July 17: Humility / Humildad

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Commenting on this passage from Matthew 11, 28-30, St. Augustine wrote, “If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level. If you are trying to construct a mighty and tall edifice, begin with the foundation. This is humility. However great the mass of the building you may wish to design or erect, the taller the building is to be, the deeper you will have to dig the foundation.”

The word “humility” comes from the Latin “humus,” meaning the earth. In another place, St. Augustine wrote, “God accepts offerings only from the altar of humility.” When St. Bernard of Clairvaux was asked what the four cardinal virtues were, he replied “humility, humility, humility, and humility.”

Being “down to earth,” as we might say today, is to be free of the stubborn clutches of selfishness, which is incapable of humility. Selfishness has to be constantly on alert to “get,” hold tightly, and protect. Humility, on the other hand, is just the unadorned truth that we are in need – and only God can provide for what our hearts truly desire. Let us be “well-grounded” in the Lord and open to who He wants us to be and what He wants us to do.

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Hay quien, desde el mucho saber, desprecia lo pequeño. O desde los grandes planes, se olvida de los detalles. O quien, intentando controlarlo todo, no es capaz de confiar… El Evangelio pide la actitud de los niños, no en cuanto a su inmadurez o el ser caprichosos. Sino en cuanto a su apertura a lo nuevo, su capacidad de sorpresa, su ilusión por comenzar, y su espíritu de humildad.

La cuestión no está en saber mucho o poco, sino en cómo te sitúas ante la vida. Hay quien, sabiendo poco, cree saberlo todo. Y hay quien, teniendo mucha ciencia, no es capaz de abrirse a la fe con humildad. En realidad, cuanto más sabemos, más podemos admirarnos de todas las maravillas que nos rodean y más podemos comprometernos a continuar la tarea de aportar algo valioso al mundo.