Humility: The Safeguard of Love
The Love of Christ, which through divine mercy makes us brothers and companions in life and in the apostolic undertakings, obliges us to speak up [in all humility] and to ask things with the holy freedom of the sons of God and brothers of Christ. (OCL, IV, 1054, p. 342)
Though love is the greatest of all virtues, it must also have a safeguard. According to St. Vincent Pallotti, the safeguard of love is humility. In order that one’s love for others is free from self-seeking, it must be tempered by humility. Humility helps one to control his selfishness in loving others, and makes his loving effective and generous. Besides, humility opens love to genuine communication among persons living and working together. If a community consists of a few humble persons who love each other, in that community there would be a great deal of communication among the members about their life, their successes and failures in the apostolic endeavors, their future planning and any other thing that is related to their life and work. On the contrary, if a community consists of persons who lack humility, there would be scant communications among the members which would hamper the effectiveness of their apostolate. Thus, love with a touch of humility gives persons genuine inner freedom as the sons of God and brothers in Jesus Christ. In this manner, for St. Vincent, love guided by the safeguard of humility would not only be selfless, but also effective and fruit bearing.
Does the spirit of humility guide me in my love for others? Is my love for others truly selfless? Is my love genuinely communicative? Is my love genuinely involved with the existential situation of the people with whom I live? Does my love give me the inner freedom as the child of God and a brother of Jesus Christ?
You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6: 8)