I have often wondered what Mary felt and thought as the Angel Gabriel proclaimed that she was to bear the Son of God (cf. Luke 1:26-38). In her humility, she gave God her yes, and because of her fiat we have Christianity. Mary became the mother of our Lord, and because of her monumental role in the redemption of the world, she is the best example of humility in our faith. How can she be so important and well known, and yet humble?
In our modern culture, humility is perceived as weakness. Some would even say submissive is a synonym of humility. For most people, to be humble means to put ourselves down and feel unworthy. Our faith, however, gives us a very different understanding of humility. Simply put, humility is truly living in God’s will and not your own.
We have all known people who would benefit from a healthy dose of traditional humility. I’m talking about those who are completely full of themselves and unable to see the world in any way except their own. In those cases, humility might require being brought down a level or two.
But there are those of us, myself included, who need a healthy dose of humility to bring us up to the level that God wants for us. He doesn’t want us all sitting around feeling inept and worthless. True humility is knowing our place: not as a god in our own world, not as a doormat watching life pass by, but as an active participant doing what God wills for us.
For many years I refused to write because I did not feel worthy or equipped. When I thought about being a Catholic writer, I thought that there was no point of even trying because I do not have a formal Catholic education. I thought I was being modest and properly humble, knowing that I could not contribute to the Catholic writing world.
Thankfully, God didn’t give up on me (He never does). I recently dipped my toe in the water and found that while there are many Catholic topics I am not qualified to write about, there are plenty that I am! I have my own unique faith, conversion, and suffering experiences. I have stories that I know God wants me to tell. I have passion and a love of our Catholic faith, and if my writing brings even a single person closer to Christ, then I am doing what I am called to do.
Most importantly, I have learned that humility is not beating myself up or believing that I am unworthy of anything. It is setting aside my own desires and being fully present to give my own fiat to God for whatever He asks of me.
I pray for all aspiring Catholic writers: may you be properly humbled too. We need more good writers. Let it be you!
© 2022 Maria Riley
Maria Riley
Maria Riley is a passionate Catholic writer and editor who loves volunteering when she’s not writing or mom-ing. She’s the author of a new Catholic children’s chapter book series: Adventures with the Saints (releasing Fall 2022). Visit her at MariaRileyAuthor.com or on social media @mariarileyauthor. She and her family live in Florida.
Amen to that!