Humility - The "Power" of the Spirit

Humility:

    St. Augustine mentions three virtues as indispensable to be moved by the Holy Spirit, and to be filled with his power, and to be enkindle with the fire of his love. These three virtues are humility, humility, and humility.

    And what is humility?. Because it is a very special virtue, but often misunderstood.

    There are three persons called "humble" in the Bible:
   1- Moses: "Moses was a very humble man, more humble than any man on the face of the earth" (Num.12:3)… And that's why God chose him to lead his people!.
    2- Virgin Mary: "The humble servant of the Lord"… and because of her humility, God made great things for her, and all generations forever will call her blessed (Lk.1:48-49).
    3- Jesus: "He humbled himself being obedient to death, even death on a cross. That is why God exalted him and gave him the Name that outshines all names, so that at the name of Jesus all knees should bend" (Phi.2:8-10).

   So, what is humility?:

    "Humility" is "the truth", and it means "lowliness", "submissiveness".

    1- The first great truth is that God is my Creator, and consequently, I, as the creature of God, should be grateful to Him at all times, worshiping Him, giving thanks to Him with joy for everything in all circumstances, and by the way, this is the secret of happiness of St. Paul (1Thes.5:16-18)… and, of course, for a Christian, the supreme act of thanksgiving is the Eucharist, which we should celebrate daily with great devotion and enthusiasm.

    This kind of humility is the greatest virtue against "pride", the "prime pride", which is to consider myself the center of the universe, and it is the greatest obstacle against the action of the Holy Spirit.

    2- God is the Creator of the Universe, and in comparison with God, I am like a drop of water compared with the ocean… so I have to praise God for his greatness, consider myself as I am, one among billions and billions!, and submit myself joyfully to all of his ordinances and commandments… and, by the way, this is the only way I can have a good life: The Commandments of God are like the traffic regulations, if I don't follow them, and pass the red light, I may hurt myself or my neighbors, driving into the sidewalk or outside the road, falling into a precipice.

    "Vainglory" is the opposed to this, it is to rob God, because to God is all glory and honor and praise… and if I am ever honored or praised, I have to receive that honor for the glory and praise of God, because all I have and the good I do comes from God.

    3- Everything and everybody around me are beloved creatures of God. So, I have to respect and love and enjoy everything God gives to me: My relatives and neighbors, all humans and animals and plants, and the rivers and oceans and stars… this is a wonderful world when lived in the truth, in humility… God gives us many things through his creatures: I don't know how to make a watch or a chair or a house or a street, even for a cup of coffee, a neighbor had to show and collect it, and prepare it, and another neighbor had to make the cup and the spoon, and even another one to prepare the sugar… in true humility, in justice, I have to love and thank my neighbor who does so many good things for me… and in justice, I have to do something good to him… there is no place for avarice or anger in a humble heart.

    4- As for myself, I am a creature of God, made perfect by God to do what I have to do. If you could have done the body of your child, you would have chosen the best eyes and hands and heart… well, God is your Father, your real maker, and, like any good father, he gave you the best face and body and spirit and soul, in everything the very best for you. If you could have chosen your eyes, may be you would have chosen the eyes of an eagle, and you would have been mistaken, because the eyes you have are the best for you to do what you have to do. And if you would have chosen a prettier face or a stronger body, you would have been mistaken, because the ones God gave to you are the very best for you… there is no place for envy or avarice in a humble heart, who depends on everything from God.

    God Gave you many gifts, to use them for his glory and to serve his creatures: If you sing well, it is not humility to say that you sing bad. Humility is to use that voice with joy to serve others, not for your selfish interests, but to give thanks to God for every gift you have… there is a false humility, aimed to bring us more glory and honor… there is no place for selfishness in a humble person.

    5- Now, the greatest virtue that Jesus wants us to imitate is his humility: "Learn from me", says Jesus. What do we have to learn, to make miracles and wonders like you?, to heal the sick?, to cast out devils?… no, no, "learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart" (Mt.11:29). He makes humility the characteristic and dominant virtue he wants us to imitate. It is the foundation of his divine and human heart and character. Humility is his seal and sign, always to do the will of the Father, and depend on him on everything: As God he humiliates making himself man, as man he humiliates himself to crucifixion… always doing the will of God, which is the perfect humility, the positive humility.

    We have to be humble like Jesus, the "positive humility"… but there is another reason for our humility, the "negative humility", the one due to the fact that we are sinners, imperfect… everything we do is stained with sin and imperfections, and it should be a second good reason not to proud of us, but humble of heart, and depend always in the merciful grace of God.

    To be humble means to depend on God, on his grace, to keep ourselves under his guidance, like Jesus, without leaning on ourselves but uniquely on his all-powerful and merciful might.

    6- In practice, however, man is naturally pelagian, a disciple of Lucifer: He believes he is sufficient by himself: He draws plans, and acts employing his own means, before he asks for the help and guidance of God. He is convinced of his absolute sufficiency, instead of relying in God… and this is not the truth: The truth is that we exist and act only by the divine influence of grace, even Lucifer!… never think you have made any progress till you look upon yourself as inferior to all, because any sin makes us another Lucifer, and you and I sin!.

    7- Pride remains an abjection, like Lucifer, it makes us a bad "bulb", that not even the spirit can light on. But the Spirit lifts up the humble soul, and freely, by grace, and makes it rebound in proportion to its voluntary abasement. Humility is the fountain of living water which projects its powerful stream into eternal life itself, "everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted" (Lk.14:11).

    8- Everybody rejects the Pharisee of Lk.18 and loves the publican of the same parable. We have to be like the prodigal son of Lk.15 who reproaches himself, humiliates himself, blames himself for his misconduct, and that humility moves the Father to embrace him and to make a very special feast for him… and look at Moses: He spent 40 years being great, the son of the Pharaoh, but another 40 years in learning humility, caring for the sheep of his father-in-law, and then, after he was humble, God chose him to live another 40 years guiding his people, the people of God, because "Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth" (Num.12:3).

    9- And finally, look at the Mother of Jesus, the "humble servant of the Lord" of Lk.1:48: For her humility, God chose her to be the Mother of Jesus, by the power of the Spirit… the humble servant became the Mother of God, and the faithful Spouse of the Spirit, and the Bible makes this great prophecy about her: "all generations shall call her blessed" (Ps.45:18, Lk.1:49). This "prophecy of the Bible" has been overwhelmingly fulfilled in the last 2000 years: Virgin Mary is the woman who has had more poems, and paintings, and statues, and chapels, and basilicas dedicated to her, to call her blessed with all kind of arts, and in every minute during these 2000 years someone has been blessing her in some part of the world, with the words of the Bible, "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk.1:42).

    We should always have in mind her words on humility in her Magnificat: "the Mighty God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly" (Lk.1:51-52).

    Let's try to pray with the Blessed Mother the prayer of Merry del Val:
    Lord, deliver me from the desire of being esteemed, of being loved, of being extolled, of being honored, of being praised, of being preferred, of being consulted, of being approved… and if I am ever honored or loved or praised, let me give all that honor and glory and praise to you, my God, because it really belongs to you…

My Prayer:
    O Merciful God, this life is "vanity of vanities, and all is vanity", except to love God and serve him in his mighty throne and in his creatures (Ecc.1:2, 12:13)… to the humble God reveals his secrets, and sweetly draws and invites him to Himself… only the humble like St. Joseph can be moved by the Spirit (Mt.1), and only the clean of heart like Virgin Mary can see God (Mt.5:8).

The "Power" of the Spirit (Act.1:8):

    The "power" of the spirit is mentioned often in the Bible, and it is different than the "power" of the world. The "power" of the world is to be "more", more famous, more rich, more honored… the "power" of the Holy Spirit is to be "less", less proud, less greedy, less envious, less anger, less lust… to clean out our soul, in order to fill us with Jesus, with his love and joy and peace, praise the Lord.

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