Humility toward Ourselves: Humility of Mind
In the practice of humility with regard to ourselves, we must take account of the talents we have received from God and thank him for them. Taking account of our defects, our nothingness, sinfulness, and helplessness results in humility.
As Blessed J. Escrivá always taught, humility of mind does not mean remaining in a state of mediocrity in our profession, ordinary work, or spiritual life. We must go as far as we can, with an upright intention, and without seeking ourselves. We do not live for this world or for our own honor, but for God’s honor, for God’s glory, for God’s service; this should be our motivation!
Distrust of Self
Humility of mind implies a certain detachment from oneself, a distrust of self; in this way, we will not overrate our capabilities. To reach this detachment, we must fight against pride, the desire of imposing upon other people, pettiness of character, and stubbornness.
* I tremble out of Love. Looking at my life, I see quite honestly that I myself am nothing, am worth nothing, and have nothing, that I can do nothing and, even more, that I am nothingness itself! But he is everything and, at the same time, he belongs to me and I to him because he does not reject me and has given himself up for me. Have you ever seen a greater love than this?
I tremble also out of sorrow, because when I look back at what I have done, I am amazed at the extent of my failings. All I have done is to examine my behavior in the few hours since I woke up this morning to discover so much lack of love, so little faithful correspondence. This truly saddens me, but it does not take away my peace of mind. I prostrate myself before God and I state my situation clearly. (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 215)
* In speaking, no one should trust in himself; in hardships, no one should rely on his strength. When we speak with rectitude and prudence, our wisdom comes from God; when we endure suffering with fortitude, our patience is also his gift. (St Augustine, Sermon 276)
* You wrote what I am now copying out: “Domine, tu scis quia amo te! –Lord, you know that I love you! How very often, Jesus, I repeat again and again those words your dear Cephas uttered, as a bitter sweet litany. For I know that I love you, and yet I am so very unsure of myself that I cannot bring myself to say it to you clearly. There are so many denials in my wicked life. Tu scis, Domine! –You know that I love you. May my actions, Jesus, never go against these yearnings of my heart.”
Keep up this prayer of yours, and he will certainly hear you. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 176)
* In a letter addressed to his spiritual director on matters of conscience, Blessed J. Escrivá, the Founder of Opus Dei, wrote: “... As days go by, I see more clearly that this is what our Lord wants for me: to remain hidden and to disappear.” Thus, he set his own motto: “My part is to remain hidden and to disappear;” and, “My part is to remain hidden and to disappear, and to let Jesus alone shine.”
Humility pervaded his soul, as if soaking his entire being. Thus, he contemplated the donkey as the embodiment of virtues that one must carry to the level of Christian life.
The donkey, a patient and obedient animal, reminded him of hard work, faithful obedience to the suggestions of divine grace, and silent and hidden mortification. Even more, before God, Msgr. Escrivá saw himself as a hawker’s crippled donkey, covered with scabs and saddle galls. In his humility, he signed his personal notes or letters to his confessor adding to his name the letters “s.d.” (“scabby donkey”). He did not trust himself. (A. Vázquez Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
* Ask the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and your Mother to make you know yourself and weep for all those foul things that have passed through you, and which, alas, have left such dregs behind... And at the same time, without wishing to stop considering all that, say to him: “Jesus, give me a Love, like a purifying fire, in which my miserable flesh, my miserable heart, my miserable soul, my miserable body may be consumed and cleansed of all earthly wretchedness. And when I have been emptied of my ego, fill me with yourself. May I never become attached to anything here below. May Love always sustain me.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 41)
* One day, it is said, St Thomas Aquinas was reprimanded for a supposed grammatical error. He corrected it as indicated. Later, his companions asked him why he had introduced the correction since he himself knew that the original text was faultless. “Before God,” the saint replied, “better a fault of grammar than a fault of obedience and of humility.” (F. Fernandez, In Conversation with God, 4,51)
* How difficult it is to live humility! As the popular wisdom of Christianity says, “Pride dies twenty‑four hours after its owner.”
So when you think you’re right, but you are told you’re wrong by someone who has been given God’s grace to guide your soul, convince yourself that you are completely wrong. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 599)
* Is there anything more displeasing than a child acting the grown‑up? How can a poor man –a child– be pleasing to God if he “acts grown‑up,” puffed up by pride, sure that he’s worth something and trusting only in himself? (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 597)
* Here is a good way of doing an examination of conscience:
- Have I accepted in a spirit of atonement the difficulties that have come to me this day from the hand of God, or those that came from the behavior of my colleagues, or from my own wretchedness?
- Have I managed to offer our Lord in expiation the very sorrow I feel for having offended him so many times? Have I offered him the shame of all my inner embarrassment and humiliation at seeing how little progress I make along the path of virtue? (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 153)
Humility in Spiritual Direction
The humble prepare themselves to receive the grace of God; they use the ordinary means of sanctification. For them the grace of God is effective. The sure way of making personal problems fade away, of recovering interior peace, and of finding lights in our interior life is to be humble and sincere in spiritual direction; we must docilely follow the advice we are given.
* Go to spiritual direction with greater humility each time. And go punctually, for that is also humility.
See yourself –and you will not be mistaken, because God speaks to you there– as a very sincere little child who is being taught to speak, to read, to know the names of flowers and birds, to experience joys and sorrows, to notice the ground he is treading on. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 270)
* Do all you can to discuss your interior life with someone who can give you light; hide no secrets from him. (St Teresa, The Way of Perfection, 39, 5)
* We may experience times when the Lord seems hidden from our view. He probably wants us to look for him with greater love, with greater humility, with greater abandonment to the counsels of our spiritual director. If we make the effort required we will always come to discover the most lovable face of Christ. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 4, 31)
* If the outlook in your interior life and in your soul is darkened, allow yourself to be led along by the hand, as a blind man does.
In time, the Lord will reward this humble surrendering of your own judgment by giving you clarity of mind. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 241)
* How shall we be able to overcome our meanness? Let me make the point again because it is so important: by being humble and by being sincere in spiritual direction and in the sacrament of penance. Go to those who direct your souls, with your hearts open wide. Do not close your hearts, for if the dumb devil gets in, it is very difficult to get rid of him.
Forgive me for insisting on these points, but I believe it is absolutely necessary for you to have deeply impressed on your minds the fact that humility, together with its immediate consequence, sincerity, is the thread that links the other means together. These two virtues act as a foundation on which a solid victory can be built. If the dumb devil gets inside a soul, he ruins everything. On the other hand, if he is cast out immediately, everything turns out well; we are happy and life goes forward properly. Let us always be brutally sincere, but in a good mannered way.
I want one thing to be clear: I am not as worried about the heart or the flesh as I am about pride. Be humble. If ever you think you are completely and utterly right, you are not right at all. Go to spiritual direction with your soul wide open. Don’t close it, I repeat, the dumb devil will get in, and it is difficult to get him out again. (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 188)
* Humility is the virtue that helps us to know at the same time our weakness and our greatness. There is no spiritual book, no saint, that has not stressed the extreme importance of humility, since it is the magnet which irresistibly attracts God. It is imperative, then, to acquire humility. But how?
Perhaps the simplest way to learn to be humble is the same way as one learns to walk. Children learn to walk simply... by walking. Since humility is truth, we will be humble according as we are truthful; and the surest way–perhaps the shortest and fastest way–is to be sincere.
Sincerity is a subject discussed rather infrequently, but nevertheless we must say something of it here. To be sincere means always to tell the truth; not only the truth, but the whole truth. This is very difficult at times, and often needs bravery and courage bordering on heroism. This in no exaggeration.
Sincerity often makes us reveal many little things about ourselves that often make us more ashamed than bigger, but less intimate, matters. We must be sincere, above all, with God; but also with ourselves, in the depths of our own conscience. There is a very human tendency in all of us, too exclusively human to be completely good–to make a good impression and not a bad impression. That is why we are so clever at inventing excuses, justifications, explanations, mitigations. “You never want `to get to the bottom of things.’ At times, because of politeness. But always because of fear!”#1
Most of the time we lie because of the fear of being caught in something not quite perfect, to hide the things that make us ashamed or embarrassed or might provoke criticism from others. Since lying is a direct attack on humility, because it causes a deep falsification of truth deep within us, only a ruthless sincerity, without fear of anyone or anything, can lead us directly to true humility.
It does not matter that we cannot always keep up appearances; after all, we are what we are and it is foolish to try to fool anyone. What is important is that God should be satisfied with us and that we remain on good terms with him.
There is an intimate connection between the concept of humility and justice. No one has the right to keep what is not his; and if with an excuse, with a cunning explanation, we hide what should be revealed, we may appear good in the eyes of men, but have still kept something that is not ours, that we do not deserve; we have been unjust. “Look at the clear jewel of truthfulness. Could it be true that it has fallen into disuse? Has the practice of compromise, of covering up and putting on triumphed definitely? People fear the truth. For this reason they have recourse to a petty way out: They say that no one lives or tells the truth, that everyone resorts to simulation and lies.”#2
It is not men, but God, who will judge us. How easy it is, however, for subtle temptations to spring from the depths of our nature, to smooth over what is rough. We have a strange tendency not to admit with any clarity the things that displease us.
The man who is not sincere is like a sick man who is developing cancer and says nothing about it, trying to convince himself that there is nothing wrong with him. At times it is a mere insignificant detail which tinges our acts; nothing to worry about, we think. It may be, but the sooner we accept and recognize it, the better. The harder a thing is to say, the more determined we should be to reveal it–to the right person, of course: God, ourselves, our confessor or spiritual director.
Then we will really begin to know ourselves, and to see the unfathomable capacity we have for evil. Then, when we turn our sins over and over in our minds, like dirty clothes pulled out of the bottom of our souls to be thrown away, we realize how few motives we have for being vain; what would happen if the rest of the world knew what we and God know about ourselves!
Of all the human virtues, sincerity is clearly the most important, and the one which requires most attention. It is so important because, from its very essence, it leads directly to the supernatural virtue of humility, and humility is the necessary and indispensable foundation for all interior growth, since this growth is the work of grace. (F. Suárez, Mary of Nazareth, 2)
Forgetting Oneself
In using our talents, we must not show off our abilities, seeking to be praised, and hunting for human compensations; we must try to pass unnoticed and disappear, to be useful and serve.
Service must in no way be considered burdensome; it must be joyful. At times, we may be tempted to think that we are not progressing in the spiritual life; a humble person rejects these appraisals and abandons himself in God.
* Don’t miss a chance to “give in.” It’s hard –but how pleasing in the eyes of God! (J. Escrivá, The Way, 177)
* Give thanks, as for a very special favor, for that holy abhorrence that you feel toward yourself. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 207)
* After losing those human consolations, you are left with a feeling of loneliness, as if you were hanging by a thin thread over the emptiness of a black abyss. And your cries, your shouts for help, seem to go unheard by anybody.
The truth is you deserve to be so forlorn. Be humble; don’t seek yourself; don’t seek your own satisfaction. Love the cross –to bear it is little– and our Lord will hear your prayer. And in time, calm will be restored to your senses. And your heart will heal, and you will have peace. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 726)
* Now that you’ve got a lot to do, your “problems” have disappeared. Be honest; since you have made up your mind to work for Him, you no longer have time to think about your own selfish interests. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 515)
* Each day renew the effective desire to humble yourself, to deny yourself, to forget yourself, to walk in novitate sensus, with a new life, exchanging this misery of ours for all the hidden and eternal grandeur of God. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 97)
* Lord, rescue me from myself! (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 120)
* Make sure you practice the mortification of not making your conversation revolve around yourself. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 152)
* “To myself, with the admiration I deserve,” he wrote on the first page of a book. Many other miserable souls might easily write the same thing on the last page of their life.
What a pity if you and I were to live or end up like this–let us make a serious examination of conscience. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 719)
* Don’t be anxious for people to sympathize with you. That is often a sign of pride or vanity. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 478)
* Make a resolution: unless I really have to, never to speak of my personal concerns. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 601)
* You are not happy because you make everything revolve around yourself as if you were always the center; you have a stomachache, or you are tired, or you have been told this or that.
Have you ever tried thinking about Him, and through Him, about others? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 74)
* You said: “The self has to be decapitated...” But it’s hard, isn’t it? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 279)
* Sadness and uneasiness grow in proportion to the time you waste. When you feel a holy impatience to use every minute, you will be filled with joy and peace, because you will not be thinking of yourself. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 510)
* Worries?... I have no worries, for I have enough concerns to keep me busy. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 511)
* Most people with personal problems “have them” because they selfishly think of themselves. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 310)
* How anxious people are to get out of place! Imagine what would happen if each bone and each muscle of the human body wanted to occupy some position other than its own.
There is no other reason for the world’s unhappiness. Continue where you are, my son; right where you are... How much you’ll be able to work for the true kingdom of our Lord! (J. Escrivá, The Way, 832)
[At the presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple]
* It did not matter at all to St Joseph whether he fulfilled a role which seemed to place him in obscurity or, indeed, any other role, if it came to that, so long as it was what God wanted of him.
His attitude–habitual in him, one would say–of remaining in silence, of quietly contemplating from the shadows all that concerned the Son and the Mother, also carries a lesson for us from which we may profit, if we know how to apply it to our own lives.
This humble man never did anything to attract attention to himself (something that we–at least most of us–cannot say of ourselves), nor was he in the slightest concerned about whether posterity would hear anything of him or not. Attending to what he had to do, he did not have time for immature preoccupations with himself. His humility freed him from that type of leprosy which attacks men, or some men, to the point of disfigurement; the disease of obsessive preoccupation with one’s own doings or one’s own reputation. To what lengths will some people not go to preserve intact and untarnished their artificial “image”?
Joseph: a man indistinguishable from the others, the last person to attract the attention of his contemporaries; a man who passed unnoticed among other men, and was happy to be no more than he was.
This is what really matters. There are men who need to be perpetually on display; they have to make a show of their talents, their courage, their intelligence, their abilities, their character, or their competence; they are incapable of believing themselves of some worth unless others affirm this by means of public recognition and applause. They do not appear to be completely convinced of their own existence unless they see their names in the paper, or unless everybody is speaking about them. They need to see themselves reflected in others, as in a mirror, in order to assure themselves that they indeed are–as if their very personalities were dependent on advertising. A man’s personality, however, resides in what he is, not in what he possesses, much less in what others think or say of him. Personality does not lie outside of oneself but in the center of one’s being. (Federico Suárez, Joseph of Nazareth, 9)
* It is sad that you do not want to remain hidden as a foundation stone and support the building. But to become a stumbling block for others? I think that is villainous! (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 533)
* Forget about yourself. May your ambition be to live for your brothers alone, for souls, for the Church; in one word, for God. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 630)
* How can you pretend to follow Christ, if you only revolve around yourself? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 700)
* You feel lonely; everything annoys you, and you complain. That is because you are isolated from your brothers by your selfishness, and because you do not come closer to God. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 709)
* You fulfill a demanding plan of life; you rise early, pray, frequent the sacraments, work or study a lot, are sober, and mortified ... but you feel that something is missing.
Consider this in your conversation with God: Holiness–or the struggle to achieve it–is the fullness of charity; thus, you must look again at your love of God and your love of others for His sake. Then you may discover, hidden in your soul, great defects that you have not even been fighting against. You may not be a good son, a good brother, a good companion, a good friend, a good colleague. And, if you love “your own holiness” in a disordered manner, you are envious.
You “sacrifice” yourself in many small “personal” details, but in this way, you are attached to your ego, to your own person. Deep down you do not live for God or for others, but only for yourself. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 739)
* Sometimes you try to rationalize, saying that you are distracted or absent‑minded, or that it is your character to be dry and reserved. That, you add, is why you don’t even know very well the people you live with.
Listen, isn’t it true that this excuse doesn’t really satisfy you? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 755)
* It was hard for you to get rid of those trivial worries of yours, and forget about those desires for personal achievements; paltry and sparse desires, but deeply rooted.
In exchange, you are sure now that you are interested and concerned about your brothers, and only about them, for you have learned to discover Jesus Christ in your neighbor. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 765)
* May you acquire the custom of helping others every day, and give yourself to this task to the extent that you forget you even exist. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 947)
* This is the true humility of the faithful Christian: Be proud of nothing, criticize no one, do not be ungrateful, and do not protest or complain. Thank God, and praise him always for everything that happens to you. (St Anselm, Comm. in 1 Thess., ch. 5)
* Do you entertain a spirit of opposition, of contradiction? Very well, exercise it by opposing and contradicting yourself. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 998)
* Uproot self‑love, and plant love for Jesus Christ. That is the secret of effectiveness and happiness. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 696)
* When a person really lives charity, there is no time left for self‑seeking. There is no room left for pride. We will not find occasion for anything but service! (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 683)
* Lord, grant me the grace to give up everything that has to do with myself. I should have no other concern than your Glory –in other words, your Love. Everything for Love! (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 247)
* Many who would let themselves be nailed to a cross, before the astonished gaze of thousands of spectators, won’t bear the pinpricks of each day with a Christian spirit!
But think, which is the more heroic? (J. Escrivá, The Way, 204)
* Don’t expect people’s applause for your work.
What is more, sometimes you mustn’t even expect other people and institutions who also work for Christ to understand you.
Seek only the glory of God and, while loving everyone, don’t worry if there are some who don’t understand you. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 255)
* You saw it quite clearly; while so many people do not know God, he has looked at you. He wants you to be part of the foundations, a firm stone upon which the life of the Church can rest.
Meditate upon this reality and you will draw many practical consequences for your ordinary behavior; the foundations, made of blocks of stone –hidden and possibly rather dull– have to be solid, not fragile. They have to serve as a support for the building. If not, they are useless. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 472)
* Our humiliation, our self‑effacement, our disappearing and passing unnoticed, should be complete, entire, total. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 592)
* Our lives can effectively coredeem, in an eternal way, only if we act with humility, passing unnoticed, so that others can discover Him. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 669)
* Renew in your own soul the resolution that friend of ours made long ago: “Lord, what I want is suffering, not exhibitionism.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 765)
* I advise you not to look for praise, even when you deserve it. It is better to pass unnoticed, and to let the most beautiful and noble aspects of our actions, of our lives, remain hidden. What a great thing it is to become little! Deo omnis gloria!–all the glory for God. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 1051)
* After a day’s work, the Founder of Opus Dei used to take an incredibly meager supper; he attended the evening get-together and afterward immediately began the examination of conscience. “When night comes and I do my examination of conscience,” he told his children, “I finish my accounting and tally the balance. Do you want to know the result? Pauper servus et humilis!”–a poor and humble servant. (A. Vázquez de Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
We Are Instruments.
A humble person works only to please God, without being ambitious for human glory. Some see work as a way of winning honors, of acquiring power or wealth to satisfy their personal ambition, or as a way of indulging their pride by showing their capacity for work. We must see work and apostolate as an opportunity to please God and serve men for love of God; we are God’s instruments.
Social relations and friendships spring up in the course of our work. We can be certain of our rectitude of intention if we make use of these occasions to bring souls closer to God.
* The entire biography of Msgr Escrivá can only be explained and understood considering a precise plan of God. God went across his existence and configured him as His instrument, chosen to remind mankind what He Himself engraved in his soul. And this is the deep conviction that the Holy Spirit engraved in him: to seek personal sanctity in the middle of the world.
Full of sincerity, Blessed Josemaría Escrivá used to say, “I am a sinner who loves Jesus Christ.” This expression revealed his humility and lack of self-love. His awareness of being an instrument was as far from pride as from false humility. He rejected false humility–an inordinate self-depreciation, a caricature of virtue–calling it humildad de garabato; it was irreconcilable with his right perception of the dignity of man. Influenced by his realistic theological sense, he used to repeat that he did not give any credit to an idea of humility understood as human faintheartedness or as a perpetual condemnation to sadness: “If we accept the responsibility of being children of God, we will realize that God wants us to be very human. Our heads should indeed be touching heaven, but our feet should be firmly on the ground. The price of living as Christians is not that of ceasing to be human or of abandoning the effort to acquire those virtues which some have even without knowing Christ.#3
I seem to hear Msgr. Escrivá’s repeating always with convinced persuasion: “I have nothing, I am worthy of nothing, I can do nothing, I know nothing, I am nothing; nothing!” He entrusted everything to God, seeing Him as a very good Father.
But he never forgot the duty –common to all of us– of preparing ourselves to be better instruments in the hands of this our most lovable God. God has chosen us as free cooperators in his work of redemption.
Instrument of God, only an instrument of God; it is worthwhile to emphasize this profound conviction of Msgr. Escrivá when speaking of his humility. St Paul’s teaching on this matter was always present in his preaching: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the `wise,’ and the weak things of the world has God chosen to put to shame the strong, and the base things of the world and the despised has God chosen, and the things that are not, to bring to naught the things that are; lest any flesh should pride itself before him” (1 Cor 1:27-28).
“Thus, my daughters and sons, when you think you have worked a lot at the service of God, repeat the words he taught us: servi inutiles sumus; quod debuimus facere, fecimus–we are useless servants, we have done what was our duty to do (Lk 17:10).”#4
Hardly three years ago, facing the regrettable crisis of obedience present in not a few Catholics, he again insisted: “Especially in the things of God, when one has the clear awareness of working for a supernatural undertaking, it is natural and not at all humiliating –it is spontaneous– to feel oneself like an instrument; one does his best to follow the divine promptings, without being willing to do one’s will. As I wrote to you in the first years, we are like the brush in the hands of the artist.”#5
I just read, “To do all our best to follow the divine promptings;” our Father’s humility and love have generously been at work in that effort during more than fifty years: “After these fifty years –he told us on the eve of the anniversary his priestly ordination, March 27 1975– I feel I am babbling like a small child. Every day I am beginning and beginning again. And thus until the end of my days: always beginning again. God wants it this way, so that none of us will have any motive for pride, or foolish vanity. We must be attentive to God, to His lips; our ears must be alert to hear, our will ready to respond, ready to follow the divine promptings.”#6
Love and humility were the two components always present in the holy life of Msgr Escrivá; these infused his prayer and his action with a filial daring. The result was that continuous beginning and beginning again of his interior life; he went through his life pursuing the route of the prodigal son: always going back –with absolute confidence– to the mercy of God the Father. This is how the instrument gives all the glory to God; Deo omnis gloria!–All the glory to God! he used to repeat. This is the magnificent horizon opened clear for the instrument who knows he is nothing and for whom God is everything. (A. del Portillo, Academic Lecture Instrumento de Dios, June 26 1976)
* A journalist from Rhodesia [Zimbabwe] was converted upon hearing Msgr J. Escrivá’s preaching. On February 4, 1975, when the Founder of Opus Dei was about to fly to Venezuela, the newsman boarded the plane to thank the prelate for his conversion.
“Give thanks to the Lord, not to me,” the Founder replied. Since the journalist insisted, Msgr Escrivá continued: “Do not thank me. God writes a letter, puts it in an envelope. Then the letter is taken out of the envelope, and the envelope is thrown to the trash can.” (A. Vázquez de Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
* The more a tree is laden with fruit, the more it bends its branches to the ground. So too with us; the more abundant our good deeds, the deeper we should humble ourselves, feeling unworthy of being instruments of God to do good. A good Christian can be recognized only by his humility. (St John Vianney, Sermon on Pride)
* Be an instrument of gold or of steel, of platinum or of iron –big or small, delicate or rough. Each one is useful. Each serves its purpose. Who would dare say that the carpenter’s saw is any less useful than the surgeon’s scalpel?
Your duty is to be an instrument. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 484)
* My son, you can do nothing on the supernatural level through your own strength; whereas when you become God’s instrument, you can do everything. Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat!–I can do all things in him who strengthens me. For in his goodness, he wishes to use inadequate instruments, like you and like me. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 232)
* “We are useless” is a pessimistic and false statement. If we want to, with the help of God, which is the first and fundamental requirement, we can become useful, as a good instrument, for many enterprises. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 725)
* My child, my little donkey: If the Lord, with Love, has washed your grimy back, so accustomed to the muck, and has laid a satin harness upon you, and covered you with dazzling jewels, don’t forget, poor donkey, that with your faults you could throw that beautiful load on to the ground... But on your own, you couldn’t put it back on again. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 330)
* I understood you very well when you ended up saying: “Quite honestly, I haven’t even made the grade of being a donkey–the donkey that was the throne of Jesus when he entered Jerusalem. I’m just part of a disgusting heap of dirty tatters that the poorest rag‑picker would ignore.”
But I told you: “All the same, God has chosen you and wants you to be his instrument. Seeing yourself so miserable–a genuine fact–should be one more reason for you to thank God for his calling.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 607)
* When human beings have work to do, they try to use the right tools for the job.
If I had lived in another century, I would have written with a quill pen; now I use a fountain pen.
But when God wants to carry out some piece of work, he uses unsuitable means, so that it can be seen that the work is his. You have heard me say this very often.
So you and I, who are aware of the massive weight of our failings, should tell him: “Lord, wretched as I am, I still understand that, in your hands, I am a divine instrument.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 610)
* Get rid of those proud thoughts! You are but the brush in the hand of the artist, and nothing more.
Tell me, what is a brush good for if it doesn’t let the artist do his work? (J. Escrivá, The Way, 612)
* It is proper of humility and of Christian responsibility not to transmit our own opinions to our successors, but to preserve and transmit what we have received from our ancestors. (St Vincent of Lerins, Commonitorium, 6)
* Faced with the marvels of God, and with all our human failures, we have to make this admission: “You are everything to me. Use me as you wish!”
Then, for you–for us–there will be no more loneliness. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 751)
[Interview with Mother Teresa of Calcutta:]
Q. What did you do this morning?
- Pray.
Q. When did you start?
- Half past four.
Q. And after prayer?
- We try to pray through our work by doing it with Jesus, for Jesus, to Jesus. That helps us put our whole heart and soul into doing it. The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved–they are Jesus in disguise.
Q. Does the fact that you are a woman make your message more understandable?
- I never think like that.
Q. Humble as you are, it must be an extraordinary thing to be a vehicle of God’s grace in the world.
- But it is his work. I think God wants to show his greatness by using nothingness.
Q. You feel you have no special qualities?
- I don’t think so. I don’t claim anything of the work. It is God’s work. I am like a little pencil in his hand. That is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used. In human terms, the success of our work should not have happened, no?
Q. What is God’s greatest gift to you?
- The poor people.
Q. How are they a gift to you?
- I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus.
Q. What are your plans for the future?
- I just take one day. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today to love Jesus.
Q. And the future of the order?
- It is his concern. (Time, December 4, 1989, pp. 48-49)
[Msgr J. Escrivá, speaking with a group of older members of Opus Dei in Brazil, reminded them of their grave responsibility as cofounders of the Work.]
* When we write, we use a pen. Our Lord, however, writes with a table leg, and he writes marvelously, so that it can be seen that it is his doing, not the table leg’s...
I am making it quite plain that I am nothing but a poor instrument–ut iumentum factus sum apud te–like a little donkey before God, a little donkey pulling the cart...
You must really put your shoulders to the task, cheerfully and enthusiastically. And even when you do not feel enthusiastic, just the same.
“Father, have you often felt enthusiastic?” At this moment, it is as if God was giving me enthusiasm; I was looking at you... But for the greater part of these forty-seven years, I have worked without enthusiasm, because the work had to be done and it was my duty to be his instrument; a bad one, but an instrument. I had to allow God to work and so I could not abandon the task. I couldn’t step aside and say: “I don’t feel like it.” Nor can you. You must be constant, you must concern yourselves for your brothers and give your lives for them. (S. Bernal, A Profile of Msgr J. Escrivá)
Humility and Simplicity
Christ loves simplicity and spiritual childhood; he directed us toward them: “Whoever humbles himself like this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:4). Humility is learned in the school of spiritual childhood.
* Simplicity leads man to remain silent about his own excellence. (St Thomas of Aquinas, Summa Th., 2-2, q. 109, a. 4)
* The humble of heart thinks lowly of himself. The proud thinks highly of himself, and does not fulfill the commandment of Christ: “Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3). Whoever becomes like a child is poor in spirit. (St John Chrysostom, Hom. X in Evang. sec. Matth.)
* The people of Jerusalem were about to receive Jesus. He knew what they concealed deep in their hearts; thus, he did not go to them riding a carriage pulled by finely harnessed horses with silver stirrups, covered with fur, and with gold rivets. He rode a humble donkey; the apostles spread their cloaks on it–and I do not think those were precious. (St Bernard, Sermon on Palm Sunday, 2, 4)
* This is how we should walk along the Way of Light: Love God who created you ...; be simple at heart but rich in spiritual treasure .... Do not exalt yourself, be humble in all circumstances; do not claim glory for yourself. (Epist. of Barnabas, 19, 1-3)
* Only the person who truly loves God does not think of himself. (St Gregory the Great, Hom. 38 on the Gospels)
* Ideologically, you are very Catholic. You like the atmosphere of the residence hall... You think: A pity the Mass is not at twelve, and the classes are not in the afternoon, so you can study late in the evening after one or two drinks.
That “Catholicism” of yours does not come up to the real thing; it remains simply bourgeois.
Don’t you see that you can’t think like that at your age? Leave behind your laziness and your self‑worship..., and adapt to the needs of others, to the reality around you, then you will be taking your Catholicism seriously. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 716)
Cheerfulness and Humility
A humble person desires the best for the others; he wants them to be holy and happy. He rejoices at his own good, as much as he does at the gifts that others have.
* Giving oneself sincerely to others is so effective that God rewards it with a humility filled with cheerfulness. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 591)
* Lord, in my youth, you were giving no joy to my ears, nor cheerfulness to my heart; my bones were not delighted because they were not humiliated. (St Augustine, Confessions, 4, 5)
* If we find the sweet yoke of the Lord bitter, couldn’t it be due to our lack of correspondence which renders it acrid? If we find the joyous lightness of the divine commitment burdensome, couldn’t it be that due to our pride we have rejected Him who can help us to carry on? (Cassian, Collationes, 24, 24)
* You see yourself as a poor man whose master has stripped him of his gold-trimmed uniform; just a sinner! Now you understand the nakedness felt by our first parents.
You should be weeping all the time. And you have wept; you have suffered a great deal. Yet you are very happy; you wouldn’t change places with anyone. For many years now, you have not lost your gaudium cum pace–your peaceful joy. You thank God for this and would like to let everyone into the secret of your happiness.
Yes, I can see why people have often said of you–though you couldn’t care less about “what people say”–that you are “a man of peace.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 174)
* Your life is happy, very happy, though on occasions you feel a pang of sadness, and even experience almost constantly a real sense of distress.
Joy and affliction can go hand in hand like this, each in its own “man;” the former in the new man, the latter in the old. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 183)
* Once again you had gone back to your old follies! And afterwards, when you returned, you didn’t feel very cheerful, because you lacked humility.
It seems as if you obstinately refuse to learn from the second part of the parable of the prodigal son; you still feel attached to the wretched happiness of the pig‑swill. With your pride wounded by your weakness, you have not made up your mind to ask for pardon, and you have not realized that, if you humble yourself, the joyful welcome of your Father God awaits you, with a feast to mark your return and your new beginning. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 65)
* “Father, following your advice, I laugh at my weaknesses–without forgetting that I can’t give in–and then I feel much happier.
But when I am silly enough to become sad, it seems to me that I am losing the way.” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 69)
* It is true: We are worth nothing, we are nothing, we can do nothing, we have nothing. And at the same time, in the midst of your daily struggle, obstacles and temptations are not lacking. But the cheerfulness of your brothers will banish all difficulties, as soon as you are back with them; because you will see them firmly relying on him –Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea –because you, Lord, are our strength. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 66)
* Sometimes you feel overwhelmed by a fit of discouragement. It kills your good desires, and you can hardly manage to overcome the feeling even by making acts of hope.
Never mind; this is a good time to ask God for more grace. Then, go on! Renew your joy for the struggle, even though you might lose the odd skirmish. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 77)
No One Is Indispensable
* These words reveal Msgr J. Escrivá’s faith and humility:
“We do not keep for ourselves what we know; that will be making ourselves indispensable. In Opus Dei, no one is indispensable. Not even I, the Founder, am indispensable.” (A. Vázquez de Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
* Pride? Why? Before long (maybe years, maybe days), you’ll be a heap of rotting flesh , worms, foul‑smelling fluids, your shroud in filthy shreds ... and no one on earth will remember you. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 601)
Not to Be Singular
Humility toward ourselves must lead us to avoid wanting to become singular, unique, one of a kind; this is vanity and pride.
* Do you think that no one else has ever been twenty years old? Do you think they were never restricted by their parents when they were under age? Do you think they avoided the problems, however great or small, that you come up against? No. They went through the same things that you are going through now, and they matured, with the help of grace. They trod down their selfishness with generous perseverance, gave in when they should, and remained loyal–with calm humility–without being arrogant or hurting anyone when they should not have done so. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 715)
* You are always trying to draw public attention. Above all you want more notice to be taken of you than of others. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 710)
* The higher a statue is raised, the harder and more dangerous the impact when it falls. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 269)
* “If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal 6:3). Vain glory would have disappeared from the world, had this proposition of the Apostle been properly understood.
“The pride of those who hate you, Lord, rises continually” (Ps 74:23). Why is it that so many become prouder each day? Because their blindness impedes their self-knowledge. They think they are something, and they are nothing.
If anyone–it applies to all–thinks he is something–it does not say something great, but something.
This is the great truth you must accept: that you are nothing, nihil es. Why? Because by yourself, you have nothing but sin, the greatest evil. Everything else you have, other than sin, comes from God.
To achieve true humility one must be plunged into this knowledge. Although the essence of humility–modest self-abasement–is an act of the will, the will must receive from the intellect the direction and measure of lowering itself. (Fr. Paul Segneri, Man. dell’an.)
* Whoever has more charity will enjoy more glory. This glory will be given only to the humble of heart, since true charity begins from the little things to ascend on high.
Why do you become proud in the midst of earthly vanity, you, dust and ashes, heap of rottenness, food of worms? Know yourself well, if you wish to be ashamed and confused.
Charity is the root of all goods; pride that of every evil. You cannot plant the former, unless you uproot the latter. Use charity to uproot pride; it alone will teach you to withstand the spirit of pride. You will resist pride if you conceal your virtues and manifest your defects.
Pay much attention, this is pride: not to accept criticisms from others on things that you would willingly criticize about yourself. (Cardinal Bona, The Art of Divine Love, ch. 19)
* Through presumption or simply through vanity, many people run a black market to raise their own personal worth artificially. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 704)
* Detest showing off. Reject vanity. Fight against pride, every day, at every moment. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 713)
* The Pharisees were frauds. Their vainglory separated them from God; it made them look for another theater–another public–for their fights; and they were defeated. We are engaged in a battle; if one tries to please the spectators, who see what each one of us does, attention to the impression one makes on such onlookers will be the kind of combat one is really engaged in. (St John Chrysostom, Homilies on St Matthew, 72,1)
Intellectual Docility
A humble man obeys; a proud man cannot obey, he accepts no other will but his own. He thinks he is self-sufficient and acts accordingly.
Sometimes he will apparently accept instructions, but he will not take them to heart. Instead, he will subject them to criticism in the light of his own ideas, thus limiting the scope of his obedience.
On the other hand, we are not inert or passive instruments; without coercion, we must apply our intelligence and will to do what God wants us to do.
Personal formation must be an ongoing concern; we need to hear doctrinal points repeated often to incorporate them into our life. Thus, humility will bring us new lights from the Lord to help us live better our Christian vocation.
* The first integral element of humility is the attitude of mind, the grasp of truth. The second element is the expression of that attitude. The first element belongs to the intelligence, the second is the action of the will. There is a word that defines this second element, this expression of the attitude of mind: the word submission, or, if you like, docility.
In The Diary of a Country Priest, the old and stalwart priest of Torcy says the following to his young colleague: “Miracles are the pictures–the pretty pictures in the book. But remember this, lad, our Lady knew neither triumph nor miracle. Her Son preserved her from the least tip-touch of the savage wing of human glory. No one has ever lived, suffered, died in such simplicity, in such deep ignorance of her own dignity, a dignity crowning her above angels. For she was born without sin–in what amazing isolation! A pool so clear, so pure, that even her own image–created only for the sacred joy of the Father–was not to be reflected.”
Mary knew nothing of her own dignity. Because of this, in her own eyes, she had not the slightest importance. She never depended on herself; she depended entirely on God, on His Will. Thus, she was able to judge the extent of her lowliness, her secure condition as a creature, feeling herself incapable of anything, and sustained only by the goodness of God. As a result of this selflessness, she surrendered herself completely to God, and lived solely for him.
The second condition for being an efficacious instrument of God is docility. Only the humble can be docile. Those who lack humility follow the dictates of their own will, relying on their own ability; they have faith in themselves, they act on their own initiative, because they believe they are self-sufficient and they trust their own judgment; thus, they can do great harm, because they put last things first; instead of building, they destroy.
Proud persons do not adapt themselves to God’s plan–if they know it–because they will not tolerate being relegated to positions inferior to those which they think they deserve. They forget these words: “Whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your servant” (Mt 20:26). Their ego is so strong that it leaves no room for anything else, not even for grace, and considers only itself.
Those who lack humility do not occupy the place designated for them by God; they do not fulfill their mission. They do not help others to occupy their respective places properly and grow closer to God. They disturb the divine action by getting out of place, seeking only their own glory and personal vanity.
In the Mystical Body of Christ, this is very serious; as if some important organ of the body, instead of fulfilling its own function in relation to the rest of the organism, were to develop disproportionately at the expense of the rest. This may easily hurt other members, deforming them, diminishing them, atrophying them, retarding their development, making them do the work intended for itself but which it neglects in its efforts to outgrow all the others. It is like a corroding cancer. (F. Suárez, Mary of Nazareth, 2)
* Only the stupid are obstinate; the very stupid, very obstinate. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 274)
* Rather than commit a fault against charity, give in, offer no resistance, whenever you have the chance. Show the humility of the grass, which yields without needing to know whose foot is stepping on it. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 277)
* Your obedience is not worthy of the name unless you are ready to abandon your most flourishing work whenever someone with authority so commands. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 625)
* What eagerness many show for reform!
Would it not be better to reform ourselves, each one of us, so as to fulfill faithfully what is laid down? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 131)
* If you are sensible and humble, you will realize that one never stops learning. This happens in every field; even the wisest will always have something to learn, until the end of their lives; if they don’t, they cease to be wise. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 272)
Submit to the Church’s Judgment
Confidence in God means to trust Him–not our own judgment–and to trust the manner God has set for our sanctification: through the Church.
The Magisterium of the Church is a guarantee of sure doctrine: “Anyone who listens to you, listens to me; anyone who rejects you, rejects me” (Lk 10:16). We receive the right doctrine from those placed by Christ to direct the Church throughout the centuries.
* The Church, endowed with the gifts of her Founder and faithfully observing His precepts of charity, humility, and self-denial, received the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God: she is, on earth, the seed of that kingdom. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, n. 5)
* Following the path of Christ... the Church, although she needs human resources to carry out her mission, is not set up to seek earthly glory, but to proclaim humility, and self-denial, and this by her own example. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, n. 8)
* Christ communicated his power to his disciples; he wanted them to be constituted in royal liberty, and overcome the reign of sin in themselves by self-denial of a holy life (cf. Rom 6:12). By serving Christ in others every Christian must–in humility and patience– bring their brethren to Christ the King; to serve Him is to reign. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, n. 36)
* Humility and obedience are the indispensable conditions for acquiring good doctrine. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 132)
* Try to make “intellectual humility” an axiom for yourself.
Think about it carefully. Isn’t it true that it just doesn’t make sense to be “intellectually proud”? That saint and doctor of the Church put it very well: “It is a detestable disorder for a man to see God become a little child, and still want to appear great in this world.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 142)
* Some people make mistakes through weakness–on account of the fragile clay we are all made of–but retain the Church’s doctrine in its integrity.
These, with the grace of God, display courage and humility in acknowledging their mistakes and defending the truth firmly. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 42)
* Do not forget that in human affairs other people may also be right; they see the same question as you, but from a different point of view, under another light, with other shades, with other contours.
Only in faith and morals is there an indisputable standard: that of our Mother the Church. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 275)
* Never adopt a superior air toward Church matters, or toward your fellow human beings–your brothers. On the other hand, that attitude might be necessary in your social behavior, when it is a matter of defending the interests of God and those of souls. Then, you would not be acting out of superiority, but out of faith and fortitude, which we practice with a calm and humble confidence. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 720)
* You must always have, in everything, the same “instinct” as the Church. For this, you must acquire the spiritual and doctrinal training that you need, which will make you a person of sound judgment in temporal matters; humble and quick to correct yourself when you realize you have made a mistake.
Correcting your own mistakes nobly is a very human and very supernatural way of using your freedom. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 840)
FOOTNOTES:
1. The Way, no. 33.
2. J. Escrivá, Human Virtues, p. 10.
3. J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 75.
4. Letter, 9-I-1932, n. 89 and 90.
5. Letter, 17-VI-1973, n. 31.
6. Meditation Consumados en la Unidad, 17-III-1975.
As Blessed J. Escrivá always taught, humility of mind does not mean remaining in a state of mediocrity in our profession, ordinary work, or spiritual life. We must go as far as we can, with an upright intention, and without seeking ourselves. We do not live for this world or for our own honor, but for God’s honor, for God’s glory, for God’s service; this should be our motivation!
Distrust of Self
Humility of mind implies a certain detachment from oneself, a distrust of self; in this way, we will not overrate our capabilities. To reach this detachment, we must fight against pride, the desire of imposing upon other people, pettiness of character, and stubbornness.
* I tremble out of Love. Looking at my life, I see quite honestly that I myself am nothing, am worth nothing, and have nothing, that I can do nothing and, even more, that I am nothingness itself! But he is everything and, at the same time, he belongs to me and I to him because he does not reject me and has given himself up for me. Have you ever seen a greater love than this?
I tremble also out of sorrow, because when I look back at what I have done, I am amazed at the extent of my failings. All I have done is to examine my behavior in the few hours since I woke up this morning to discover so much lack of love, so little faithful correspondence. This truly saddens me, but it does not take away my peace of mind. I prostrate myself before God and I state my situation clearly. (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 215)
* In speaking, no one should trust in himself; in hardships, no one should rely on his strength. When we speak with rectitude and prudence, our wisdom comes from God; when we endure suffering with fortitude, our patience is also his gift. (St Augustine, Sermon 276)
* You wrote what I am now copying out: “Domine, tu scis quia amo te! –Lord, you know that I love you! How very often, Jesus, I repeat again and again those words your dear Cephas uttered, as a bitter sweet litany. For I know that I love you, and yet I am so very unsure of myself that I cannot bring myself to say it to you clearly. There are so many denials in my wicked life. Tu scis, Domine! –You know that I love you. May my actions, Jesus, never go against these yearnings of my heart.”
Keep up this prayer of yours, and he will certainly hear you. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 176)
* In a letter addressed to his spiritual director on matters of conscience, Blessed J. Escrivá, the Founder of Opus Dei, wrote: “... As days go by, I see more clearly that this is what our Lord wants for me: to remain hidden and to disappear.” Thus, he set his own motto: “My part is to remain hidden and to disappear;” and, “My part is to remain hidden and to disappear, and to let Jesus alone shine.”
Humility pervaded his soul, as if soaking his entire being. Thus, he contemplated the donkey as the embodiment of virtues that one must carry to the level of Christian life.
The donkey, a patient and obedient animal, reminded him of hard work, faithful obedience to the suggestions of divine grace, and silent and hidden mortification. Even more, before God, Msgr. Escrivá saw himself as a hawker’s crippled donkey, covered with scabs and saddle galls. In his humility, he signed his personal notes or letters to his confessor adding to his name the letters “s.d.” (“scabby donkey”). He did not trust himself. (A. Vázquez Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
* Ask the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and your Mother to make you know yourself and weep for all those foul things that have passed through you, and which, alas, have left such dregs behind... And at the same time, without wishing to stop considering all that, say to him: “Jesus, give me a Love, like a purifying fire, in which my miserable flesh, my miserable heart, my miserable soul, my miserable body may be consumed and cleansed of all earthly wretchedness. And when I have been emptied of my ego, fill me with yourself. May I never become attached to anything here below. May Love always sustain me.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 41)
* One day, it is said, St Thomas Aquinas was reprimanded for a supposed grammatical error. He corrected it as indicated. Later, his companions asked him why he had introduced the correction since he himself knew that the original text was faultless. “Before God,” the saint replied, “better a fault of grammar than a fault of obedience and of humility.” (F. Fernandez, In Conversation with God, 4,51)
* How difficult it is to live humility! As the popular wisdom of Christianity says, “Pride dies twenty‑four hours after its owner.”
So when you think you’re right, but you are told you’re wrong by someone who has been given God’s grace to guide your soul, convince yourself that you are completely wrong. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 599)
* Is there anything more displeasing than a child acting the grown‑up? How can a poor man –a child– be pleasing to God if he “acts grown‑up,” puffed up by pride, sure that he’s worth something and trusting only in himself? (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 597)
* Here is a good way of doing an examination of conscience:
- Have I accepted in a spirit of atonement the difficulties that have come to me this day from the hand of God, or those that came from the behavior of my colleagues, or from my own wretchedness?
- Have I managed to offer our Lord in expiation the very sorrow I feel for having offended him so many times? Have I offered him the shame of all my inner embarrassment and humiliation at seeing how little progress I make along the path of virtue? (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 153)
Humility in Spiritual Direction
The humble prepare themselves to receive the grace of God; they use the ordinary means of sanctification. For them the grace of God is effective. The sure way of making personal problems fade away, of recovering interior peace, and of finding lights in our interior life is to be humble and sincere in spiritual direction; we must docilely follow the advice we are given.
* Go to spiritual direction with greater humility each time. And go punctually, for that is also humility.
See yourself –and you will not be mistaken, because God speaks to you there– as a very sincere little child who is being taught to speak, to read, to know the names of flowers and birds, to experience joys and sorrows, to notice the ground he is treading on. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 270)
* Do all you can to discuss your interior life with someone who can give you light; hide no secrets from him. (St Teresa, The Way of Perfection, 39, 5)
* We may experience times when the Lord seems hidden from our view. He probably wants us to look for him with greater love, with greater humility, with greater abandonment to the counsels of our spiritual director. If we make the effort required we will always come to discover the most lovable face of Christ. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 4, 31)
* If the outlook in your interior life and in your soul is darkened, allow yourself to be led along by the hand, as a blind man does.
In time, the Lord will reward this humble surrendering of your own judgment by giving you clarity of mind. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 241)
* How shall we be able to overcome our meanness? Let me make the point again because it is so important: by being humble and by being sincere in spiritual direction and in the sacrament of penance. Go to those who direct your souls, with your hearts open wide. Do not close your hearts, for if the dumb devil gets in, it is very difficult to get rid of him.
Forgive me for insisting on these points, but I believe it is absolutely necessary for you to have deeply impressed on your minds the fact that humility, together with its immediate consequence, sincerity, is the thread that links the other means together. These two virtues act as a foundation on which a solid victory can be built. If the dumb devil gets inside a soul, he ruins everything. On the other hand, if he is cast out immediately, everything turns out well; we are happy and life goes forward properly. Let us always be brutally sincere, but in a good mannered way.
I want one thing to be clear: I am not as worried about the heart or the flesh as I am about pride. Be humble. If ever you think you are completely and utterly right, you are not right at all. Go to spiritual direction with your soul wide open. Don’t close it, I repeat, the dumb devil will get in, and it is difficult to get him out again. (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 188)
* Humility is the virtue that helps us to know at the same time our weakness and our greatness. There is no spiritual book, no saint, that has not stressed the extreme importance of humility, since it is the magnet which irresistibly attracts God. It is imperative, then, to acquire humility. But how?
Perhaps the simplest way to learn to be humble is the same way as one learns to walk. Children learn to walk simply... by walking. Since humility is truth, we will be humble according as we are truthful; and the surest way–perhaps the shortest and fastest way–is to be sincere.
Sincerity is a subject discussed rather infrequently, but nevertheless we must say something of it here. To be sincere means always to tell the truth; not only the truth, but the whole truth. This is very difficult at times, and often needs bravery and courage bordering on heroism. This in no exaggeration.
Sincerity often makes us reveal many little things about ourselves that often make us more ashamed than bigger, but less intimate, matters. We must be sincere, above all, with God; but also with ourselves, in the depths of our own conscience. There is a very human tendency in all of us, too exclusively human to be completely good–to make a good impression and not a bad impression. That is why we are so clever at inventing excuses, justifications, explanations, mitigations. “You never want `to get to the bottom of things.’ At times, because of politeness. But always because of fear!”#1
Most of the time we lie because of the fear of being caught in something not quite perfect, to hide the things that make us ashamed or embarrassed or might provoke criticism from others. Since lying is a direct attack on humility, because it causes a deep falsification of truth deep within us, only a ruthless sincerity, without fear of anyone or anything, can lead us directly to true humility.
It does not matter that we cannot always keep up appearances; after all, we are what we are and it is foolish to try to fool anyone. What is important is that God should be satisfied with us and that we remain on good terms with him.
There is an intimate connection between the concept of humility and justice. No one has the right to keep what is not his; and if with an excuse, with a cunning explanation, we hide what should be revealed, we may appear good in the eyes of men, but have still kept something that is not ours, that we do not deserve; we have been unjust. “Look at the clear jewel of truthfulness. Could it be true that it has fallen into disuse? Has the practice of compromise, of covering up and putting on triumphed definitely? People fear the truth. For this reason they have recourse to a petty way out: They say that no one lives or tells the truth, that everyone resorts to simulation and lies.”#2
It is not men, but God, who will judge us. How easy it is, however, for subtle temptations to spring from the depths of our nature, to smooth over what is rough. We have a strange tendency not to admit with any clarity the things that displease us.
The man who is not sincere is like a sick man who is developing cancer and says nothing about it, trying to convince himself that there is nothing wrong with him. At times it is a mere insignificant detail which tinges our acts; nothing to worry about, we think. It may be, but the sooner we accept and recognize it, the better. The harder a thing is to say, the more determined we should be to reveal it–to the right person, of course: God, ourselves, our confessor or spiritual director.
Then we will really begin to know ourselves, and to see the unfathomable capacity we have for evil. Then, when we turn our sins over and over in our minds, like dirty clothes pulled out of the bottom of our souls to be thrown away, we realize how few motives we have for being vain; what would happen if the rest of the world knew what we and God know about ourselves!
Of all the human virtues, sincerity is clearly the most important, and the one which requires most attention. It is so important because, from its very essence, it leads directly to the supernatural virtue of humility, and humility is the necessary and indispensable foundation for all interior growth, since this growth is the work of grace. (F. Suárez, Mary of Nazareth, 2)
Forgetting Oneself
In using our talents, we must not show off our abilities, seeking to be praised, and hunting for human compensations; we must try to pass unnoticed and disappear, to be useful and serve.
Service must in no way be considered burdensome; it must be joyful. At times, we may be tempted to think that we are not progressing in the spiritual life; a humble person rejects these appraisals and abandons himself in God.
* Don’t miss a chance to “give in.” It’s hard –but how pleasing in the eyes of God! (J. Escrivá, The Way, 177)
* Give thanks, as for a very special favor, for that holy abhorrence that you feel toward yourself. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 207)
* After losing those human consolations, you are left with a feeling of loneliness, as if you were hanging by a thin thread over the emptiness of a black abyss. And your cries, your shouts for help, seem to go unheard by anybody.
The truth is you deserve to be so forlorn. Be humble; don’t seek yourself; don’t seek your own satisfaction. Love the cross –to bear it is little– and our Lord will hear your prayer. And in time, calm will be restored to your senses. And your heart will heal, and you will have peace. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 726)
* Now that you’ve got a lot to do, your “problems” have disappeared. Be honest; since you have made up your mind to work for Him, you no longer have time to think about your own selfish interests. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 515)
* Each day renew the effective desire to humble yourself, to deny yourself, to forget yourself, to walk in novitate sensus, with a new life, exchanging this misery of ours for all the hidden and eternal grandeur of God. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 97)
* Lord, rescue me from myself! (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 120)
* Make sure you practice the mortification of not making your conversation revolve around yourself. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 152)
* “To myself, with the admiration I deserve,” he wrote on the first page of a book. Many other miserable souls might easily write the same thing on the last page of their life.
What a pity if you and I were to live or end up like this–let us make a serious examination of conscience. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 719)
* Don’t be anxious for people to sympathize with you. That is often a sign of pride or vanity. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 478)
* Make a resolution: unless I really have to, never to speak of my personal concerns. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 601)
* You are not happy because you make everything revolve around yourself as if you were always the center; you have a stomachache, or you are tired, or you have been told this or that.
Have you ever tried thinking about Him, and through Him, about others? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 74)
* You said: “The self has to be decapitated...” But it’s hard, isn’t it? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 279)
* Sadness and uneasiness grow in proportion to the time you waste. When you feel a holy impatience to use every minute, you will be filled with joy and peace, because you will not be thinking of yourself. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 510)
* Worries?... I have no worries, for I have enough concerns to keep me busy. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 511)
* Most people with personal problems “have them” because they selfishly think of themselves. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 310)
* How anxious people are to get out of place! Imagine what would happen if each bone and each muscle of the human body wanted to occupy some position other than its own.
There is no other reason for the world’s unhappiness. Continue where you are, my son; right where you are... How much you’ll be able to work for the true kingdom of our Lord! (J. Escrivá, The Way, 832)
[At the presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple]
* It did not matter at all to St Joseph whether he fulfilled a role which seemed to place him in obscurity or, indeed, any other role, if it came to that, so long as it was what God wanted of him.
His attitude–habitual in him, one would say–of remaining in silence, of quietly contemplating from the shadows all that concerned the Son and the Mother, also carries a lesson for us from which we may profit, if we know how to apply it to our own lives.
This humble man never did anything to attract attention to himself (something that we–at least most of us–cannot say of ourselves), nor was he in the slightest concerned about whether posterity would hear anything of him or not. Attending to what he had to do, he did not have time for immature preoccupations with himself. His humility freed him from that type of leprosy which attacks men, or some men, to the point of disfigurement; the disease of obsessive preoccupation with one’s own doings or one’s own reputation. To what lengths will some people not go to preserve intact and untarnished their artificial “image”?
Joseph: a man indistinguishable from the others, the last person to attract the attention of his contemporaries; a man who passed unnoticed among other men, and was happy to be no more than he was.
This is what really matters. There are men who need to be perpetually on display; they have to make a show of their talents, their courage, their intelligence, their abilities, their character, or their competence; they are incapable of believing themselves of some worth unless others affirm this by means of public recognition and applause. They do not appear to be completely convinced of their own existence unless they see their names in the paper, or unless everybody is speaking about them. They need to see themselves reflected in others, as in a mirror, in order to assure themselves that they indeed are–as if their very personalities were dependent on advertising. A man’s personality, however, resides in what he is, not in what he possesses, much less in what others think or say of him. Personality does not lie outside of oneself but in the center of one’s being. (Federico Suárez, Joseph of Nazareth, 9)
* It is sad that you do not want to remain hidden as a foundation stone and support the building. But to become a stumbling block for others? I think that is villainous! (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 533)
* Forget about yourself. May your ambition be to live for your brothers alone, for souls, for the Church; in one word, for God. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 630)
* How can you pretend to follow Christ, if you only revolve around yourself? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 700)
* You feel lonely; everything annoys you, and you complain. That is because you are isolated from your brothers by your selfishness, and because you do not come closer to God. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 709)
* You fulfill a demanding plan of life; you rise early, pray, frequent the sacraments, work or study a lot, are sober, and mortified ... but you feel that something is missing.
Consider this in your conversation with God: Holiness–or the struggle to achieve it–is the fullness of charity; thus, you must look again at your love of God and your love of others for His sake. Then you may discover, hidden in your soul, great defects that you have not even been fighting against. You may not be a good son, a good brother, a good companion, a good friend, a good colleague. And, if you love “your own holiness” in a disordered manner, you are envious.
You “sacrifice” yourself in many small “personal” details, but in this way, you are attached to your ego, to your own person. Deep down you do not live for God or for others, but only for yourself. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 739)
* Sometimes you try to rationalize, saying that you are distracted or absent‑minded, or that it is your character to be dry and reserved. That, you add, is why you don’t even know very well the people you live with.
Listen, isn’t it true that this excuse doesn’t really satisfy you? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 755)
* It was hard for you to get rid of those trivial worries of yours, and forget about those desires for personal achievements; paltry and sparse desires, but deeply rooted.
In exchange, you are sure now that you are interested and concerned about your brothers, and only about them, for you have learned to discover Jesus Christ in your neighbor. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 765)
* May you acquire the custom of helping others every day, and give yourself to this task to the extent that you forget you even exist. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 947)
* This is the true humility of the faithful Christian: Be proud of nothing, criticize no one, do not be ungrateful, and do not protest or complain. Thank God, and praise him always for everything that happens to you. (St Anselm, Comm. in 1 Thess., ch. 5)
* Do you entertain a spirit of opposition, of contradiction? Very well, exercise it by opposing and contradicting yourself. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 998)
* Uproot self‑love, and plant love for Jesus Christ. That is the secret of effectiveness and happiness. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 696)
* When a person really lives charity, there is no time left for self‑seeking. There is no room left for pride. We will not find occasion for anything but service! (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 683)
* Lord, grant me the grace to give up everything that has to do with myself. I should have no other concern than your Glory –in other words, your Love. Everything for Love! (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 247)
* Many who would let themselves be nailed to a cross, before the astonished gaze of thousands of spectators, won’t bear the pinpricks of each day with a Christian spirit!
But think, which is the more heroic? (J. Escrivá, The Way, 204)
* Don’t expect people’s applause for your work.
What is more, sometimes you mustn’t even expect other people and institutions who also work for Christ to understand you.
Seek only the glory of God and, while loving everyone, don’t worry if there are some who don’t understand you. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 255)
* You saw it quite clearly; while so many people do not know God, he has looked at you. He wants you to be part of the foundations, a firm stone upon which the life of the Church can rest.
Meditate upon this reality and you will draw many practical consequences for your ordinary behavior; the foundations, made of blocks of stone –hidden and possibly rather dull– have to be solid, not fragile. They have to serve as a support for the building. If not, they are useless. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 472)
* Our humiliation, our self‑effacement, our disappearing and passing unnoticed, should be complete, entire, total. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 592)
* Our lives can effectively coredeem, in an eternal way, only if we act with humility, passing unnoticed, so that others can discover Him. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 669)
* Renew in your own soul the resolution that friend of ours made long ago: “Lord, what I want is suffering, not exhibitionism.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 765)
* I advise you not to look for praise, even when you deserve it. It is better to pass unnoticed, and to let the most beautiful and noble aspects of our actions, of our lives, remain hidden. What a great thing it is to become little! Deo omnis gloria!–all the glory for God. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 1051)
* After a day’s work, the Founder of Opus Dei used to take an incredibly meager supper; he attended the evening get-together and afterward immediately began the examination of conscience. “When night comes and I do my examination of conscience,” he told his children, “I finish my accounting and tally the balance. Do you want to know the result? Pauper servus et humilis!”–a poor and humble servant. (A. Vázquez de Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
We Are Instruments.
A humble person works only to please God, without being ambitious for human glory. Some see work as a way of winning honors, of acquiring power or wealth to satisfy their personal ambition, or as a way of indulging their pride by showing their capacity for work. We must see work and apostolate as an opportunity to please God and serve men for love of God; we are God’s instruments.
Social relations and friendships spring up in the course of our work. We can be certain of our rectitude of intention if we make use of these occasions to bring souls closer to God.
* The entire biography of Msgr Escrivá can only be explained and understood considering a precise plan of God. God went across his existence and configured him as His instrument, chosen to remind mankind what He Himself engraved in his soul. And this is the deep conviction that the Holy Spirit engraved in him: to seek personal sanctity in the middle of the world.
Full of sincerity, Blessed Josemaría Escrivá used to say, “I am a sinner who loves Jesus Christ.” This expression revealed his humility and lack of self-love. His awareness of being an instrument was as far from pride as from false humility. He rejected false humility–an inordinate self-depreciation, a caricature of virtue–calling it humildad de garabato; it was irreconcilable with his right perception of the dignity of man. Influenced by his realistic theological sense, he used to repeat that he did not give any credit to an idea of humility understood as human faintheartedness or as a perpetual condemnation to sadness: “If we accept the responsibility of being children of God, we will realize that God wants us to be very human. Our heads should indeed be touching heaven, but our feet should be firmly on the ground. The price of living as Christians is not that of ceasing to be human or of abandoning the effort to acquire those virtues which some have even without knowing Christ.#3
I seem to hear Msgr. Escrivá’s repeating always with convinced persuasion: “I have nothing, I am worthy of nothing, I can do nothing, I know nothing, I am nothing; nothing!” He entrusted everything to God, seeing Him as a very good Father.
But he never forgot the duty –common to all of us– of preparing ourselves to be better instruments in the hands of this our most lovable God. God has chosen us as free cooperators in his work of redemption.
Instrument of God, only an instrument of God; it is worthwhile to emphasize this profound conviction of Msgr. Escrivá when speaking of his humility. St Paul’s teaching on this matter was always present in his preaching: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the `wise,’ and the weak things of the world has God chosen to put to shame the strong, and the base things of the world and the despised has God chosen, and the things that are not, to bring to naught the things that are; lest any flesh should pride itself before him” (1 Cor 1:27-28).
“Thus, my daughters and sons, when you think you have worked a lot at the service of God, repeat the words he taught us: servi inutiles sumus; quod debuimus facere, fecimus–we are useless servants, we have done what was our duty to do (Lk 17:10).”#4
Hardly three years ago, facing the regrettable crisis of obedience present in not a few Catholics, he again insisted: “Especially in the things of God, when one has the clear awareness of working for a supernatural undertaking, it is natural and not at all humiliating –it is spontaneous– to feel oneself like an instrument; one does his best to follow the divine promptings, without being willing to do one’s will. As I wrote to you in the first years, we are like the brush in the hands of the artist.”#5
I just read, “To do all our best to follow the divine promptings;” our Father’s humility and love have generously been at work in that effort during more than fifty years: “After these fifty years –he told us on the eve of the anniversary his priestly ordination, March 27 1975– I feel I am babbling like a small child. Every day I am beginning and beginning again. And thus until the end of my days: always beginning again. God wants it this way, so that none of us will have any motive for pride, or foolish vanity. We must be attentive to God, to His lips; our ears must be alert to hear, our will ready to respond, ready to follow the divine promptings.”#6
Love and humility were the two components always present in the holy life of Msgr Escrivá; these infused his prayer and his action with a filial daring. The result was that continuous beginning and beginning again of his interior life; he went through his life pursuing the route of the prodigal son: always going back –with absolute confidence– to the mercy of God the Father. This is how the instrument gives all the glory to God; Deo omnis gloria!–All the glory to God! he used to repeat. This is the magnificent horizon opened clear for the instrument who knows he is nothing and for whom God is everything. (A. del Portillo, Academic Lecture Instrumento de Dios, June 26 1976)
* A journalist from Rhodesia [Zimbabwe] was converted upon hearing Msgr J. Escrivá’s preaching. On February 4, 1975, when the Founder of Opus Dei was about to fly to Venezuela, the newsman boarded the plane to thank the prelate for his conversion.
“Give thanks to the Lord, not to me,” the Founder replied. Since the journalist insisted, Msgr Escrivá continued: “Do not thank me. God writes a letter, puts it in an envelope. Then the letter is taken out of the envelope, and the envelope is thrown to the trash can.” (A. Vázquez de Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
* The more a tree is laden with fruit, the more it bends its branches to the ground. So too with us; the more abundant our good deeds, the deeper we should humble ourselves, feeling unworthy of being instruments of God to do good. A good Christian can be recognized only by his humility. (St John Vianney, Sermon on Pride)
* Be an instrument of gold or of steel, of platinum or of iron –big or small, delicate or rough. Each one is useful. Each serves its purpose. Who would dare say that the carpenter’s saw is any less useful than the surgeon’s scalpel?
Your duty is to be an instrument. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 484)
* My son, you can do nothing on the supernatural level through your own strength; whereas when you become God’s instrument, you can do everything. Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat!–I can do all things in him who strengthens me. For in his goodness, he wishes to use inadequate instruments, like you and like me. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 232)
* “We are useless” is a pessimistic and false statement. If we want to, with the help of God, which is the first and fundamental requirement, we can become useful, as a good instrument, for many enterprises. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 725)
* My child, my little donkey: If the Lord, with Love, has washed your grimy back, so accustomed to the muck, and has laid a satin harness upon you, and covered you with dazzling jewels, don’t forget, poor donkey, that with your faults you could throw that beautiful load on to the ground... But on your own, you couldn’t put it back on again. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 330)
* I understood you very well when you ended up saying: “Quite honestly, I haven’t even made the grade of being a donkey–the donkey that was the throne of Jesus when he entered Jerusalem. I’m just part of a disgusting heap of dirty tatters that the poorest rag‑picker would ignore.”
But I told you: “All the same, God has chosen you and wants you to be his instrument. Seeing yourself so miserable–a genuine fact–should be one more reason for you to thank God for his calling.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 607)
* When human beings have work to do, they try to use the right tools for the job.
If I had lived in another century, I would have written with a quill pen; now I use a fountain pen.
But when God wants to carry out some piece of work, he uses unsuitable means, so that it can be seen that the work is his. You have heard me say this very often.
So you and I, who are aware of the massive weight of our failings, should tell him: “Lord, wretched as I am, I still understand that, in your hands, I am a divine instrument.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 610)
* Get rid of those proud thoughts! You are but the brush in the hand of the artist, and nothing more.
Tell me, what is a brush good for if it doesn’t let the artist do his work? (J. Escrivá, The Way, 612)
* It is proper of humility and of Christian responsibility not to transmit our own opinions to our successors, but to preserve and transmit what we have received from our ancestors. (St Vincent of Lerins, Commonitorium, 6)
* Faced with the marvels of God, and with all our human failures, we have to make this admission: “You are everything to me. Use me as you wish!”
Then, for you–for us–there will be no more loneliness. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 751)
[Interview with Mother Teresa of Calcutta:]
Q. What did you do this morning?
- Pray.
Q. When did you start?
- Half past four.
Q. And after prayer?
- We try to pray through our work by doing it with Jesus, for Jesus, to Jesus. That helps us put our whole heart and soul into doing it. The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved–they are Jesus in disguise.
Q. Does the fact that you are a woman make your message more understandable?
- I never think like that.
Q. Humble as you are, it must be an extraordinary thing to be a vehicle of God’s grace in the world.
- But it is his work. I think God wants to show his greatness by using nothingness.
Q. You feel you have no special qualities?
- I don’t think so. I don’t claim anything of the work. It is God’s work. I am like a little pencil in his hand. That is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used. In human terms, the success of our work should not have happened, no?
Q. What is God’s greatest gift to you?
- The poor people.
Q. How are they a gift to you?
- I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus.
Q. What are your plans for the future?
- I just take one day. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today to love Jesus.
Q. And the future of the order?
- It is his concern. (Time, December 4, 1989, pp. 48-49)
[Msgr J. Escrivá, speaking with a group of older members of Opus Dei in Brazil, reminded them of their grave responsibility as cofounders of the Work.]
* When we write, we use a pen. Our Lord, however, writes with a table leg, and he writes marvelously, so that it can be seen that it is his doing, not the table leg’s...
I am making it quite plain that I am nothing but a poor instrument–ut iumentum factus sum apud te–like a little donkey before God, a little donkey pulling the cart...
You must really put your shoulders to the task, cheerfully and enthusiastically. And even when you do not feel enthusiastic, just the same.
“Father, have you often felt enthusiastic?” At this moment, it is as if God was giving me enthusiasm; I was looking at you... But for the greater part of these forty-seven years, I have worked without enthusiasm, because the work had to be done and it was my duty to be his instrument; a bad one, but an instrument. I had to allow God to work and so I could not abandon the task. I couldn’t step aside and say: “I don’t feel like it.” Nor can you. You must be constant, you must concern yourselves for your brothers and give your lives for them. (S. Bernal, A Profile of Msgr J. Escrivá)
Humility and Simplicity
Christ loves simplicity and spiritual childhood; he directed us toward them: “Whoever humbles himself like this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:4). Humility is learned in the school of spiritual childhood.
* Simplicity leads man to remain silent about his own excellence. (St Thomas of Aquinas, Summa Th., 2-2, q. 109, a. 4)
* The humble of heart thinks lowly of himself. The proud thinks highly of himself, and does not fulfill the commandment of Christ: “Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3). Whoever becomes like a child is poor in spirit. (St John Chrysostom, Hom. X in Evang. sec. Matth.)
* The people of Jerusalem were about to receive Jesus. He knew what they concealed deep in their hearts; thus, he did not go to them riding a carriage pulled by finely harnessed horses with silver stirrups, covered with fur, and with gold rivets. He rode a humble donkey; the apostles spread their cloaks on it–and I do not think those were precious. (St Bernard, Sermon on Palm Sunday, 2, 4)
* This is how we should walk along the Way of Light: Love God who created you ...; be simple at heart but rich in spiritual treasure .... Do not exalt yourself, be humble in all circumstances; do not claim glory for yourself. (Epist. of Barnabas, 19, 1-3)
* Only the person who truly loves God does not think of himself. (St Gregory the Great, Hom. 38 on the Gospels)
* Ideologically, you are very Catholic. You like the atmosphere of the residence hall... You think: A pity the Mass is not at twelve, and the classes are not in the afternoon, so you can study late in the evening after one or two drinks.
That “Catholicism” of yours does not come up to the real thing; it remains simply bourgeois.
Don’t you see that you can’t think like that at your age? Leave behind your laziness and your self‑worship..., and adapt to the needs of others, to the reality around you, then you will be taking your Catholicism seriously. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 716)
Cheerfulness and Humility
A humble person desires the best for the others; he wants them to be holy and happy. He rejoices at his own good, as much as he does at the gifts that others have.
* Giving oneself sincerely to others is so effective that God rewards it with a humility filled with cheerfulness. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 591)
* Lord, in my youth, you were giving no joy to my ears, nor cheerfulness to my heart; my bones were not delighted because they were not humiliated. (St Augustine, Confessions, 4, 5)
* If we find the sweet yoke of the Lord bitter, couldn’t it be due to our lack of correspondence which renders it acrid? If we find the joyous lightness of the divine commitment burdensome, couldn’t it be that due to our pride we have rejected Him who can help us to carry on? (Cassian, Collationes, 24, 24)
* You see yourself as a poor man whose master has stripped him of his gold-trimmed uniform; just a sinner! Now you understand the nakedness felt by our first parents.
You should be weeping all the time. And you have wept; you have suffered a great deal. Yet you are very happy; you wouldn’t change places with anyone. For many years now, you have not lost your gaudium cum pace–your peaceful joy. You thank God for this and would like to let everyone into the secret of your happiness.
Yes, I can see why people have often said of you–though you couldn’t care less about “what people say”–that you are “a man of peace.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 174)
* Your life is happy, very happy, though on occasions you feel a pang of sadness, and even experience almost constantly a real sense of distress.
Joy and affliction can go hand in hand like this, each in its own “man;” the former in the new man, the latter in the old. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 183)
* Once again you had gone back to your old follies! And afterwards, when you returned, you didn’t feel very cheerful, because you lacked humility.
It seems as if you obstinately refuse to learn from the second part of the parable of the prodigal son; you still feel attached to the wretched happiness of the pig‑swill. With your pride wounded by your weakness, you have not made up your mind to ask for pardon, and you have not realized that, if you humble yourself, the joyful welcome of your Father God awaits you, with a feast to mark your return and your new beginning. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 65)
* “Father, following your advice, I laugh at my weaknesses–without forgetting that I can’t give in–and then I feel much happier.
But when I am silly enough to become sad, it seems to me that I am losing the way.” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 69)
* It is true: We are worth nothing, we are nothing, we can do nothing, we have nothing. And at the same time, in the midst of your daily struggle, obstacles and temptations are not lacking. But the cheerfulness of your brothers will banish all difficulties, as soon as you are back with them; because you will see them firmly relying on him –Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea –because you, Lord, are our strength. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 66)
* Sometimes you feel overwhelmed by a fit of discouragement. It kills your good desires, and you can hardly manage to overcome the feeling even by making acts of hope.
Never mind; this is a good time to ask God for more grace. Then, go on! Renew your joy for the struggle, even though you might lose the odd skirmish. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 77)
No One Is Indispensable
* These words reveal Msgr J. Escrivá’s faith and humility:
“We do not keep for ourselves what we know; that will be making ourselves indispensable. In Opus Dei, no one is indispensable. Not even I, the Founder, am indispensable.” (A. Vázquez de Prada, El Fundador del Opus Dei)
* Pride? Why? Before long (maybe years, maybe days), you’ll be a heap of rotting flesh , worms, foul‑smelling fluids, your shroud in filthy shreds ... and no one on earth will remember you. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 601)
Not to Be Singular
Humility toward ourselves must lead us to avoid wanting to become singular, unique, one of a kind; this is vanity and pride.
* Do you think that no one else has ever been twenty years old? Do you think they were never restricted by their parents when they were under age? Do you think they avoided the problems, however great or small, that you come up against? No. They went through the same things that you are going through now, and they matured, with the help of grace. They trod down their selfishness with generous perseverance, gave in when they should, and remained loyal–with calm humility–without being arrogant or hurting anyone when they should not have done so. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 715)
* You are always trying to draw public attention. Above all you want more notice to be taken of you than of others. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 710)
* The higher a statue is raised, the harder and more dangerous the impact when it falls. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 269)
* “If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal 6:3). Vain glory would have disappeared from the world, had this proposition of the Apostle been properly understood.
“The pride of those who hate you, Lord, rises continually” (Ps 74:23). Why is it that so many become prouder each day? Because their blindness impedes their self-knowledge. They think they are something, and they are nothing.
If anyone–it applies to all–thinks he is something–it does not say something great, but something.
This is the great truth you must accept: that you are nothing, nihil es. Why? Because by yourself, you have nothing but sin, the greatest evil. Everything else you have, other than sin, comes from God.
To achieve true humility one must be plunged into this knowledge. Although the essence of humility–modest self-abasement–is an act of the will, the will must receive from the intellect the direction and measure of lowering itself. (Fr. Paul Segneri, Man. dell’an.)
* Whoever has more charity will enjoy more glory. This glory will be given only to the humble of heart, since true charity begins from the little things to ascend on high.
Why do you become proud in the midst of earthly vanity, you, dust and ashes, heap of rottenness, food of worms? Know yourself well, if you wish to be ashamed and confused.
Charity is the root of all goods; pride that of every evil. You cannot plant the former, unless you uproot the latter. Use charity to uproot pride; it alone will teach you to withstand the spirit of pride. You will resist pride if you conceal your virtues and manifest your defects.
Pay much attention, this is pride: not to accept criticisms from others on things that you would willingly criticize about yourself. (Cardinal Bona, The Art of Divine Love, ch. 19)
* Through presumption or simply through vanity, many people run a black market to raise their own personal worth artificially. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 704)
* Detest showing off. Reject vanity. Fight against pride, every day, at every moment. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 713)
* The Pharisees were frauds. Their vainglory separated them from God; it made them look for another theater–another public–for their fights; and they were defeated. We are engaged in a battle; if one tries to please the spectators, who see what each one of us does, attention to the impression one makes on such onlookers will be the kind of combat one is really engaged in. (St John Chrysostom, Homilies on St Matthew, 72,1)
Intellectual Docility
A humble man obeys; a proud man cannot obey, he accepts no other will but his own. He thinks he is self-sufficient and acts accordingly.
Sometimes he will apparently accept instructions, but he will not take them to heart. Instead, he will subject them to criticism in the light of his own ideas, thus limiting the scope of his obedience.
On the other hand, we are not inert or passive instruments; without coercion, we must apply our intelligence and will to do what God wants us to do.
Personal formation must be an ongoing concern; we need to hear doctrinal points repeated often to incorporate them into our life. Thus, humility will bring us new lights from the Lord to help us live better our Christian vocation.
* The first integral element of humility is the attitude of mind, the grasp of truth. The second element is the expression of that attitude. The first element belongs to the intelligence, the second is the action of the will. There is a word that defines this second element, this expression of the attitude of mind: the word submission, or, if you like, docility.
In The Diary of a Country Priest, the old and stalwart priest of Torcy says the following to his young colleague: “Miracles are the pictures–the pretty pictures in the book. But remember this, lad, our Lady knew neither triumph nor miracle. Her Son preserved her from the least tip-touch of the savage wing of human glory. No one has ever lived, suffered, died in such simplicity, in such deep ignorance of her own dignity, a dignity crowning her above angels. For she was born without sin–in what amazing isolation! A pool so clear, so pure, that even her own image–created only for the sacred joy of the Father–was not to be reflected.”
Mary knew nothing of her own dignity. Because of this, in her own eyes, she had not the slightest importance. She never depended on herself; she depended entirely on God, on His Will. Thus, she was able to judge the extent of her lowliness, her secure condition as a creature, feeling herself incapable of anything, and sustained only by the goodness of God. As a result of this selflessness, she surrendered herself completely to God, and lived solely for him.
The second condition for being an efficacious instrument of God is docility. Only the humble can be docile. Those who lack humility follow the dictates of their own will, relying on their own ability; they have faith in themselves, they act on their own initiative, because they believe they are self-sufficient and they trust their own judgment; thus, they can do great harm, because they put last things first; instead of building, they destroy.
Proud persons do not adapt themselves to God’s plan–if they know it–because they will not tolerate being relegated to positions inferior to those which they think they deserve. They forget these words: “Whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your servant” (Mt 20:26). Their ego is so strong that it leaves no room for anything else, not even for grace, and considers only itself.
Those who lack humility do not occupy the place designated for them by God; they do not fulfill their mission. They do not help others to occupy their respective places properly and grow closer to God. They disturb the divine action by getting out of place, seeking only their own glory and personal vanity.
In the Mystical Body of Christ, this is very serious; as if some important organ of the body, instead of fulfilling its own function in relation to the rest of the organism, were to develop disproportionately at the expense of the rest. This may easily hurt other members, deforming them, diminishing them, atrophying them, retarding their development, making them do the work intended for itself but which it neglects in its efforts to outgrow all the others. It is like a corroding cancer. (F. Suárez, Mary of Nazareth, 2)
* Only the stupid are obstinate; the very stupid, very obstinate. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 274)
* Rather than commit a fault against charity, give in, offer no resistance, whenever you have the chance. Show the humility of the grass, which yields without needing to know whose foot is stepping on it. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 277)
* Your obedience is not worthy of the name unless you are ready to abandon your most flourishing work whenever someone with authority so commands. (J. Escrivá, The Way, 625)
* What eagerness many show for reform!
Would it not be better to reform ourselves, each one of us, so as to fulfill faithfully what is laid down? (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 131)
* If you are sensible and humble, you will realize that one never stops learning. This happens in every field; even the wisest will always have something to learn, until the end of their lives; if they don’t, they cease to be wise. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 272)
Submit to the Church’s Judgment
Confidence in God means to trust Him–not our own judgment–and to trust the manner God has set for our sanctification: through the Church.
The Magisterium of the Church is a guarantee of sure doctrine: “Anyone who listens to you, listens to me; anyone who rejects you, rejects me” (Lk 10:16). We receive the right doctrine from those placed by Christ to direct the Church throughout the centuries.
* The Church, endowed with the gifts of her Founder and faithfully observing His precepts of charity, humility, and self-denial, received the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God: she is, on earth, the seed of that kingdom. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, n. 5)
* Following the path of Christ... the Church, although she needs human resources to carry out her mission, is not set up to seek earthly glory, but to proclaim humility, and self-denial, and this by her own example. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, n. 8)
* Christ communicated his power to his disciples; he wanted them to be constituted in royal liberty, and overcome the reign of sin in themselves by self-denial of a holy life (cf. Rom 6:12). By serving Christ in others every Christian must–in humility and patience– bring their brethren to Christ the King; to serve Him is to reign. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, n. 36)
* Humility and obedience are the indispensable conditions for acquiring good doctrine. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 132)
* Try to make “intellectual humility” an axiom for yourself.
Think about it carefully. Isn’t it true that it just doesn’t make sense to be “intellectually proud”? That saint and doctor of the Church put it very well: “It is a detestable disorder for a man to see God become a little child, and still want to appear great in this world.” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 142)
* Some people make mistakes through weakness–on account of the fragile clay we are all made of–but retain the Church’s doctrine in its integrity.
These, with the grace of God, display courage and humility in acknowledging their mistakes and defending the truth firmly. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 42)
* Do not forget that in human affairs other people may also be right; they see the same question as you, but from a different point of view, under another light, with other shades, with other contours.
Only in faith and morals is there an indisputable standard: that of our Mother the Church. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 275)
* Never adopt a superior air toward Church matters, or toward your fellow human beings–your brothers. On the other hand, that attitude might be necessary in your social behavior, when it is a matter of defending the interests of God and those of souls. Then, you would not be acting out of superiority, but out of faith and fortitude, which we practice with a calm and humble confidence. (J. Escrivá, Furrow, 720)
* You must always have, in everything, the same “instinct” as the Church. For this, you must acquire the spiritual and doctrinal training that you need, which will make you a person of sound judgment in temporal matters; humble and quick to correct yourself when you realize you have made a mistake.
Correcting your own mistakes nobly is a very human and very supernatural way of using your freedom. (J. Escrivá, The Forge, 840)
FOOTNOTES:
1. The Way, no. 33.
2. J. Escrivá, Human Virtues, p. 10.
3. J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 75.
4. Letter, 9-I-1932, n. 89 and 90.
5. Letter, 17-VI-1973, n. 31.
6. Meditation Consumados en la Unidad, 17-III-1975.