Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2:3
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O 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.
Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930) in “the Litany of Humility.”
Sending a heads up to sure to read my post tomorrow – Friday 26 June 2026 – as that day marks 17 years of Daily Meditations and so I have something special to share.
You will get a sneak peek at the new Daily Meditation template for just one day.
Then since the new Generosity Monk website will not be operational until sometime in July, we will go back to the old template. Thanks for your patience. On Saturday I will share a final post linked to this litany.
Today I find it needful to consider the function of the word ‘others’ in the final section of this litany.
We do will to take a posture of humility and value others ahead of ourselves. This does not mean to devalue or not give value to ourselves or not take care of ourselves. I have been guilty of that. Perhaps you can relate?
Here Rafael urges us to pray that others may be loved and esteemed more than us, that others may increase and we decrease, that others may be chosen, praised, preferred to us, and become holier than us.
This is not easy. But it reflects what Jesus did. He made himself nothing for us.
How does this sit with you? Are you willing to walk this path of humility with Jesus? I find it interesting that the apostle Paul reveals the opposite of humility. He calls it selfish ambition and vain conceit.
When we put ourselves ahead of others, it reveals our selfishness and futile or vain conceit. He wants us to do nothing from that posture. The ‘others’ aspect of this verse includes everyone that is not you.
Pick a person that is hard for you to value above yourself. Ask God to help you value that person above yourself today.