Mary, Humanity’s Model of Humility

It’s sometimes hard to measure up to the expectations we place on ourselves, let alone those of others. No day or hour goes by without our feeling the guilt of inadequacy. It seems we feel we never do enough and what we do is never done well enough. Generally the fault lies not in insincerity or lack of effort. The fault is that we are human.

When I humbly embrace the truth of my inadequacy and acknowledge that my sufficiency comes from God, suddenly my life is filled with hope and a renewed energy. Humility in the face of reality is strength. Humility is truth, enabling us to see ourselves as we are. Humility brings a rich reward.

For me, no human embodies humility better than Mary, our Mother. Never for an instant throughout her life did she fail to acknowledge that all she had was result of God’s free gift. Her humility is most evident at the cross, during the desolation of the passion where she shared in the disgrace and contempt heaped upon her dying Son.

To be human is to be inadequate, by definition. Only God is adequate. But a God who made us this way surely gives us the slack, forgiveness, and the grace we need to work with this. And Mary, our Mother, is the best model and source of strength we have who can bring us to a healthy humility.  Holy Mary, model of humility, pray for us!—Fr. Philip Dabney, CSsR