St Maximilian Kolbe
Humility: Avoid all those words which can draw down on you glory, esteem, or the appreciation of others. Let us listen unwillingly (without interest or reflection) and with interior reluctance to the words of those who praise or commend you. It is dangerous to listen to one's own praise in the mouths of others. It makes one lose his good judgment. When others praise us let us keep our sins before our eyes. In this way we shall judge yourselves unworthy of any commendation, and consequently we shall find an occasion for being ashamed of ourselves and for humbling ourselves.
Rejoice when you hear others praised. Jealousy, attachment to one's own glory, is a defect. Never do anything so that others may see and esteem you. Never do anything out of purely human respect. Do everything perfectly because you are working in God's presence, for God and not for men.
Quoted in Magnificat Magazine
[Yes, this is politically incorrect. But worth considering, nonetheless.]
Patricia, is your comment that 'humility' is politically incorrect? I was / am not aware of that, and will ponder. Also, I just read this in Proverbs 11:1-3, on humility: "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed in their duplicity." [Entry for March 8, The One Year Bible (1986)].
ReplyDeleteNo, I was not speaking of humility as being politically incorrect, but in this time when self-esteem is so highly valued, what the Saint has to say here can seem out-dated and even wrong.
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