THE
P RTAL
August 2016
Page 19
Humility and the
Year of Mercy
Donato Tallo takes inspiration from St Benedict
Our Holy
Father, Pope Francis, has given us a wonderful living example of what true humility is
and humility is indeed a central theme of his Pontificate as well as being a central theme of the Year of
Mercy. However, humility is not always easy to put into practice and, as identified by St Benedict, the Father
of Western Monasticism, “it is hard to be humble”. Humility is a concept that comes from within one’s soul;
it is a concept that can help to bring us closer to God and closer to those around us, making us more stable
and well-formed individuals.
It has never been more important for Christians,
and indeed all people, to seek to be truly humble. St
Benedict and his Rule can help to inspire us; following
his ideas within our lives can help us all to put our
faith into action in ways that are genuine and much
needed in today’s society.
The virtue of humility must not be misunderstood or
misinterpreted and we must avoid being falsely “’umble”
like Uriah Heap in Dickens’ David Copperfield. We must
seek to be humble by opening our hearts to the true
meaning of humility and, as St Benedict says, “Keeping
the fear of God before our eyes in all that we do”. He
dedicated the entire seventh chapter of his Rule to the
concept of humility and it has a great deal to teach us
when considering the concept of mission and living
the faith of the Church. Humility is most certainly the
basis for an effective faith lived out in daily life.
said, “You get closer to Christ by coming closer to each
other on earth”. Perhaps by demonstrating greater love
and care to those around us, particularly those within
our own family and especially those who are unwell
or marginalised within society, and by reaching out to
those who are struggling in life, in need of comfort or
support and by valuing them as human beings, then
we can all indeed be true Disciples of Christ on earth.
The Eucharist must always be the central point of
our faith but, as scripture tells us, we are called to be
disciples and witnesses of Christ in our world today
not simply at the Eucharistic Table but by being Christ
in our world and seeing Christ in others through our
daily thoughts, actions and deeds.
We are reminded in Psalm 7 that “God knows our
hearts and our minds”. Perhaps in this Year of Mercy
St Benedict’s rule can inspire us and help us to deepen
While each of St Benedict’s twelve steps of humility our faith and fellowship towards others on earth.
(which are listed below) has a strong message of its I would greatly encourage people of all faiths and
own, the second step in particular is quite a striking none to explore the Rule of St Benedict; you might
one, being of great importance in today’s society be surprised by what you find but, like me, you might
which is so full of consumerism, family breakdowns, find it a useful tool to help bring you closer to God.
celebrity culture, social media, vanity and many other
problems and challenges.
St Benedict’s twelve steps of humility within his Holy
Rule which members of monastic orders must follow:
St Benedict’s second step of humility is based on the 1. Always be aware of the presence of God
Lords saying, “I have not come to do my own will but 2. Love not doing his own will but the will of God
the will of him who sent me”, (John 6:38) and suggests 3. Submit to the Abbot in obedience
that we should not love our own desires or take 4. Obey superiors even in hardship
pleasure in them but that we should model ourselves 5. Confess his sins to a spiritual father
around the above saying of Our Lord, which is not an
6. Be content with his circumstances
easy thing to do.
7. Believe in his heart that he is least of the brothers
I am not suggesting that we all need to seek to live 8. Follow the rule and tradition of the monastery
monastic lives, but the concept of humility as explored 9. Refrain from excessive speech
by St Benedict has so much to teach us, especially if we 10. Refrain from raucous laughter
are called to be Christ in our lives on earth and to see 11. Speak as is appropriate in a monastery
Christ in others. It was Mother Teresa who, in 1987 12. Keep a humble bearing in his body