Of the Third Degree of Humility

THE third degree of humility is when one endowed with great virtues and gifts of God and standing high in the honor and esteem of men, is not proud of anything, nor attributes anything to himself, but refers and attributes everything to the same source, which is God, of Whom comes every good and perfect gift (James i. 14). This third degree of humility, says St. Bonaventure, is proper to good and perfect men, who, the greater they are, humble themselves the more in everything. That one who is evil and imperfect should know and rate himself for such, is no great matter; it is a good thing and praiseworthy, but no marvel, any more than it would be for the son of a peasant to have no mind to be taken for the son of a king, or for the poor to hold himself poor, and the invalid for invalid, and for such like persons to be willing to be taken for what they are. But for the rich to hold himself poor, and for the great to diminish himself and put himself on a level with the lowly, making himself small, that is a thing to wonder at. So, as the saint says, it is no marvel for one who is evil and imperfect to hold himself for evil and imperfect; rather it would be a strange thing if, being what he is, he took himself for a good and perfect person, as though a man full of leprosy took himself for a sound man. But for one who is far advanced in virtues and enjoys many gifts of God and is truly great before His Divine Majesty to hold himself for a small and insignificant creature—that is great humility and a thing to marvel at.

St. Bernard says: “A great and rare virtue it is to do great deeds and not take oneself for great, but for slight and small—to have all the world holding you for a saint and an admirable man, while you yourself make little account of yourself. I take that to be more than all the rest of your virtues’—Magna et rara virtus profecto est, cum magna opereris, magnum te nescire; cum omnibus nota sit sanctitas tua, te solum lateat; cum omnibus magnus appareas, tibi soli vilescas. Hoc ego ipsis virtutibus mirabilius iudico. This humility was found most perfectly in the holy Queen of Angels, who, knowing herself to be chosen for Mother of God, with the deepest humility recognized herself for His servant and handmaid. St. Bernard says: “Being chosen for such a high dignity and great honor as to be Mother of God, she calls herself His handmaid; and being pronounced by the mouth of St. Elizabeth blessed amongst all women, she takes to herself no glory for those great endowments she has, but attributes them all to God, thanking Him and magnifying Him for them, while herself she remains entire and firm in the deepest humility.” My soul doth magnify, and so forth (Luke i. 46). This the humility of heaven. There the blessed keep themselves in this humility. This, says St. Gregory, is what St. John saw in the Apocalypse of those four-andtwenty elders who, prostrate before the throne of God, adored Him, taking their crowns off their heads and casting them at the foot of the throne (Apoc. iv. 4,10). He says that casting their crowns at the foot of the throne of God means attributing their victories, not to themselves, but all to God, Who gave them strength and virtue to overcome, thus giving Him the honor and glory of it all. Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power and might, for thou hast created all things, and by thy will they are and continue to be, as by that will they were created (Apoc. iv. 11). It is right, O Lord, that we should give Thee the honor and glory of all, and take the crowns off our heads and cast them at Thy feet, for all is Thine, by Thy will it has been made, and if we have any good, it is because Thou hast willed it. This, then, is the third degree of humility, not to be elated at the gifts and graces that we have received from God, but to attribute and refer all to God, as author and giver of all good.

But someone may say: If humility consists in that, we are all humble; for who does not know that all good comes to us from God and that of ourselves we have nothing but sins and miseries? Which of us is there that does not say: If God were to withdraw His hand, I should be the worst man in the world? Perdition is thine, O Israel: of me only cometh thy aid (Osee xiii. 9). Ail blessings and all good things must come to us by conveyance of the liberality of God. This is the Catholic faith, and so it seems that we have all got this humility, since we all thoroughly believe this truth, of which Holy Writ is full. Every good and perfect gift must come to us from above from the Father of lights (James i.17). And the Apostle St. Paul: What hast thou that thou hast not received? For of ourselves we are not sufficient to have any good thought as coming from ourselves, but all our sufficiency is of God: it is God that worketh in us as well to will good as to put it in act according to his good will (II Cor. iii. 5; Phil. ii. 13). He means that we cannot do anything, nor speak anything, nor desire anything, nor think anything, nor start anything helpful towards our salvation, without God, from Whom all our sufficiency proceeds.

And what clearer comparison could be given us to make us understand this than that which Christ Himself declares in His holy Gospel? As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remain in the vine, so neither can ye unless ye remain in me (John xv. 4). Would you see the little or nothing that you can do without Me? As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it be united with the vine, so none can do any meritorious work by himself, if he is not united with Me. I am the vine, ye the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same shall bear much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John xv. 5). What thing more fruitful than the branch united with the vine? And what thing more useless and good for nothing than the branch separated from the vine? What is it good for? God asks the Prophet Ezechiel: What shall be done with the branch? It is of no use as timber to do any work of carpentry, nor to make a peg to put ina wall to hang anything on: the branch separated from the vine is no good but for the fire (Ezech. xv. 2-4). Such are we if we are not united with the true life, which is Christ. If anyone abideth not united with me, he shall be cast out and wither away, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he burneth (John xv. 6). We are worthless except for the fire; if we are worth anything, it is by the grace of God, as St. Paul says: By the grace of God I am what I am (I Cor. xv. 10). It seems that we are all well grounded in this truth, that all the good that we have is of God, and that of ourselves we are nothing but sins, and that we have no good to attribute to ourselves, but all must go to God. This does not seem very difficult for one who believes, that we should assign it for the highest and most perfect degree of humility, since it is so plain a truth of faith. So it appears at first sight. Looking at it superficially and on the face of things, it seems easy; but it is not so, but difficult.

Cassian says that to beginners it seems an easy thing to attribute nothing to themselves, not to rest or confide in their own industry and diligence, but to refer and attribute all to God; but it is not so—it is very difficult. For as we ourselves also have some share in our good works, as we too work and concur with God—Dei enim sumus adjutores (I Cor. iii. 9), forthwith and almost imperceptibly we come to rest and rely on ourselves, and there comes over our mind a secret presumption and pride, thinking that it was by our industry and diligence this was done and that; and so we proceed to pride and vanity and elation over the actions that we do, as though it were by our own strength that we did them, and as though they were wholly ours. This is not such an easy business as it appears. Enough for us to know that the saints assign this for the most perfect degree of humility, and say that it is the humility of great souls, so that we may understand that there is in it more difficulty and perfection than appears. For a man to receive great gifts of God and do great works, and be able to give to God the glory of it as he ought, without attributing to himself anything or taking in it any vain complacency, is a thing of high perfection. To be honored and praised as a saint, and not to have one’s heart tainted by such honor and high appreciation any more than as though there were no such thing on the horizon, is a difficult thing, and few attain to it; much virtue is required for that.

St. Chrysostom says that to walk in the midst of honors without the heart’s being tainted of him who is so honored, is like walking among beautiful women without ever looking upon them with other than chaste eyes. A difficult and dangerous thing that, and much virtue is required for it. A good head is needful to walk high up and not get giddy; not everyone has the head to walk on a height. The angels had it not in heaven, Lucifer and his companions, and so they got their heads turned and fell into the abyss of hell. They say that this was the sin of the angels, that God having created them so beautiful and so fair, with so many gifts natural and supernatural, they did not stand in God (in veritate non stetit, John viii. 44), nor attribute to Him the glory of it all, but they stood in themselves—not that they thought that they had these things of themselves, for they well knew that they were creatures, but because, as the Prophet Ezechiel says: Thy heart is lifted up in thy beauty, and thou hast lost thy wisdom in thy brilliant splendor (Hzech. xxviii. 17). They became vain of their beauty, proud as peacocks of the gifts they had received from God, and reveled in them as though they had them of their own. They did not refer and attribute them all to God, giving Him the glory and honor thereof, but they grew vain and elated and foolishly self-satisfied, as though they had of themselves the good things that were theirs. Thus, though with their understanding they knew that glory was due to God, with their will they refused to give it and attributed it to themselves. You see that this degree of humility is not such an easy thing as it looks, since to the very angels it was a difficulty, and under it they fell from the height on which God had placed them, because they could not ‘maintain themselves there. Now if the angels had not a head strong enough to walk on high, but grew vain and fell, much more reason have we to fear lest we grow vain if set and raised up on high, for we men are such poor creatures that we vanish into thin air like smoke (honorificati et exaltati quemadmodum fumus deficient, Psalm xxxvi. 20). As smoke, the higher it goes up, is the more undone and disappears, so miserable and proud man falls away into vanity, the more they honor him and raise him to high estate.

Oh, how well and how much to the point did Christ our Redeemer advise us of this! The holy Gospel relates that, after He had sent the seventy-two disciples to preach, they returned very well satisfied and in high glee from their mission, saying: ‘O Lord, we have done wonders; even the devils submitted and obeyed us in Thy name.” The Redeemer answered very seriously: J saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven (Luke x. 18). Beware of vain satisfaction; see how on that account Lucifer fell from heaven, because in that high estate in which he was created he grew full of vain self-complacency over the gifts that he had received, and did not attribute to God the glory and honor thereof as he should have done, but sought to exalt himself therewith. Let not the same thing happen to you; do not you grow vain of the wonders and great things that you do in My name, nor take any vain complacency therein. These words are spoken to us. See that you do not grow proud of the fact that by your instrumentality much fruit is produced among your neighbors and many souls gained. Beware of taking any vain satisfaction in the applause and good opinion of men and the high regard they show vou. See that you are not at all elated; see that honor and reputation do not taint your heart, for that is what made Lucifer fall, and of an angel turned him into a devil. Wherein you see, says St. Augustine, what an evil thing pride is, since of angels it makes devils; and, conversely, what a good thing is humility, which likens men to the holy angels.