Three Modes of Humility

Prayer: In the preparatory prayer I will beg God our Lord for grace that all my intentions, actions, and operations may be directed purely to the praise and service of his Divine Majesty.

Composition of place: to see myself how I stand in the presence of Christ Himself, who is on the Cross. The Blessed Virgin, the beloved disciple, and Mary Magdalene are beside Him. They are the beloved ones and the true lovers of Christ. He is looking at me, and loving me says to me, “if you wish to be perfect, come to me…”

Prayer of petition: I will implore my Lord to be pleased to choose me to the Third Mode of greater and more perfect Humility or Sanctity, the better to imitate and serve Him. And I need to repeat this petition as often as possible during the day.

1) The First Mode of Humility

It is necessary for eternal salvation. It is in submitting myself to the will of God in such a way as not to deliberate about breaking any commandment, whether Divine or human, which binds under mortal sin.

Even though the observance of these commandments led me to poverty, dishonor, sickness, and death itself. I choose them because my eternal salvation is at stake.

This humility allows me to so humble myself that I obey in everything the law of God in such sort that I would not seriously entertain myself in any mortal transgression even if my life were at stake.

Such a determination is absolutely necessary to anyone who wants to be saved. Not to have this disposition would imply that this soul is in a state of opposition to God, or at least of apathy towards Him

Fear of God, humble prayer, and control of one’s passions will maintain a soul in the disposition of the First Mode of Humility.

This First Mode requires indifference. This indifference makes the soul look upon God as his ultimate and supreme End, and all creatures as means to reach Him.

2) The Second Mode of Humility

The second mode of humility consists in submitting myself to the will of God, in such a way as not to deliberate about breaking any commandment, whether Divine or human, though it binds only under venial sin.

Even if from their observance it follows poverty, dishonor, sickness and death itself.

This disposition is far higher than the other one. However, we are still within the limits of reasonable things. We are still in the field of justice. Is it not just and reasonable that we avoid everything that offends His divine Majesty? And is not the smallest venial sin, even in the light of reason, a greater evil than all the so-called evils of this world.

Saint Thomas Aquinas says that the “smallest degree of grace is higher than the whole created universe.”

How can I play with the grace of God! This is just a venial matter. I can still go to purgatory with all this stuff.

Have you ever played darts? If you like to get the prize, where are you going to focus your attention on the center, or on the borders.

In our life, we need the “always center” disposition. For sure, this disposition requires greater energy and strength. Then one must be perfectly indifferent to all created things.

Here, it is necessary and in a higher measure: the holy fear of God, humble prayer, and self-denial.

3) The Third Mode of Humility

It consists, directly, not in avoiding mortal and venial sin, but in submitting one’s will more and more perfectly to the Will of God, and in an ever-greater control of self in using the good things of this world and in enduring its hardships and humiliations.

In the first Mode we obey God’s Holy Will commanding under penalty of mortal sin.

In the second Mode we obey all the commandments of God, even those binding under venial sin only.

In the third Mode we submit to God’s holy Will not only when He commands under penalty of sin, mortal or venial, but when merely He expresses a desire.

In other words, we are determined to do everything that pleases Him, to avoid every imperfection, to follow all counsels and obey all inspirations.

It truly means to have dispositions of saints.

During a retreat Jesus spoke to Saint Faustina, and He said, “I will strengthen you, in peace and in courage, so that your strength will not fail in carrying out my designs. Therefore, you will cancel out your will absolutely in this retreat and, instead, my complete will shall be accomplished in you. Know that it will cost you much, so write these words on a clean sheet of paper: “From today on, my own will does not exist,” and then cross out the page. And on the other side write these words: “From today on, I do the will of God everywhere, always, and in everything.” Be afraid of nothing; love will give you strength and make the realization of this easy.”

Then knowing that God’s will is manifested by his beloved Son, and knowing that Christ has chosen what pleases God most, those who have this “third mode disposition” will move themselves to imitate Him.

And they will say, “I choose, to be poor with Him poor, to be insulted with Him covered with insults and to be esteemed as worthless and foolish man for Him was first held to be such. I choose the foolishness of the Cross…”

I choose imitation; to give love for love, sacrifice for sacrifice, and gift for gift. If He preferred for himself poverty, humiliations and suffering, certainly it is because He wants all these things for me. Then I will take and bless them as if they were the same Christ. If He took the Cross and ask me to follow Him by this way, how I can refuse such invitation…?

He endured all things out of love for me, and I will not be capable of enduring something for Him.

Can I say to Him, go on your way, go alone, don’t annoy me?

He looks for our gratitude, can I give Him mediocrity. He looks for my love, can I give Him the leftovers of my heart. 

Can I not see that joy comes with the Cross? The Apostles had this experience, and “They were overjoyed to be able to suffer something for the name of Jesus.” The saints have tasted the same consolations in their most bitter trials.

Then, I choose imitation…

SOMEBODY COULD SAY: GIVE ME JUST A REASON TO FOLLOW THIS THIRD MODE…

I have no reason… because in order to choose the Cross, you have to be out of reason… you have to be a foolish one according to this world…

But “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.”  (1 Cor. 1: 27-28)

Poverty, insults, scorn, death are not good things according to the world.

Then, the election of these things is not a matter of reason but a matter of love.

Do you still want a good reason? Well, my reason is love…

It is the reason of Saint Paul who says…

“May Christ dwell in your hearts… that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3: 17-19)

How beautiful are the words of Christ: If anyone wants to follow me…

He is a gentleman, he doesn’t pressure, before the souls he doesn’t show himself as the Creator and Lord of all, but He manifests Himself as a beggar: if anyone wants, if anyone likes to accompany me…

And He asks this question one by one, door by door… And He says, I am carrying your Cross, if you like help me…

How clear are the words of Christ: If you want to follow me renounce to yourself…?

O Lord let me go home first… O Lord let me first bury my father… O Lord I have many things how I can accompany you… To follow Christ implies: Renunciations without excuses, Renunciations without complains, Renunciations without asking back what we left, Renunciations without exaltation, it is a hidden Renunciation with Christ.

How unchangeable are his words: If you want to follow me, take up your Cross…?

Friends share everything, how can you follow me without sharing my Cross…   

People cried before the cross: “Save yourself, and come down from the cross.”

Chief Priests mocking said among themselves with the Scribes, “Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” (Mk 15: 30-32)

However, the Cross was, is and will be his trademark, and the trademark of all his Friends.

Generous souls are blessed above all.

They are the ones to whom the Lord commits his choice works of predilection.

Thus, all the great works of spreading the Gospel, of reform, of undertaking monastic life, of rekindling the fire of God’s love in the Church have been entrusted to souls of the third mode of humility.

They have accomplished great things for God and man because they spoke of Christ, his sufferings and his love with accents of conviction that has no equal. Because they knew how to stick to their missions under all sorts of trials, where others would have abandoned them at the first difficulties.

Colloquy

My first dialogue should be addressed to our Lady, asking her to obtain for me from her Son and Lord the grace to imitate Christ.

• First in the highest spiritual poverty, and if the Divine Majesty be pleased to choose and accept me, even in actual poverty.
• Secondly, in bearing insults and wrongs, in order to imitate Christ better, provided only I can suffer these without sin on the part of another, and without offense of the Divine Majesty.

Then, I will say the Hail Mary

My second dialogue will be with Christ, asking Him to obtain the same favors for me from the Father. Then, I will say, Soul of Christ 

My third dialogue will be with the Heavenly Father, and I will beg Him to grant me the same graces. Then I will say the Our Father.