Pope Francis called humility “the base of Christian life.”
The Holy Father said, “This virtue is humility, the great antagonist of the most mortal of sins, namely pride.”
Pride and arrogance “swell the human heart, making us appear to be more than we are,” Francis said. Humility, however, “restores everything to its correct dimension: we are wonderful creatures, but we are limited, with qualities and flaws. From the beginning, the Bible reminds us that we are dust, and to dust we shall return (cf. Gen 3:19); indeed, ‘humble’ derives from humus, that is, earth. And yet delusions of omnipotence, which are so dangerous, often arise in the human heart, and this does us a great deal of harm.”
Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD, pointed out that “charity is the essence of Christian perfection,” and “humility is to charity what the foundation is to a building.”
There are two very beautiful definitions of humility: the first is “humility is nothing but truth,” and the second is “humility is thinking less about oneself.”
St. Vincent de Paul wrote, “The reason why God is so great a lover of humility is because He is the great lover of truth. Now humility is nothing but truth, while pride is nothing but lying.”
Jesus said, “Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). Humility in words and deeds must flow from humility of the heart. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “An interior disposition to humility puts its seal upon the words, gestures, and acts by means of which that which is hidden within is manifested on the outside.”
There are two doctrinal truths that serve as the basis of humility: nothing and grace. We are created by God out of nothing. Father Gabriel wrote, “If we take away from ourselves what is of God, we will find that of ourselves we are nothing, or rather less than nothing, for nothingness is incapable of offending God, while we have this sad capability.”
St. Therese, the Little Flower, said, “The remembrance of my weakness is so constantly present to me that there is no room for vanity.”
In the supernatural order we need the grace of Jesus, who said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
Father Gabriel pointed out: “In order to perform even the tiniest supernatural act we need God’s help; we need actual grace which prevents us by its inspirations and accompanies us in the act until it is accomplished.”
St. Paul asked, “What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” (1 Cor 4:7).
Peter Kreeft, in his book Back to Virtue, wrote, “Humility is thinking less about yourself, not thinking less of yourself. Pride is wilful arrogance, arrogating to yourself what is really God’s.”
Humility has God at the centre, whereas pride has self at the centre. Our Lady said, “Be it done to me according to Your word,” whereas Lucifer said, “I will not serve.”
Two important elements in our Catholic religion that enable us to focus on God rather than self are conformity to the will of God, and holy obedience. Adam and Eve failed in humility by disobeying the will of God. Jesus and Mary repaired the wound of human pride through obedience to the will of God.
In the secular world, progress is associated with independence, but in the spiritual life, the more progress we make, the more completely dependent we become on God.
Humility is the foundation of a virtuous life. St. Augustine said, “If you plan to build a tall house of virtues, you must first lay deep foundations of humility.” The saint also said, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”
St. John Chrysostom said, “Humility is the mother, root, nurse, foundation, and center of all other virtues.” St. Teresa of Avila said, “It is by humility that the Lord allows Himself to be conquered so that He will do all we ask of Him.”
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謙遜只有真實
教宗方濟各稱謙遜為「基督徒生活的根基」。教宗說：「這一德行是謙遜，是最致命的罪-驕傲-的強大對手。驕傲和傲慢膨脹人心，讓我們看起來比實際更好，但謙遜將一切還原至其正確的尺度：我們是奇妙的受造物，但我們有局限，有優點也有缺點。從一開始，聖經提醒我們，我們原是塵土，將來還要歸於塵土（參閱創3:19）；事實上，『謙卑』這詞源自於土壤（humus）。然而，人心中常出現這危險，以為無所不能的幻想，給我們帶來極大的傷害。」
赤足聖衣會會士加俾額爾神父說：「愛德是基督徒全德的本質，謙遜猶如愛德之華廈的地基。」
謙虛有兩個非常美麗的定義：「只有真實」和「少有自我」。
聖文生寫道：「天主為何如此鍾愛謙遜，因為祂鍾愛真理。謙遜之內只有真實，驕傲中只有謊言。」
瑪竇福音11:29記載耶穌說：「跟我學罷！因為我是良善心謙的。」謙遜的言行，來自一顆謙遜的心。內心謙遜的人，三緘其言、三思其行，成之內、形於外。
「虛無」與「聖寵」的真理使人謙遜。加俾額爾神父又寫道：「假如從我們之中取走屬於天主的，我們便歸於虛無，甚至比虛無更壞；因為虛無不能冒犯天主，但我們有冒犯天主的能力。」
聖女小德蘭說：「我時常記得自己的軟弱，以致虛榮無處藏身。」
在超性秩序中，我們需要耶穌的恩寵，祂說：「因為離了我，你們什麼也不能做。」（若5:5）
加俾額爾神父補充說：「最緲少的超性行為，仍缺不了天主的聖寵，也只有依靠天主的寵佑護著我們，不致半途而廢。」
聖保祿反問：「你有什麼不是領受的呢？既然是領受的，為什麼你還誇耀，好像不是領受的呢？」（格前4:7）
伯鐸·奇斐(Peter Kreeft)在他的箸作「回歸德行」寫著：「謙遜是忘我，而不是自卑。驕傲是故意妄自自大，並擅取那屬於天主的。」
謙遜以天主為中心，驕傲以自己為中心。聖母說：「願你的話在我身上成就罷」。撒旦路濟弗爾說：「我不事奉」。
我們的天主教信仰中有兩個重要的元素，使我們能聚焦於天主而非自我：順從天主的旨意，及對至聖的服從。亞當和厄娃因失去了謙遜而違背天主的旨意。耶穌和瑪利亞藉著服從天主的旨意，修復了人類驕傲的傷痕。
在世俗中，個人的成就和進步往往以「獨立性」來衡量。但在神修生活中，我們愈進步就愈依恃天主。
謙遜是一切德行的基礎。聖奧斯定說：「若你打算建造一座德行的高樓，必須先奠定深厚的謙遜根基。」聖人還說：「驕傲使天使變為魔鬼；謙遜使人如天使。」
金口聖若望說：「謙遜是其他一切德行的母親、根源、乳母、基礎和中心。」聖女大德蘭說：「透過謙遜，主讓自己被我們征服，讓祂成就我們所求的。」
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