July 1, 2022

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord,

Congratulations. We are now more than halfway through our yearlong pilgrimage as Disciples Together on the Way. If you have been with us for all 26 weeks, well done! If you are new to the journey, welcome! This week we begin a new theme: The virtues. What is a virtue?

Let’s turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for our answer. This book is a compendium of all that the Church teaches on matters of faith and morals. In the section on the virtues it says this: “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good,” adding that, “It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1803). 

While there are many virtues, the Catechism notes four key human ones: Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. These human virtues, says the Catechism, are meant to be “purified and elevated by divine grace” (#1810). 

The Catechism also speak of the three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love.  These three do not come from our own efforts but are from God and are directed back to God (#1812). 

Okay. So where do we begin? I would suggest that a good starting point for living any virtue is humility – and that’s the theme of this week’s Disciples Together on the Way challenge.

The word humility comes to us from the Latin word humus meaning earth or ground. That’s also the root of the word human. How very apt. As the Book of Genesis tells us, “God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7).

It is from these humble origins that God created us, sustains us and, indeed, loves us such that we read in the Book of Psalms: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, put all things at his feet” (Psalm 8).

Thus, we discover the pivotal role of humility in the life of the Christian disciple. We discover that we are finite, frail and fallen. As such, our desire for God opens us to great things. 

As Saint Augustine of Hippo rightly said: "Man is a beggar before God". And yet by divine condescension, even to the point of God becoming human, we are beggars who have been raised to the rank of royal heirs. What Christ is by nature, we become by adoption.

This is why Saint Augustine also tell us that: “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues.”

Humility, if you like, is the door through which we all must pass if we sincerely hope to grow in virtue and holiness. And so, to this week’s challenge. Here it is: Every day this week, recite the Litany of Humility. A link to the prayer is in the footnotes to this talk. You may already be familiar with the litany. Here is some info about it.

The composition of the Litany of Humility is often ascribed to Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val who was Secretary of State to Pope Pius X in the early 20th century. However, there also exist earlier versions of this prayer. The litany consists of a series of 24 petitions to God, each asking for a decrease in our own ego so that an increase in God’s life and love can fill the vacuum that we allow in our life. In a somewhat narcissistic contemporary culture that often encourages self-importance and self-promotion, this prayer can come as quite a jolt to the system. You could even call it shock therapy. Hence, I encourage you to pray it today and, then, stick with it by praying every day this week.

Feel free to recite it alone or with others. Whatever works best for your situation. I pray that the Father will break open many new graces in your life through praying this litany.

So, until next week, may God bless you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Yours in Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing

Litany of Humility

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, 
Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others,
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, 
Deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, 
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, 
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, 
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, 
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, 
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, 
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, 
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Amen.