English
Saint Josemaria
Quotations from Saint Josemaria
Humility
Humility is another good way to arrive at interior peace. He has said so: ‘Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart: and you will find rest for your souls.’
The Way, 607
Prayer is the humility of the man who acknowledges his profound wretchedness and the greatness of God. He addresses and adores God as one who expects everything from Him and nothing from himself.
Faith is the humility of the mind which renounces its own judgement and surrenders to the verdict and authority of the Church.
Obedience is the humility of the will which subjects itself to the will of another, for God’s sake.
Chastity is the humility of the flesh, which subjects itself to the spirit.
Exterior mortification is the humility of the senses.
Penance is the humility of all the passions, immolated to the Lord.
Humility is truth on the road of the ascetic struggle.
Furrow, 259
Humility, Christian self-examination, begins with recognising God’s gift. It is something quite distinct from shrugging one’s shoulders at the way things are going. And it has nothing to do with a sense of futility or discouragement in the face of history. In one’s personal life, and sometimes also in the life of associations or institutions, there may be things which have to change, perhaps a lot of things. But the attitude with which a Christian should face these problems should be, above all, one of amazement at the greatness of the works of God, compared with the littleness of man.
Conversations with Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer, 72
Allow me to remind you that among other evident signs of a lack of humility are:
Thinking that what you do or say is better than what others do or say;
Always wanting to get your own way;
Arguing when you are not right or — when you are — insisting stubbornly or with bad manners;
Giving your opinion without being asked for it, when charity does not demand you to do so;
Despising the point of view of others;
Not being aware that all the gifts and qualities you have are on loan;
Not acknowledging that you are unworthy of all honour or esteem, even the ground you are treading on or the things you own;
Mentioning yourself as an example in conversation;
Speaking badly about yourself, so that they may form a good opinion of you, or contradict you;
Making excuses when rebuked;
Hiding some humiliating faults from your director, so that he may not lose the good opinion he has of you;
Hearing praise with satisfaction, or being glad that others have spoken well of you;
Being hurt that others are held in greater esteem than you;
Refusing to carry out menial tasks;
Seeking or wanting to be singled out;
Letting drop words of self-praise in conversation, or words that might show your honesty, your wit or skill, your professional prestige ... ;
Being ashamed of not having certain possessions ...
Furrow, 263
Father, you told me, I have committed many errors, I have made so many mistakes.
I know, I replied. But God Our Lord, who also knows all that and has taken it into account, only asks you to be humble enough to admit it and asks that you struggle to make amends, so as to serve him better each day with more interior life, with continual prayer and with piety, and making use of the proper means to sanctify your work.
The Forge, 379
In his preaching, Our Lord Jesus Christ very often sets before our eyes the example of his own humility. ‘Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart,’ so that you and I may know that there is no other way, and that only our sincere recognition of our nothingness is powerful enough to draw divine grace towards us. St Augustine says: ‘It was for us that Jesus came to suffer hunger and to be our food, to suffer thirst and to be our drink, to be clothed with our mortality and to clothe us with immortality, to be poor so as to make us rich.’
Friends of God, 97
God resists the proud, but gives his grace to the humble,’ the apostle St Peter teaches. In any age, in any human setting, there is no other way, to live a godly life, than that of humility. Does this mean that God takes pleasure in our humiliation? Not at all. What would he, who created all things and governs them and maintains them in existence, gain from our prostration? God only wants us to be humble and to empty ourselves, so that he can fill us. He wants us not to put obstacles in his way so that — humanly speaking — there will be more room for his grace in our poor hearts. For the God who inspires us to be humble is the same God who ‘will refashion the body of our lowliness, conforming it to the body of his glory, by exerting the power by which he is able also to subject all things to himself’. Our Lord makes us his own, he makes us divine with a ‘true godliness.’
Friends of God, 98
‘The greater you are, the more in all things abase yourself, and you shall find favour with God.’ If we are humble, God will never abandon us. He humbles the arrogance of the proud, but he saves the humble. He frees the innocent man, who is rescued because his hands are clean. The infinite mercy of Our Lord is not slow in coming to the aid of those who humbly call upon him. And then he acts as he truly is, as God Almighty. Although there may be many dangers, though the soul may feel harassed and find itself surrounded on all sides by the enemies of its salvation, it will not perish. This is not merely something that was true in days gone by. It continues to happen now.
Friends of God, 104
Let me remind you that if you are sincere, if you show yourselves as you really are, if you acquire that ‘true godliness’ by being humble and not proud, then you and I will be safe in any environment. We will always be able to talk of battles won and call ourselves the victors. Ours will be the intimate victories of God’s love, which bring peace, understanding and happiness to the soul.
Friends of God, 106
Do you want to be daring in a holy way, so that God may act through you? Have recourse to Mary, and she will accompany you along the path of humility, so that, when faced by what to the human mind is impossible, you may be able to answer with a fiat! — be it done!, which unites the earth to Heaven.
Furrow, 124
The Way, 607
Prayer is the humility of the man who acknowledges his profound wretchedness and the greatness of God. He addresses and adores God as one who expects everything from Him and nothing from himself.
Faith is the humility of the mind which renounces its own judgement and surrenders to the verdict and authority of the Church.
Obedience is the humility of the will which subjects itself to the will of another, for God’s sake.
Chastity is the humility of the flesh, which subjects itself to the spirit.
Exterior mortification is the humility of the senses.
Penance is the humility of all the passions, immolated to the Lord.
Humility is truth on the road of the ascetic struggle.
Furrow, 259
Humility, Christian self-examination, begins with recognising God’s gift. It is something quite distinct from shrugging one’s shoulders at the way things are going. And it has nothing to do with a sense of futility or discouragement in the face of history. In one’s personal life, and sometimes also in the life of associations or institutions, there may be things which have to change, perhaps a lot of things. But the attitude with which a Christian should face these problems should be, above all, one of amazement at the greatness of the works of God, compared with the littleness of man.
Conversations with Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer, 72
Allow me to remind you that among other evident signs of a lack of humility are:
Thinking that what you do or say is better than what others do or say;
Always wanting to get your own way;
Arguing when you are not right or — when you are — insisting stubbornly or with bad manners;
Giving your opinion without being asked for it, when charity does not demand you to do so;
Despising the point of view of others;
Not being aware that all the gifts and qualities you have are on loan;
Not acknowledging that you are unworthy of all honour or esteem, even the ground you are treading on or the things you own;
Mentioning yourself as an example in conversation;
Speaking badly about yourself, so that they may form a good opinion of you, or contradict you;
Making excuses when rebuked;
Hiding some humiliating faults from your director, so that he may not lose the good opinion he has of you;
Hearing praise with satisfaction, or being glad that others have spoken well of you;
Being hurt that others are held in greater esteem than you;
Refusing to carry out menial tasks;
Seeking or wanting to be singled out;
Letting drop words of self-praise in conversation, or words that might show your honesty, your wit or skill, your professional prestige ... ;
Being ashamed of not having certain possessions ...
Furrow, 263
Father, you told me, I have committed many errors, I have made so many mistakes.
I know, I replied. But God Our Lord, who also knows all that and has taken it into account, only asks you to be humble enough to admit it and asks that you struggle to make amends, so as to serve him better each day with more interior life, with continual prayer and with piety, and making use of the proper means to sanctify your work.
The Forge, 379
In his preaching, Our Lord Jesus Christ very often sets before our eyes the example of his own humility. ‘Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart,’ so that you and I may know that there is no other way, and that only our sincere recognition of our nothingness is powerful enough to draw divine grace towards us. St Augustine says: ‘It was for us that Jesus came to suffer hunger and to be our food, to suffer thirst and to be our drink, to be clothed with our mortality and to clothe us with immortality, to be poor so as to make us rich.’
Friends of God, 97
God resists the proud, but gives his grace to the humble,’ the apostle St Peter teaches. In any age, in any human setting, there is no other way, to live a godly life, than that of humility. Does this mean that God takes pleasure in our humiliation? Not at all. What would he, who created all things and governs them and maintains them in existence, gain from our prostration? God only wants us to be humble and to empty ourselves, so that he can fill us. He wants us not to put obstacles in his way so that — humanly speaking — there will be more room for his grace in our poor hearts. For the God who inspires us to be humble is the same God who ‘will refashion the body of our lowliness, conforming it to the body of his glory, by exerting the power by which he is able also to subject all things to himself’. Our Lord makes us his own, he makes us divine with a ‘true godliness.’
Friends of God, 98
‘The greater you are, the more in all things abase yourself, and you shall find favour with God.’ If we are humble, God will never abandon us. He humbles the arrogance of the proud, but he saves the humble. He frees the innocent man, who is rescued because his hands are clean. The infinite mercy of Our Lord is not slow in coming to the aid of those who humbly call upon him. And then he acts as he truly is, as God Almighty. Although there may be many dangers, though the soul may feel harassed and find itself surrounded on all sides by the enemies of its salvation, it will not perish. This is not merely something that was true in days gone by. It continues to happen now.
Friends of God, 104
Let me remind you that if you are sincere, if you show yourselves as you really are, if you acquire that ‘true godliness’ by being humble and not proud, then you and I will be safe in any environment. We will always be able to talk of battles won and call ourselves the victors. Ours will be the intimate victories of God’s love, which bring peace, understanding and happiness to the soul.
Friends of God, 106
Do you want to be daring in a holy way, so that God may act through you? Have recourse to Mary, and she will accompany you along the path of humility, so that, when faced by what to the human mind is impossible, you may be able to answer with a fiat! — be it done!, which unites the earth to Heaven.
Furrow, 124
Prayer
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