O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
Attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865–1930), Secretary of State to Pope St. Pius X.
Humility can be a very difficult virtue to practice. With our fallen human nature, we’re inclined to be proud and boastful. However, the Lord asks us to be humble of heart: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
Humility is foundational for prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us (#2559): “‘Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.’ But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or ‘out of the depths’ of a humble and contrite heart?
“He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer, Only when we humbly acknowledge that ‘we do not know how to pray as we ought,’ are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. ‘Man is a beggar before God.’”
This beautiful Catholic Litany of Humility was composed by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865–1930), Secretary of State under Pope Saint Pius X. With it, you can ask the Lord for the help you need to grow in the virtue of humility!
Begin by asking Jesus, “meek and humble of heart,” to hear you. Then pray each petition and answer with its response: “deliver me, O Jesus” for the desires and fears, and “Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it” for the last part. Pray slowly; the whole litany takes about five minutes. If one line is hard to say, stay with it a moment. It may be the one you most need to bring to the Lord.
Many Catholics pray it in the morning, before confession as part of an examination of conscience, or during Eucharistic adoration. It is also a good prayer for a day when criticism, envy or comparison weighs on you.
The litany is attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865–1930), who served as Secretary of State under Pope St. Pius X. EWTN publishes it under his name. It moves in three steps: freedom from the desire for esteem, freedom from the fear of humiliation, and finally the grace to want good things for others more than for ourselves.
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