Today’s readings show us that God delights to work through the humble. Ruth, a foreigner and a widow, did not come with pride or entitlement. She came quietly to glean what was left behind in the fields. Yet God looked upon her lowliness and, through her, wove her into the great story of salvation—she became the ancestor of King David, and ultimately of Christ himself.
In the Gospel, Jesus warns us against the temptation of seeking honour, titles, or recognition. Instead, He tells us: “Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
When Cardinal Prevost was still engaged in his ministry in the Vatican which chose and assigned new bishops to specific areas of the world, he attended a gym. No one knew he was even a bishop, given he would go with normal exercise attire. When he was exalted by God to the See of Peter, the trainers who had been showing him how to use the machines, were shocked. They could not believe what they were seeing. This man who never made his dignity known to them as a priest, let alone a Cardinal, was elevated to be the Vicar of Christ on earth. Cardinal Prevost has always tried his best to walk the path of humility in his life, knowing that this is the path Mary, our Mother, walked more perfectly than anyone. She called herself the “handmaid of the Lord,” and it was precisely in her humility that God accomplished the greatest work of all: assuming a human nature through her womb.
Saint Francis of Assisi was deeply devoted to Our Lady precisely because of her humility. He once said that she is “the Virgin made Church”—not because of grandeur, but because she allowed God to live fully within her through her lowliness. Francis imitated this humility in his own life, renouncing riches, power, and honour so that he might be small before God, just as Mary was.
And here lies the lesson for us: humility is not weakness—it is the doorway for God to act. When we stop grasping for recognition, God can fill us with His grace. When we, like these valiant biblical figures, bow low, God Himself will raise us up.
So let us ask Our Lady today: teach us to be humble. Teach us to take the lowest place, to be content in hidden service, so that helping and accompanying others as best we can, Christ may live more fully in us.
Amen.
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