But, how, exactly, do I “humble myself”?

Dear Friends,

Our readings this weekend proclaim humility as a quality we should cultivate. Sirach says, in the first reading, “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.

In the Gospel, Jesus pointedly says (and this isn’t the only time he does), “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Aren’t many or most of us not even thinking about humility nor exaltation? Just trying to get by?

I will share a few things I’ve heard over the years on the subject. If they’re helpful to you, wonderful. If not, just let them go.

Humility does not mean being down on myself. The word comes from the Latin humus, like what we put in our gardens, meaning of the earth. What it means is accepting that I am a creature, not the Creator. That I am servant, not Master. This does not mean that I am worthless – far from it. You and I are made in the image and likeness of God and we are loved beyond comprehension. And remember in the book of Genesis, that God looked upon all he had made, and found it very good.

So what does it mean to be humble? I think it means to simply acknowledge the totality of who we are, good and bad, and to keep in mind where all the good comes from – from God, of course. Our strengths, our gifts and talents, our intelligence, our innate goodness – it would be silly to deny these in service of a misguided quest for humility. To acknowledge their Source and to be grateful, while also working on our weaknesses trusting God to guide us and help us with that – this, I think is what humility is.
Here’s a useful metric to gauge our progress in humility: if I think I’m humble then I almost certainly am not. This creates a bit of a Catch-22, particularly if I want to somehow measure my progress in the spiritual life. 

I think the ultimate goal is to be so focused on God and thankfulness for his creation (including myself) that I never really spend much time or energy at all even asking if I am humble. Our sights should be set on God, not looking in the mirror, as it were.
Siempre adelante, 


Dominic MacAller
Worship Minister 

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