During the month of November, we remember those who have gone before us in a very special way. We are truly in communion with them, both the saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory. On Nov. 5, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, in his homily at the Mass for all the bishops who died during the past year, Pope Leo emphasized the true communion that exists between us and our departed. He said, “Let us not, therefore, allow the remembrance of the dead to become mere nostalgia.” He emphasized that, “When we pray for the dead, we do so not only for them, but also with them, drawn to a reciprocity that the Holy Spirit brings to us in our hearts.” Hence, we are in union with them, as we continue our journey during life, and we reflect upon their holiness which they lived in this world.
At the beginning of November, the first saint that we celebrated was St. Charles Borromeo, a great man of the Church who lived an extraordinary life of activity in the center of prayer, his union with God. He was well known to have repeated that “The best homily is not what we say, but how we live,” and that “Souls are won on one’s knees.” His motto was Humilitas, Humility. Humility is the common denominator of all the saints, who we are joined in humility. Humility is the essence of God’s life.
As we reflect upon our communion with the saints during this month, it is good to reflect upon the virtue of humility. Humility is something that is often misunderstood, and an unhealthy understanding of it is not beneficial to the spiritual life. However, the proper understanding of humility not only deepens our relationship with God, it is the very foundation of it. In reality, humility is part of the life of God Himself, and that is why it is always reflected in the lives of the saints.
The English word “humility” is derived from the Latin word humilitas, which means lowly and near to the ground, humus. Its basic meaning is that we have not given existence to ourselves but reminds us that God has given us existence from the earth He created. As the account of creation in the Book of Genesis tells us, “The Lord God formed man from the clay of the ground, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). To be humble means to recognize that our existence revolves around our relationship with God, who created us precisely for that relationship. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that humility is the virtue by which a Christian acknowledges that God is the author of all good and that this virtue is the very foundation of prayer.
It is especially significant to realize that God, the author of all creation, revealed Himself as humble in the Person of Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that the saints strive for humility, which is the fabric of their lives. The richness of the great hymn from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is one that never can be exhausted through our meditating upon it. It is the cornerstone of the virtue of humility, which tells us that we must have the same attitude of Jesus Christ, “Who, though He was in the form of God, did not recognize equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming, in likeness; and found human in appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).
In His ministry, Jesus constantly shows himself to be the model of humility and reminds us to imitate His humility if we truly are to be exalted. Continually in the Gospels, Jesus calls us to humility and invites us to “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). He gives us the sterling example of humility when He washes His apostles’ feet at the Last Supper, and tells us, “I have given you an example that you should also do as I have done to you” (Jn 13:15).
Among the saints, Mary presents us an example of humility parallel to her Son’s. Always in the background, she rejoices in the relationship she has with God, which is what brings her joy and exults her above all others. Her Magnificat, her prayer of thanksgiving, expresses this so well: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s loneliness; behold from now on all ages will call me blessed” (Lk 1:46-48). Mary realizes that she deserves none of the graces received from God, but she accepts them gratefully from God, who bestowed them upon her. Her humility deepens her relationship with God.
Pope’s Leo recent encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas, stresses the importance of the meaning of humility. In it, he emphasizes how being made in the image and likeness of God bestows upon us the greatest dignity, which cannot be taken away from us by any machine or artificial means trying to represent the human person. We accept ourselves as God made us, and we realize that, if we are who He has called us to be, we know and appreciate our true identity. That is what humility is all about. Recognizing that identity, we are not in competition with others to outdo them, nor to be concerned that they may outdo us. The gift of humanity can never be replaced and the gift of our personhood is unique as given to us by God.
Recently, a new reflection on the virtue of humility has been published in Spanish. Father Alvaro Serrano Bayan has prepared a book on the virtue of humility, as lived by the great Churchman and secretary of state, Cardinal Merry del Val. The book is entitled Growing in Humility: Seven Steps with Cardinal Merry del Val. Father Serrano spent seven years researching the book and learning about the cardinal and his work in the Vatican. He explains that “Humility is walking in the truth, being good, telling it like it is without making ourselves out to be more or less than who we really are.” The purpose of his reflection is to help a person to understand that his or her worth doesn’t depend on their job, their social standing or their productivity, but rather on the dignity of being loved as a child of God as He created each person.
In reflecting on humility, it is important to understand that one of the outstanding qualities of the saints is their ability to enable others to be themselves in their presence. The saints have no pretension about themselves, and therefore others are able to be at home with them. That is why Jesus can invite others to come to Him because He is meek and humble of heart. This is why Elizabeth was able to be so joyful in Mary’s presence that even the baby, John the Baptist, leapt in her womb for joy. The quality of welcoming acceptance flows from the saints’ humility and their realization of their complete dependence upon God, who created them in a particular way and that everyone shares that same state.
As we continue during this month of November to be in communion with those who have gone before us, and as we prepare for Thanksgiving, let us also realize that humility is at the basis for giving thanks. We give thanks to God for all that he has given to us, and we rely upon Him and those gifts to enrich our lives. To be grateful is to accept who we are and not to wish that we were someone else. To be grateful is to give thanks for what we have and not complain about what we do not have. To be grateful is to recognize the unique goodness of every person and not to feel it detracts from our goodness. Such is the virtue of humility as possessed by the saints of God and by Himself.
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito
