“Whoever wishes to be first shall be last.” Mark 9:35

While reflecting on this Sunday’s Gospel, I was reminded of the Litany of Humility (which I caution you is a powerful prayer to pray) – a prayer which I have incorporated into my own prayer routine during various seasons of my life. If you have never heard of, or prayed, a litany before, it’s generally a call-and-response type prayer with an overarching theme (ex: Litany of Humility, Litany of Trust, Litany of Joy). The Litany of Humility was written by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta in the early 1900s and remains a beautiful, powerful, and commonly referred to prayer.

Imagine the selfless heart of our Lord transplanted into your body – what would change?

              “FROM THE DESIRE OF BEING HONORED, DELIVER ME JESUS…

              FROM THE FEAR OF BEING HUMILIATED, DELIVER ME JESUS…”

These are just two lines from the litany… imagine the freedom of living this out! Imagine how this mindset could expand your capacity to do God’s will without worrying about the response of the world.

              “THAT OTHER MAY BE PREFERRED TO ME IN EVERYTHING,

              JESUS GRANT ME THE GRACE TO DESIRE IT.”

Well… surely not everything…. YES! EVERYTHING!

This is what Jesus asks of us in humility: to set aside our earthly status and desires to be honored by the world to make ourselves fully available to the will of the Lord. Free to do as He calls without the fear of being forgotten, wronged, or ridiculed.

The idea being: YOU ALREADY HAVE A PLACE IN THE KINGDOM! The Lord already anointed you and set you aside for His glory. There is no need to be greater than another because you have already been claimed, chosen, and called by the Lord.

How will you respond? “O JESUS, MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART, HEAR ME.”