Street of First Doctrine
34. What Is Humility?
Street of First Doctrine: first Catholic doctrine for souls learning how to believe, pray, and live.
"Learn of me, because I am meek, and of heart." - Matthew 11:29
is the by which the soul knows its dependence on God, accepts the truth about itself, and refuses . A beginner must learn because is the root of rebellion, and no one enters the Catholic life by self-exaltation.
The catechism answer is simple: is the that makes us acknowledge God as the source of every good, see ourselves truthfully, and submit to His will.
is not weakness. It is truth before God.
The question is not, "How can I think badly of myself?" False self-hatred is not .
The question is: "Do I stand before God in truth?"
The soul knows that it was created by God, redeemed by Christ, dependent on , capable of sin, and called to holiness. It neither pretends to be nothing nor pretends to be the source of its own good.
Our Lord is the perfect teacher of . He is God, yet He took the form of a servant, the Father, washed the feet of His disciples, accepted humiliation, and died on the Cross.
The Cross reveals more deeply than any lesson in words.
The Christian learns by staying near Christ crucified.
The Blessed Virgin Mary shows in perfect . She received God's word, called herself the handmaid of the Lord, and gave all glory to Him.
Her Magnificat does not deny the great things God did in her. It gives the glory to God.
True does not reject . It praises the Giver.
seeks self-rule. It hates correction, resents , exaggerates its own judgment, excuses sin, compares constantly, and refuses dependence.
may be loud, but it may also be hidden. A person can be in silence, in piety, in suffering, in knowledge, or in being corrected.
The soul wants to be the measure. The soul receives the measure from God.
is tested by correction. A beginner should learn to ask: Is there truth here? What must I ? Am I angry because I was wrong, or because my was touched?
Not every correction is perfect. Some correction is poorly given. Even then, the soul can look for truth without surrendering to bitterness.
Many graces are lost because correction was refused.
accepts hidden duties. It does not need constant notice, praise, or visible importance.
Changing a habit, apologizing, cleaning a room, caring for children, doing honest work, keeping silence, praying when no one sees, and in small things may form deeply.
God sees what men overlook.
does not mean denying doctrine, hiding the faith, flattering error, or calling evil good. Our Lord was , and He spoke truth.
A Catholic can be firm because firmness rests on God's truth, not personal vanity.
makes courage cleaner. It removes the desire to win for the sake of self.
The soul must learn that every good comes from God.
The soul must learn to accept correction.
The soul must learn to reject in obvious and hidden forms.
The soul must learn hidden fidelity.
The soul must learn that strengthens truth rather than weakening it.
is the that makes us acknowledge God as the source of every good, see ourselves truthfully, and submit to His will.
A beginner should ask: Do I accept correction? Do I excuse sin? Do I seek praise? Do I God when no one sees? Do I give glory to God for every good?
brings the soul into order. It bows before God, receives , and learns from Christ, who is meek and of heart.