The humility of the blessed virgin

Jesus Christ said: Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart. As holy Mary was the first and most perfect disciple of Jesus Christ in the practice of all virtues, she was the first also in Humility, and merited to be exalted above all creatures.

I. "Humility," says St. Bernard, "is the foundation and guardian of virtues," for without humility no other virtue can exist in the soul. Should the soul possess all virtues, all will depart when humility goes. But, on the other hand, as St. Francis de Sales wrote to St. Jane Frances de Chantal, "God so loves humility that whenever He sees it He is immediately drawn thither." This beautiful and so necessary virtue was unknown in the world; but the Son of God Himself came on earth to teach it by His own example, and willed that in this virtue in particular we should endeavour to imitate Him: Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart (Matt. xi. 29). Mary, being the first and most perfect disciple of Jesus Christ in the practice of all virtues, was the first also in that of humility, and by it merited to be exalted above all creatures. It was revealed to St. Matilda that the first virtue in which the Blessed Mother particularly exercised herself from her very childhood was that of humility.

The first effect of humility of heart is a lowly opinion of ourselves: "Mary had always so humble an opinion of herself, that, as it was revealed to the same St. Matilda, although she saw herself enriched with greater graces than all other creatures, she never preferred herself to any one." Not indeed that Mary considered herself a sinner: for "humility is truth," as St. Teresa remarks: and Mary knew that she had never offended God: nor was it that she did not acknowledge that she had received greater graces from God than all other creatures; for an humble heart always acknowledges the special favours of the Lord, to humble itself the more: but the Divine Mother, by the greater light wherewith she knew the infinite greatness and goodness of God, also knew her own nothingness, and therefore more than all others she humbled herself. "The most Blessed Virgin had always the majesty of God, and her own nothingness, present to her mind," says St. Bernardine. As a beggar, when clothed with a rich garment, which has been bestowed upon her, does not pride herself on it in the presence of the giver, but is rather humbled, being reminded thereby of her own poverty; so also, the more Mary saw herself enriched, the more did she humble herself, remembering that all was God's gift; whence she herself told St. Elizabeth of Hungary that "she might rest assured that she looked upon herself as most vile and unworthy of God's grace." Therefore St. Bernardine says that "after the Son of God, no creature in the world was so exalted as Mary, because no creature in the world ever humbled herself so much as she did."

II. It is an act of Humility to conceal heavenly gifts. Mary wished to conceal from St. Joseph the great favour whereby she had become the Mother of God, although it seemed necessary to make it known to him, if only to remove from the mind of her poor spouse any suspicions as to her virtue, which he might have entertained on seeing her pregnant: or, at least, the perplexity into which it indeed threw him: for St. Joseph, on the one hand unwilling to doubt Mary's chastity, and on the other ignorant of the mystery, was minded to put her away privately (Matt. i. 19). This he would have done had not the Angel revealed to him that his spouse was pregnant by the operation of the Holy Ghost.

Again, a soul that is truly humble refuses her own praise; and should praises be bestowed on her, she refers them all to God. Behold, Mary is disturbed at hearing herself praised by St. Gabriel; and when St. Elizabeth said: Blessed art thou amongst women...and whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?... Blessed art thou that hast believed (Luke i. 42-45), Mary referred all to God, and answered in that humble Canticle: My soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke i. 46-55), as if she had said: Thou dost praise me, Elizabeth; but I praise the Lord, to Whom alone honour is due; thou wonderest that I should come to thee, and I wonder at the Divine goodness in which alone my spirit exults: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Thou praisest me because I have believed; I praise my God because He hath been pleased to exalt my nothingness: because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid. Hence Mary said to St. Bridget: "I humbled myself so much, and thereby merited so great a grace, because I thought, and knew, that of myself I possessed nothing. For this same reason I did not desire to be praised; I only desired that praises should be given to the Creator and Giver of all." Wherefore an ancient author, speaking of the humility of Mary, says: "O truly blessed humility, which hath given God to men, opened Heaven, and delivered souls from hell."

It is also a part of humility to serve others. Mary did not refuse to go and serve Elizabeth for three months. Hence St. Bernard says, "Elizabeth wondered that Mary should have come to visit her; but that which is still more admirable is that she came not to be ministered to but to minister."