Tag: humility
Peter the Venerable
. . . this holy monk is certainly a great example of monastic holiness, nourished from the sources of the Benedictine tradition. For him, the ideal of the monk consists in “adhering tenaciously to Christ” (Ep. 53, loc. cit., p. 161), in a cloistered life distinguished by “monastic humility” (ibid.) and hard work (Ep. 77,… Read More ›
Levels of Humility
As Jesus passed on from there,He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9) . . . Today, with the celebration of Palm Sunday, we enter into the holiest week of the year. Over the next five days… Read More ›
What is humility?
Humility is to look on oneself as dust and ashes. The humble says, “Who am I? And who considers me to be anything? Who am I to deal with people for I am powerless?” He does not say, “What” or “What is this?” but walks submissively in his ways, never deeming himself equal to others. And… Read More ›
On Humility
After praying that God would take away his passions that he might become free from care, Abba John the Dwarf went and told an old man; ‘I find myself in peace, without an enemy,’ he said. The old man said to him, ‘Go beseech God to stir up warfare so that you may regain the affliction and… Read More ›
Of Silence
Let us act in conformity with that saying of the Prophet: “I said I will guard my ways lest I sin with my tongue; I have put a bridle on my mouth; I was dumb and was humbled and kept silence from good things.” Here the prophet shows that if we ought at times for… Read More ›
Weather Monk Faces Northern Winter
Perhaps it’s human nature to talk about yourself and your own experiences. My problem is that Br. Elias seems to invite this sort of self-centered behavior. Whenever I sit down with him, he creates a welcoming and tranquil atmosphere that says he’s ready to listen. This past summer, before Br. Elias left to study in… Read More ›
Central core
Faith is useless if the central core is missing. It then becomes just another ideology; closed to change and lifeless since it is cut off from what is most essential. “To love one neighbor as oneself” is the essential core of any faith that is alive and vibrant. “To treat others as you want to be treated”, if… Read More ›
What we are not
Humility is not about self loathing, but about seeing the truth, embracing it and not sinking into self hatred and despair. Perhaps that is the greatest obstacle, for it is easy to fall into those traps. The call to dying to self is more about that, than overcoming anyone ‘thing’ in ones life. Often our… Read More ›
Walking Humbly with God
We are all familiar with the well-loved and often quoted verse from the prophet Micah: He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk hum-bly with your God? (Micah 6:8). We usually then pro-ceed to mount our… Read More ›
Beware the praise of others
When you hear someone praising you, remember the words of the Scriptures: “O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths” (Isaiah 3:12). Such praise prevents us from seeing the abomination of our actions; it probably does harm even to those who have attained a measure… Read More ›