Humility is a virtue that raises you up rather than puts you down. That is why Jesus says in today’s scripture: “whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Humility, it has been said, is the truth. It is the truth concerning yourself; about your strengths and weaknesses; about the downward pull of selfishness that lies buried within the best of us. It is the truth about the need for a higher power in our lives, to raise us up, to shield us from evil, and to lead us in the ways of righteousness.

It is important, then, to reflect on this attitude of humility, on how it can transform your inner life, and on how it can affect the lives of those you come in touch with every day. It is not an abstract or unattainable virtue. Far from it, humility is very practical. So, today I would like to offer you this meditation:

Lord, you’ve known me a long time.
You know me better than I know myself.
So, please keep me from being impatient.
Allow me to avoid the habit of thinking I
must say something on every subject and
on every occasion.

Release me from the burden of trying
to straighten out everyone else’s affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody.
Helpful but not overbearing.
Although I have knowledge to share,
grant that my friends and listeners, at last,
may forgive the knowledge I have lacked.

Protect my tongue from the recital of endless details.
Seal my lips from complaining of aches and pains when
the need to talk about them becomes almost a compulsion.
Grant me the grace to listen to the retelling of others’
afflictions, and help me to endure them with gentleness.

Guard my memory and enable me to relent in conversation
when my recollections clash with those of others.
Make me always aware of the blessing to accept that
I may also be mistaken on occasions.

May I always try to be kind.
A saint I may not be, but I know that
an embittered person is a constant burden.
Give me the ability to find good in unlikely places,
talents in unexpected people, and the grace
to acknowledge, humbly, these gifts wherever I find them.