[Editor's Note: This article is the fourth in a series on the theme, “Being a Man of Humility.” The last article, “John the Baptist, Man of Humility,” ended with these words, “Let us also be like John the Baptist and point others to Jesus through our words and our lives.” Of course, the Blessed Mother’s role, more than anyone else, has always been to point others to her son, Jesus Christ. In addition, as Catholic men we can look to Mary as the truest human model of humility in all of Scripture.]
When St. Bede wrote his commentary on Luke’s Gospel in the eighth century, this is how he pictured Mary’s thoughts as she sang her hymn of praise to God: “The Lord has exalted me by a gift so great, so unheard of, that language is useless to describe it, and the depths of love in my heart can scarcely grasp it. I offer then all the powers of my soul in praise and thanksgiving. As I contemplate his greatness, which knows no limits, I joyfully surrender my whole life.”
Bede’s commentary highlights how receptive Mary was to the word of God. Even in her earliest youth, this virgin from Galilee was familiar with God’s promises to her people and cherished them in her heart. And so, when the Angel Gabriel spoke God’s word to her personally, Mary received that word into the core of her being and opened herself to the Holy Spirit. As a result, she received not only the spoken word of God in her heart, but Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, in her womb!
The key to Mary’s openness to God was her humility, her double recognition of her lowliness and the deep love with which God looked upon her. Humility for Mary was not a matter of downcast weakness, but of a strong determination to let God work in her and through her. Mary was humble because she knew that God the Almighty wanted to do “great things” (Luke 1:49) in her, not by her own power, but by the working of his power — not by her wisdom, but according to the wisdom of his plans and purposes.
Genuine humility recognizes that all of our talents and virtues and gifts come from God. It allows the Lord to strip away any sense that we are the authors of our lives. It allows the Lord to empty us of self-determination so that we can live in obedience to his will and his commands. And the more we are emptied of self-love, the more we can let Jesus’ light shine through us.
Let’s keep Mary’s humility and openness to God before our eyes. Then Jesus who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), and suffered and died for our sins, will find a home in us during this Lenten season.
“I rejoice in you, Jesus, my Savior and my Lord! Transform my heart and make it like Mary’s, humble and full of gratitude.”
(Maurice Blumberg is Executive Director of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men. This article is part of NFCM’s sponsorship of the Catholic Man channel. Contact NFCM at PO Box 86381, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 or e-mail them at info@nfcmusa.org. Many thanks to the The Word Among Us for allowing us to adapt some material from daily meditations in their monthly devotional magazine.)
Reflection Questions on Page 2
Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. How would you characterize Mary’s humility? What can we as Catholic men learn from her humility?
2. In the article, these words are used to describe Mary’s humility, “Humility for Mary was not a matter of downcast weakness, but of a strong determination to let God work in her and through her. Mary was humble because she knew that God the Almighty wanted to do “great things” (Luke 1:49) in her, not by her own power, but by the working of his power—not by her wisdom, but according to the wisdom of his plans and purposes.” How would you compare your own humility to this? What steps can you take to have this type of humility?
3. The article mentions self-determination and self-love as obstacles to being “men of humility.” Why do you think this is so? In what ways are these obstacles in your own life?
4. If you are in a men’s group, pray the prayer at the end of the article and continue to pray for one another to be “men of humility.”
