Humility

[David Dietrich]

I have a sneaking suspicion that this topic has been covered somewhere here before, but my search for "humility" threads was unsuccessful so I'll plunge on ahead here.

I would like to know how to acquire the grace of humility.

I will, humbly of course, accept any and all comments that are posted, though I would prefer posts based on the tradition of course. Thank you.

[Paul Cowan]

Forgive me for being too lazy to rewrite the whole chapter, but Chapter 37 of "Unseen Warfare" pgs.180/183 are all about acquiring Virtues.

Very good stuff. Basically, choose one virtue and work on attaining it solely through prayer and actions.


In order to acquire virtues a man's soul should be great and courageous; his will, not weak and indolent, but resolute and strong; he must have a sure foresight of the numerous obstacles and hard struggles and must be ready to undertake and endure them all.

Of course chapters 34-42 also deal with virtues. All a good read.

Paul

[Herman Blaydoe]

There is quite a bit on the subject of humility in "The Sayings of the Desert Fathers" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0879079592/orthodoxmonaster).

[Peter S.]

Thanksgiving is vital to the development of humility in the soul. When we consistently give thanks to God for all things, then we begin to realize that every good thing that we have comes from God. If we are constantly giving thanks to God for these things, then the soul itself will learn to automatically turn every compliment into praise of God. In this way we develop the awareness in ourselves that we are nothing and God is everything and that all we do is by God's help and God's grace. This lays the foundation for humility.

Fr David Moser


In Christ
Peter

[David Dietrich]

In the "Brother's Karamazov" Fr. Zosima mentions how a man must realize that he is responsible for all the sins of mankind. How is this possible?

[Andrew]

In the "Brother's Karamazov" Fr. Zosima mentions how a man must realize that he is responsible for all the sins of mankind. How is this possible?

It took St. Silouan over fifteen years to fight even tiny suggestions of pride.

With man it is truly impossible to become humble. But with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we will recognize ourselves as dust and see the image of God in others, and lift them above ourselves. Read St. Silouan! Elder Joseph writes a lot about this too in Monastic Wisdom.

Good words to keep in mind in these matters:
"Keep thy mind in hell and despair not."
"All shall be saved, I alone shall perish."
"Lord, save ___, and by his prayers save me."
"O Lord, thou knowest that I am the least of all men. But I am thine, save me!"
"It is my fault!"

I'm not humble, so take me with a grain of salt. Read the writings of humble people, like St. Silouan.

[Andreas Moran]

Remembering our sins, even though they are forgiven us. Bishop Eireniaios said, 'your sins are not a private matter between you and God; they have cosmic dimensions. Just as when you throw a stone into a pond the ripples spread out to the ends of the pond, so your sins spread out into Creation and add to its fallenness'.

[Maria Mahoney]

I would like to know how to acquire the grace of humility.


Be careful what you ask for!

[John Charmley]

Thankfulness for the sacrifice upon the Cross for us sinners helps me as does reading the lives of the saints.

In Christ,

John

[Herman Blaydoe]

A desert father was teaching his disciple about humility. He told the young man to spend the day in the cemetary and to yell insults at the graves. The young monk then spent the day hurling rebukes and insults at the dead. The next day, the abba told him to spend the day praising the dead, and the monk proceeded to do so. At the end of the day the abba asked the monk how the dead reacted to being insulted and how they responded to praise. The monk replied that they evidenced no reaction at all to either. The abba then told the young monk that when he can show the same reaction as the dead to praises and insults, he will have learned humility.

YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)

[Andreas Moran]

The problem is, when you think you've got it, you suffer from pride in so thinking!

[Owen Jones]

Regarding the reference to Fr. Zosima, I think it is because no one is damned alone, and no one is saved alone. We are all in this together. The idea of just a personal salvation is anathema to Orthodox teaching. In fact, if the choice is between doing something that will save my own soul that coincides with jeopardizing another's soul, the choice is clear. Evil is something that cuts through every human heart, which we all at some point willingly participate in. So everytime I participate in evil, I am making it harder for some other soul.

[Nina]

An Orthodox Saint (sorry that I can't recall who and that I paraphrase) said that what we consider our "enemies" are the best tool that God uses to teach us humility. Enduring, and forgiving, and praying for our "enemies" is a crucial step towards humility.

Also Fathers say that humility is a grace and gift from God. The second one says "I have acquired humility!" in that very moment he really looses it.

[Michael Stickles]

An Orthodox Saint (sorry that I can't recall who and that I paraphrase) said that what we consider our "enemies" are the best tool that God uses to teach us humility.

I had to look that up, it seemed so profound. St. Silouan the Athonite taught that. I couldn't find a direct quote, but here's a quote from Elder Sophrony's book on St. Silouan:




To love one's enemies is also tightly bound to humility. The Staretz often associates these two virtues. Almost all the difficulties we encounter in loving our enemies are linked with pride: it is from pride that flows the affliction that follows upon insults, hatred, bad temper, spite, the desire for revenge, contempt for one's neighbor, refusing to forgive him and to be reconciled with him.

Pride excludes the love of enemies and love of enemies excludes pride: "If we love our enemies, pride will have no place in our soul." The fact that humility goes hand in hand with love of enemies proves the presence of grace and the authenticity of love: "If you have compassion for all creatures and love your enemies, and if, at the same time, you judge yourself the worst of all people, this shows that the great grace of the Lord is in you."

[David Dietrich]

I smell circularity somewhere here: in order to achieve salvation (the Holy Spirit) we need humility, in order to achieve the Holy Spirit we need humility and in order to achieve humility we need the Holy Spirit.

Although various comments here have been highly enlightening as regards how individual sin is responsible for universal sin via universal community this in the end would make each individual indirectly at fault for every other. This does not place the blame on one but on "all ones" thus making "my sin" just as much "mine" as "yours" and "theirs".

This tells me plainly that pure humility cannot be understood logically but must be a grace given by God. Here we return to the cyclical problem, if I need God to achieve God then how do I get God?

The answer might seem to lie in free will, but from my reading as well as from my experience the will of a man is by no means strong enough to achieve the smallest iota of God's will, that is, his power and strength. This means that in order for a man to master his will he needs the power of the Will of God but how do we achieve this if we do not have the strength of will necessary to acquire the saving Will of God?

Circles abound.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

The answer might seem to lie in free will, but from my reading as well as from my experience the will of a man is by no means strong enough to achieve the smallest iota of God's will, that is, his power and strength. This means that in order for a man to master his will he needs the power of the Will of God but how do we achieve this if we do not have the strength of will necessary to acquire the saving Will of God?

We do this by humbling ourselves.

It is true that humility comes from the grace of God.

But humbling oneself still comes from the activation of one's will.

Yes- which is possible even if it is not entirely free.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Paul Cowan]

in order to achieve salvation (the Holy Spirit) we need humility, in order to achieve the Holy Spirit we need humility and in order to achieve humility we need the Holy Spirit.


God meets us where we are. Yes, we can do nothing without Him. But, He can do nothing with us without our consent. Just as the prodigal son "came to himself", he had to DO something in order for the Father to embrace him. He had to COME home. The blind man had to ASK for help then had to GO wash in the pool of Siloam. The paralegic had to be LOWERED in through the roof to be healed.

We have to DO something before God will help us. If this means just showing the willingness to be humble, He will move heaven and earth to help us. In most cases, that is what it takes since we are so hard hearted and stubborn and resist Him even when we know we need what He is offering, and its free.

Paul

Paul

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Here is something helpful from St John Cassian's Conference 13; Chap 11:



Chapter 11

Whether the grace of God precedes or follows our good will.

And so these are somehow mixed up and indiscriminately confused, so that among many persons, which depends on the other is involved in great questionings, i.e., does God have compassion upon us because we have shown the beginning of a good will, or does the beginning of a good will follow because God has had compassion upon us? For many believing each of these and asserting them more widely than is right are entangled in all kinds of opposite errors. For if we say that the beginning of free will is in our own power, what about Paul the persecutor, what about Matthew the publican, of whom the one was drawn to salvation while eager for bloodshed and the punishment of the innocent, the other for violence and rapine? But if we say that the beginning of our free will is always due to the inspiration of the grace of God, what about the faith of Zaccheus, or what are we to say of the goodness of the thief on the cross, who by their own desires brought violence to bear on the kingdom of heaven and so prevented the special leadings of their vocation? But if we attribute the performance of virtuous acts, and the execution of God's commands to our own will, how do we pray: "Strengthen, O God, what You have wrought in us;" and "The work of our hands establish Thou upon us?" We know that Balaam was brought to curse Israel, but we see that when he wished to curse he was not permitted to. Abimelech is preserved from touching Rebecca and so sinning against God. Joseph is sold by the envy of his brethren, in order to bring about the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt, and that while they were contemplating the death of their brother provision might be made for them against the famine to come: as Joseph shows when he makes himself known to his brethren and says: "Fear not, neither let it be grievous unto you that you sold me into these parts: for for your salvation God sent me before you;" and below: "For God sent me before that you might be preserved upon the earth and might have food whereby to live. Not by your design was I sent but by the will of God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house, and chief over all the land of Egypt." And when his brethren were alarmed after the death of his father, he removed their suspicions and terror by saying: "Fear not: Can ye resist the will of God? You imagined evil against me but God turned it into good, that He might exalt me, as you see at the present time, that He might save much people." And that this was brought about providentially the blessed David likewise declared saying in the hundred and fourth Psalm: "And He called for a dearth upon the land: and broke all the staff of bread. He sent a man before them: Joseph was sold for a slave." These two then; viz., the grace of God and free will seem opposed to each other, but really are in harmony, and we gather from the system of goodness that we ought to have both alike, lest if we withdraw one of them from man, we may seem to have broken the rule of the Church's faith: for when God sees us inclined to will what is good, He meets, guides, and strengthens us: for "At the voice of your cry, as soon as He shall hear, He will answer you;" and: "Call upon Me," He says, "in the day of tribulation and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." And again, if He finds that we are unwilling or have grown cold, He stirs our hearts with salutary exhortations, by which a good will is either renewed or formed in us.

For the rest of the Conference (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/350813.htm) follow the link.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Bratislav]

...I would like to know how to acquire the grace of humility.

I will, humbly of course, accept any and all comments that are posted, though I would prefer posts based on the tradition of course. Thank you.

Dear in Christ Mr David Dietrich,

Maybe this small quote will be of assistance,


The first kind of humility is to hold my brother to be wiser than myself, and in all things to rate him higher than myself, and simply, as that holy man said, to put oneself below everyone. The second kind is to attribute to God all virtuous actions. This is the perfect humility of the saints. It is generated naturally in the soul by the performance of the commandments. [It is] just like a tree bearing much fruit: it is the fruit that bends the branches and lowers them down, but when there is no fruit, the branches point upwards and grow straight. St. Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses and Sayings

I would also like to offer up a small word on your "chicken or egg" dilemma. I think that with all virtues it is the same: we strive and struggle to acquire them and our good God grants them(sometimes in degrees) when the time is right. This is of course a horribly simple explanation and if it does not suffice I would say to follow Fr Raphael's leads to St John Cassian. St John has some excellent writings on the virtues and their corresponding vices that could be helpful to you. Also try the "Gleanings from the Fathers" section of orthodox.net

Your servant in Christ,
Bratislav

[Effie Ganatsios]

We do this by humbling ourselves.

It is true that humility comes from the grace of God.

But humbling oneself still comes from the activation of one's will.

Yes- which is possible even if it is not entirely free.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

Father Raphael,

Exactly! I have said it before and I need to say it again. It's a pleasure reading your posts because you are able to explain things with only a few simple and true words.

Effie