Litany of Humility
Composed by Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (1865–1930), Secretary of State to Pope St. Pius X, who prayed it daily after Mass. A prayer to be loosened from the quiet idols of vanity.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.
— Matthew 11:29
Opening
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being …
Each line is answered: Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being esteemed,
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 …
Each line is answered: Deliver me, Jesus.
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 …
Each line is answered: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be loved more than I,
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,
Closing
Amen.
About This Prayer
Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val served as Secretary of State to Pope St. Pius X from 1903 until the Pope's death in 1914. A figure of immense responsibility in the Roman Curia, he reportedly prayed this litany after his Mass each day as a personal preparation for the work of office.
The prayer is unusual in shape: not a list of titles, but a list of inner dispositions. The first two sections name the small, persistent attachments that shape almost every life: the wish to be esteemed, loved, preferred; the fear of being humbled, forgotten, suspected. The third asks for something harder still, that the soul not merely accept but desire the lifting up of others.
It is a strong prayer. It is best prayed slowly, more than once, and not when one feels finished with it.