While I was home in Columbus, Ohio this summer, I heard a homily one Sunday at St. Leo Oratory, the church I have frequented the past two summers, while also singing in their Gregorian chant schola. It mentioned a prayer I had not known before—the Litany of Humility—a prayer attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See under Pope St. Pius X. It mentioned especially its final petition, a particularly difficult one to accept right away:
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.
Why would we ask for such a thing that suggests we may not become as holy as possible? After all, Jesus himself tells us to “be perfect, as also [our] heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). If others become holier than I, does that not mean there is some aspect of holiness that I am missing, therefore rendering me imperfect?
Coincidentally, on the day I started writing this reflection, I was in a philosophy of St. Augustine class in which we were discussing Augustine’s conception of humility. At one point in the class, we discussed a commentary of his on Philippians 2:3 (“Let nothing be done through contention, neither by vain glory: but in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves”). Augustine, believing correctly that truth cannot contradict reason, warned in reference to judging another’s qualities as better than your own that “a rash but kindly judgment should be cautioned against.” It is not controversial to say that you may be objectively better than another in some quality. Therefore, Augustine interprets St. Paul’s line as saying that we should consider that another could have a concealed quality that makes him “unquestionably superior” to you.
Leaving aside the controversy this discussion sparked in class over the proper way to interpret this particular part of Scripture, as it is beyond the scope of this article, how does this relate to the Litany’s provocative petition at hand? As the rational desire is for both yourself and everyone else to become perfectly holy, this is probably a matter of desire. We cannot know with complete certainty the state of another’s soul (or our own for that matter), as only God can. For us, the important part of this petition rests in the desires that a) others become holy, even if that means they become holier than us, and b) we become as holy as we should. In the Litany, we are asking Jesus to make everyone holy and for us to reject the desire to compare ourselves to others in holiness.
As we are about a month into the academic year, a time where workloads increase, students compete for high grades on exams, and seniors start worrying about applications for jobs or graduate schools, it is a particularly pertinent time for us to cultivate the virtue of humility and battle the sin of pride. I know this is true at least for me, particularly as I refine my résumé. I will have to think about which of my experiences may give me a competitive edge in a law school admissions office, which inherently creates a danger of falling into pride. In order to cultivate virtue and avoid vice, I will need to detach the presentation of myself I make to an admissions committee from my own thoughts, lest I start reveling in a perception that I am superior to another. Whether I objectively am or not does not matter to my spiritual life, but rather I must desire the increase of others, even if I must decrease.
To that end, let us look to the Litany of Humility, a great prayer for cultivating virtuous desire:
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 go 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.
Adam is a senior from Columbus, Ohio. He previously served as Campus News and Culture Editor, and boasts the title of least cultured to ever serve as the latter. Holding a minor in Biology, he recently converted from STEM and now majors in Philosophy and Classical Studies. He currently leads Una Voce, the Latin Mass society at BC, and sings with the University Chorale of Boston College and the Chorale Chamber Singers. He enjoys Gregorian Chant, relearning the clarinet, and is an unabashed Ohio apologist.
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