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The Litany of Humility is not a comfortable prayer. It is a sword that cuts deep into the desires and fears that govern our lives. To pray it sincerely is to invite Christ to strip away everything false, until nothing remains but Him.
At first glance, it seems impossible: Who would willingly ask to be freed from the desire of being esteemed, loved, honored, or praised? Who would dare to pray to be freed from the fear of being humiliated, despised, ridiculed, or forgotten? And yet this paradox is the secret of the Gospel. “Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:25).
St. Augustine puts it starkly:
“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” (Sermon 352.1)
Pride seeks esteem, love, and approval; humility yields them up. Pride fears humiliation, contempt, and suspicion; humility embraces them in Christ. Where pride imprisons, humility sets free.
Eastern Witnesses: Hidden in Christ
The saints of the Christian East show that humility is the gateway to union with God.
- St. Anthony the Great fled esteem to seek only God in the desert.
- St. Mary of Egypt found divine love after renouncing human affection.
- St. Silouan the Athonite warned that where humility is absent, God cannot dwell.
- St. Nektarios of Aegina bore humiliation and calumny silently, trusting only in Christ.
Their lives proclaim that true freedom comes when we let go of the world’s fleeting honors.
Western Witnesses: Humility as the Path to Holiness
The saints of the West show that humility sanctifies ordinary life as much as heroic suffering.
- St. Thérèse of Lisieux chose hiddenness as her little way.
- St. Francis of Assisi embraced poverty and ridicule for love of Christ.
- St. John Vianney endured both praise and contempt with equal humility.
- St. Thomas More and St. Joan of Arc bore injustice and rebuke with serenity and courage.
Their witness reminds us that humility is not weakness but strength — the strength to be small before God and man.
The Humility of Christ
Above all, the Litany is a mirror of Christ Himself. “He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7). He was despised, ridiculed, suspected, calumniated, humiliated, forgotten by men — yet in His humility, He conquered pride, sin, and death.
St. Thomas Aquinas explains:
“Christ’s humility is the cause of our exaltation; by despising honors He taught us to despise them also.” (ST III, q.40, a.2 ad 1)
The saints show us that to follow Christ is to walk this same path: to embrace humility as the way of transformation.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, You who humbled Yourself to be born in a manger, to live in obscurity, to be rejected and crucified — deliver me from every desire that seeks myself, and from every fear that holds me back from You.
Teach me with the saints of East and West to rejoice in being small, forgotten, despised, and ridiculed, if only I may share in Your humility. Strip me of pride so that You alone may live in me.
For in losing the world, may I gain You.
In being forgotten, may I be remembered by You.
In being humbled, may I be exalted with You.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.
