Litany of Humility
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved 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 ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 8:09 PM
3 Comments:
Ever notice that when you pray for humility, our Lord gives you plenty of opportunity for practice?
I used to read and pray this litany almost every day before Mass last year. I've not done it nearly as often as I should. It is true, we do get the opportunity to practice when we pray it. I blow it a lot, but eventhough I'm 'thick of skull and thin of skin' too often, I am confident that the Lord is changing me, especially as I 'fly to our Mother Mary' and ask her help.
That's true Nancy.
Virtues we pray for often have a potentially painful practice-makes-perfect quality. Other than Humility:
-- Generosity
-- Mercy
-- Forgiveness
-- Penitence
-- Prudence
-- Meekness (for the over bold)
-- Boldness (for the over meek)
-- Faith
-- Chastity
-- Kindness
-- Gentleness
-- Piety
-- Zeal
and that all-time favorite "whammy:"
-- Patience
all come to mind.
I'm sure there are many others.
By grace, your bro,
--Theo
Post a Comment
Home