strike us that humility requires an awful lot of honest self-awareness. This realization serves as a pivotal movement towards faith because it removes the obstacle of pride that refuses to subject itself to God. For we realize that we cannot help ourselves, neither in this life nor in our pursuit of Heavenly bliss, and so submit to His grace instead (the humble one also submits, for the sake of God, to the other authority figures that He has placed over one-Pope, local bishop, parish priest, spiritual director, confessor, parent, boss, coach, etc.). Yet we can go one of two ways with this: become prideful and pretend that this impoverishment isn’t really the case, claiming that we’re perfectly fine-or become humble, wherein we can accept this impoverishment and subsequently give ourselves over to God. ![]() How does this work? Well, upon considering our defects, weaknesses, and countless errors, we ought to acquire a sense of something lacking in us: I’m not perfect! Simply put, humility is the disposition to accept our impoverished dependence upon God. As applied to persons and things it means that which is abject, ignoble, or of poor condition…Humility in a higher and ethical sense is that by which a man has a modest estimate of his own worth, and submits himself to others.” Virtue of dependenceĮssentially, humility is the virtue that restrains the movement of the mind towards some excellence, particularly restraining the mind from thinking one is greater than one truly is before God. In giving the technical definition of the virtue of humility, the Catholic Encyclopedia writes, “Humility signifies lowliness or submissiveness and it is derived from the Latin humilitas or, as St. Image: John William Waterhouse, The Missal, 1902 ![]()
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