The Litany of Humility

I started praying the Litany of Humility after mass sometime in the last couple of years. I don’t remember exactly why I started praying it; maybe a little Holy Spirit nudge? I use the Laudate app at church because you can bookmark your favorite go-to prayers. There are a TON of prayers on there, so being able to quickly access my faves during mass is better & less distracting than scrolling through my phone. I usually open the app before I even walk into church and already have it set to the bookmarks page.

The Litany of Humility is a tough one. Not actually tough to pray – if you can read, you can pray it. But it’s tough to live. Every single time I pray it, I taste the bitter sweetness of humble pie with at least a few lines. There’s always at least one that that gets me in the gut because I know I haven’t been living it.

Here’s the thing: Jesus loves us. We’re called to live like Jesus. But we aren’t Jesus. While we’re human like he was, we weren’t born sinless and well, the comparison trap is very real in today’s broken, selfish world. Beautiful prayers, such as this litany, have been written by holy men & women far holier than I will probably ever be. They were written because those people were, at one time, just like me, and they needed help too.

May this prayer be a source of comfort. Jesus wants these things for us that we’re asking of him.

May this prayer be a source of awareness. The first step is admitting our fault.

May this prayer be a source of healing & grace.

Litany of Humility

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, Jesus.

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

This litany is commonly attributed to Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930), Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See under Pope Pius X. C.S. Lewis attributed its composition to Merry del Val in a March 1948 letter to Don Giovanni Calabria. [per Wikipedia]

I’ve included a free printable of this prayer below. Tuck it in your purse, bible, ESS Journal or pin it up at your desk or mirror…wherever you need to be reminded that