Christ, says St. Thomas Aquinas, recommended to us humility above all things, for thereby is removed the chief impediment to the salvation of men. All the other virtues derive their value from it. Only when humility exists will God bestow his favours. When it fades, those gifts will be withdrawn. The Incarnation, the source of all graces, depended on it. Mary says, in the "Magnificat," that in her God has shown might in his arm, that is, he has exerted in her his very omnipotence. And she proclaims the reason. It was her lowliness which had won his regard and brought him down to terminate the old world and begin the new.

     But how could Mary be a model of humility, considering that her treasury of perfections was altogether immeasurable - touching in fact the very borders of infinity, and that she knew it? She was humble because she was likewise aware that she was more perfectly redeemed than any other of the children of men. She owed every gleam of her inconceivable sanctity to the merits of her Son, and that thought was ever vivid in her mind. Her peerless intellect was full of the realisation that as she had received more, so no other creature stood as much in God's debt as she. Hence her attitude of exquisite and graceful humility was effortless and constant.

     Studying her, therefore, we can learn that the essence of true humility is the recognition and unaffected acknowledgement of what one really is before God; the understanding that one's worthlessness alone is one's own. Everything else is God's free gift to the soul: his to increase, diminish, or withdraw completely, just as he alone gave it. A sense of one's subjection will show itself in a marked preference for humble and little-sought tasks, in a readiness to bear contempt and rebuffs, and generally in an attitude towards the manifestations of God's Will which will reflect Mary's own declaration: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord." (Lk 1:38)

        It follows that our striving for humility must begin in the heart of each individual. Each one must wage the battle with himself, determinedly conquering in his heart the spirit of pride and self. This terrible struggle with the root of evil within one, this constant striving after purity of intention, how exhausting it is. It is the battle of a lifetime. Reliance upon one's own efforts will make it the failure of a lifetime; for self winds itself even into the attack on self. Of what use are his own muscles to one struggling in a quicksand? A firm support is necessary.

     Your firm support is Mary. Lean upon her with complete trust. She will not fail you, for she is deeply rooted in that humility which is vital to you. In the faithful practice of the spirit of dependence upon her will be found a supreme, simple, comprehensive way of humility - what St. Louis-Marie de Montfort terms "a little-known secret of grace, enabling us quickly and with but little effort to empty ourselves of self, fill ourselves with God, and become perfect."

     Consider how this is so. In turning towards Mary, we must necessarily turn away from self. Mary takes hold of this movement and elevates it; makes of it the supernatural dying to self which fulfils the stern but fruitful law of the Christian life. (Jn 12:24-25) The humble Virgin's heel crushes the serpent of self, with its many heads:-

1. of self-exaltation; for if Mary, so rich in perfections as to be called by the Church the Mirror of Justice, endowed with unbounded power in the realm of grace, is nevertheless found on her knees - the humblest handmaid of the Lord! - what must be our place and attitude;

2. of self-seeking; for, having given himself and all his goods, spiritual and temporal, to Mary to use as she thinks fit, we can  continue to serve her in the same spirit of complete generosity;

3. of self-sufficiency; for the habit of leaning on Mary inevitably produces distrust of one's own unaided powers;

4. of self-conceit; for the sense of partnership with Mary brings realisation of one's own inadequacy. What have we contributed to that partnership but painful weaknesses!

5. of self-love; for what is there to love! Absorbed in love and admiration of our Queen, we are little inclined to turn from her to contemplate ourselves;

6. of self-satisfaction; for in this alliance higher standards must prevail. We model ourselves upon Mary and aspire to her perfect purity of intention;

7. of self-advancement; thinking with Mary's thoughts, we study God alone. There is no room for plans of self or reward;

8. of self-will; completely submitted to Mary, we distrust the promptings of his own inclinations and in all things listens intently for the whisperings of grace.

     "God delights to work on nothing; from that deep foundation it is that he raises the creations of his power. We should be full of zeal for God's glory, and at the same time convinced of our incapacity to promote it. Let us sink into the abyss of our worthlessness; let us take shelter under the deep shade of our lowliness; let us tranquilly wait until the Almighty shall see fit to render our active exertions instrumental to his glory. For this purpose he will make use of means quite opposed to those we might naturally expect. Next to Jesus Christ no one ever contributed to the glory of God in the same degree as the Blessed Virgin Mary, and yet the sole object to which her thoughts deliberately tended was her own annihilation. Her humility seemed to set up an obstacle to the designs of God. But it was, on the contrary, that humility precisely which facilitated the accomplishment of his all-merciful views." (Grou: Interior of Jesus and Mary)

Adapted from the Handbook of the Legion of Mary