Lectio’s Act of Humility
“Whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Mt 23:12; Lk 14:11). By ‘exalted’ we understand that God’s grace will be given to him. Let us now explore the profound mystery to which this verse alludes, applying it to Lectio Divina.
Sometimes Lectio Divina doesn’t work, and we ask ourselves why?
There is a fundamental element in Lectio Divina that must be properly understood. There is something to be done, something that depends on us, so that the Lord may give us his Holy Spirit who enables us to hear his Word addressed to us. The General Help of his Grace is always given to us. It is a grace, but it is always given, and by using it, by activating it, it allows us to make our request to the Lord: “Lord, tell me what you want of me today”. If we do not make this prayer with all our heart, we do not dispose ourselves to receive his Holy Spirit, we do not manifest our will, determined to want to listen to him. We do not manifest, we do not renew our choice and our desire to listen to him so as to be converted.
We must use the general grace, and we must use it in such a way as to draw near to God.
In the usual teaching of Lectio Divina I have always pointed out the need to ask with all our heart, to insist, and to do so until the Lord gives us his grace.
I used the image of the saucepan filled with potatoes and I said that it is by insisting with all our energy that, in fact, without realising it, we empty our heart of its worries, because by concentrating all our energy on begging for his Word, we dispose ourselves.
That said, one could add an important aspect. Let us remember the great saying of the Lord that turns all our worldly criteria upside down: “he who exalts himself shall be brought low, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted”. In this saying lies a great secret: 1) it is not a simple general attitude, but an act to be done, that of humbling oneself; 2) it is an act that depends upon us, in this sense we must do it; 3) if we do not do it, nothing will happen; 4) it is therefore to be repeated.
Let us look more closely at this act that the Lord suggests we should perform: he invites us to humble ourselves, to make an act of humility. But what is an act of humility? What exactly is to be done?
First and foremost, it is important to become aware that God is humble, that he is humility itself. This means that anyone who wishes to draw near to him is invited to imitate him, to make himself small, to become like a child, to lower his pride, to seek the truth about himself and within himself. Indeed, for truth is humility, and humility is truth. It is therefore a matter of making an act of truth before God, recognising who we are and who he is.
God withdraws from the proud. God draws near to the humble, and pours out his grace and his love upon the one who is humble, upon the one who lowers himself. It is not a matter of lowering oneself in a false manner, but of tending towards the truth, the truth of what we are in the face of what he is: the truth about oneself.
God resists the proud; he does not give his grace. That is how it is. He abhors the proud and pride. This is the foundation of all prayer; it is the basis that allows any prayer to be made, to take place. For prayer is drawing near to God, yet if we are not humble, if we do not lower ourselves towards the true truth, we only distance ourselves from God. For any prayer to function, we must give God room, we must humble ourselves, make ourselves like him in his infinite humility. We must make ourselves like a child.
In this sense, there are different ways of saying to God, of asking, of begging: “Tell me what you want of me”. Only the humble and trusting way moves God, moves him in his depths, and makes him give himself to us.
This is the mystery of the heart of God, the secret of prayer.
In this sense, understanding that there is a certain act of humility, of lowering oneself, that must be done and that lies within our power (with general grace), is to enter into the Holy, and to draw very close to the veil that separates us from the Holy of Holies. God then gives way, yields, and gives himself; he pours himself into us.
Let us consider a simple example: every master of the spiritual life invites us, when we draw near to the Lord—that is, when we prepare to pray—to begin with an examination of conscience under His Loving Light. This is what we do at the start of Mass. We draw near to the Lord, examine our conscience, recognise our sins in His light, and humbly ask Him for forgiveness. In doing so, the way between God and ourselves is opened.
All of this is the unfolding of a form of humility; it is an act of truly lowering oneself in truth.
The following images help us to understand more clearly the attitude we must adopt so that grace (the water in the drawing) may be poured into us.
“shall be humbled” = he will lose God’s grace.
“shall be exalted” = will receive God’s grace.
Let us notice the red arrow. This is what God is waiting for us to do.
James 4:6: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:5: “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”
God hides himself from the proud. This is a truth. Consequently, during Lectio Divina, he will not speak to us if we are swollen with pride, even with a subtle spiritual pride. This can continue until we humble ourselves.
The following words can also be applied to Lectio Divina:
“I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what pleased you to do. […] Then, turning to his disciples, he spoke to them in private, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see and never did; to hear what you hear and never did.’” (Luke 10:21ff)
It is striking that God hides his Word and himself from “the learned and the clever”! We often forget that pride is a real obstacle to God’s grace. God is humble, and only when we humble ourselves—becoming like children—does he reveal his Word to us.
To become like children is itself an act of maturity: it involves lowering ourselves, entrusting all our burdens, anxieties, and indeed our whole selves to him. This, too, is an exercise of true humility.
The act of humility, of humbling ourselves “triggers” God’s Grace! This needs to be known.
Note: Humility is what attracted God to Mary: “He has looked on the humility of his servant” (Luke 1:48, RSV-CE). “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.” She found favour because she was humble; her charity was humble. Mary’s humility drew the gaze of God. Lord, grant us hearts like Mary’s gentle and humble heart. Take my heart of stone and transform it into a heart of flesh, a heart like Mary’s.
“GOD communicates Himself to the soul in this interior union with a love so intense that the love of a mother, who so tenderly caresses her child, the love of a brother, or the affection of a friend bear no likeness to it, for so great is the tenderness, and so deep is the love with which the Infinite Father comforts and exalts the humble and loving soul. O wonders worthy of all awe and reverence! He humbles Himself in reality before that soul that He may exalt it, as if He were its servant, and the soul His lord. He is as anxious to comfort it as if He were a slave, and the soul God. So great is the humility and tenderness of God. In this communion of love He renders in a certain way those services to the soul which He says in the Gospel He will perform for the elect in heaven. “Amen, I say to you, that He will gird Himself and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister to them.”” (St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle B, Stanza 17,1)
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