Ave Maria Meditations
Wherever she went, the Blessed Virgin was a bringer of joy: For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy, says St Elizabeth, referring to John the Baptist with whom she was then with child. Hearing such praise from her cousin, Our Lady replied with words which have become that most beautiful hymn of jubilation: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
In the Magnificat is to be found the deepest meaning of true humility. Mary considers that God has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. Thus, He who is mighty has done great things in her. On this scale then, one of grandeur and humility, is passed Our Lady’s entire life. What humility, that of my holy Mother Mary! She is not to be seen amidst the palms of Jerusalem, nor – excepting the first one at Cana – at the hour of the great miracles. But she doesn’t flee from the degradation of Golgotha: there she stands, ‘juxta crucem Jesu’, by the Cross of Jesus – His Mother. She never sought the slightest personal glory.
The virtue of humility, so evident in Our Lady’s life, is the true recognition of what we are and are worth in the eyes of God and of our fellow men. It is also an emptying of ourselves to allow God to work in us with his grace. It is the rejection of appearances and of superficiality; it is the expression of the depth of the human spirit; it is a condition for its greatness.
Humility is founded on the awareness of our position in the eyes of God and on the wise moderation of our always excessive desires for glory. It should never be confused with timidity, faint-heartedness or mediocrity. It is not opposed to our awareness of the talents we have received, nor to the full use of them with rectitude of intention, for humility does not diminish, but broadens one’s outlook. Humility recognizes that all the good in us, whether in the order of nature or in that of grace, belongs to God alone; for of his fullness we have all received. God is all that is great in us; of ourselves we are defective and weak.
We come before God as debtors who do not know how to discharge our debts, and for this reason we go to Mary as the Mediatrix of all graces, to the Mother of mercy and tenderness to whom no one has ever had recourse to in vain.
Humility is the root of all virtues and without it, none of them can be developed. Humility is, in a very special way, the basis of charity. A humble person hates to put on airs, to show off. He knows well that he is not in the position he occupies, whatever it is, in order to shine or to receive compliments, but to serve, to carry out a mission. And if a Christian is to be found among the places of honor, occupying a preeminent position, he knows that this position of excellence has been given to him by God so that he may become useful to others, from which it follows that in as much as the witness of others ought to be pleasing to him, so much the more should he contribute to their good.
Another manifestation of humility is the avoidance of negative judgments about other people. The knowledge of our own weakness will prevent us from entertaining a bad thought about anyone, even if the words or conduct of the person in question give good grounds for doing so. We look on others with respect and understanding which, when necessary, will naturally and normally lead to fraternal correction.
Fr. Francis Fernandez (In Conversation with God)
Let us ask our humble Lady to obtain for us the grace of the virtue of humility.
