The Litany of Humility is a traditional Catholic prayer attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val, who served as Secretary of State to Pope Saint Pius X. It’s a powerful and challenging prayer asking for deliverance from pride, vanity, and self-seeking, and for the grace to embrace humility as Christ did. This prayer of supplication is also a great accompaniment to the scripture readings for this weekend, the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Litany of Humility
By Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being…
• esteemed,
• loved,
• extolled,
• honored,
• praised,
• preferred to others,
• consulted,
• approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being…
• humiliated,
• despised,
• suffering rebukes,
• calumniated,
• forgotten,
• ridiculed,
• wronged,
• suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be…
• loved more than I,
• esteemed more than I,
• that, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
• chosen and I set aside,
• praised and I unnoticed,
• preferred to me in everything,
• become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
Amen.
