Litany of Humility

I first learned of this prayer about a decade ago; today EWTN had it on their Facebook page.  First, the prayer, which is a litany: the bold words are repeated at the end of each subsequent line.  This lends itself to a leader/congregation format, but can also be used for individual prayer, especially if you take your time with it:

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.


From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved . . .
From the desire of being extolled . . .
From the desire of being honored . . .
From the desire of being praised . . .
From the desire of being preferred to others . . .
From the desire of being consulted . . .
From the desire of being approved . . .
From the fear of being humiliated . . .
From the fear of being despised . . .
From the fear of suffering rebukes . . .
From the fear of being calumniated . . .
From the fear of being forgotten . . .
From the fear of being ridiculed . . .
From the fear of being wronged . . .
From the fear of being suspected . . .


That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I . . .
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease . . .
That others may be chosen and I set aside . . .
That others may be praised and I unnoticed . . .
That others may be preferred to me in everything . . .
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should . . .

Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X

There are some things in here that can seem extreme and self-denigrating if you don't approach this with the proper spirit.  It isn't that being loved, extolled, honored, etc., are bad things.  But when I desire them, pursue them, focus on them instead of simply living as the child of God that I'm called to be, these desires corrupt my actions.  It isn't that I should seek to be humiliated, despised, rebuked, etc., but when I am afraid of these things I might refrain from doing what I believe in my heart to be right.  So I'm not asking, "Lord, don't let me be loved," or, "Don't let me be preferred to others," nor, "Lord, let me be wronged, let me be rebuked."  I'm praying, rather, that the concerns of being loved or preferred or wronged or rebuked - my acceptance or rejection by others - not be what drives my choices, but only my desire to please God.

So this isn't a prayer for self-denigration; approached that way, then it becomes a litany of self-deceptive pride rather than of humility: "See how humble I am!"  But when I recognize that all I am is a gift from God, and truly desire to offer myself back to God, this litany can be a good reminder of the most ubiquitous obstacles to that goal.  

I also find myself tagging this with my "emotional health" label.  It seems to me that not getting wrapped up in the wrong sort of pride - which includes some things that some people actively promote - is actually  a healthier emotional approach to life.