By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

Brian Doyle calls humility “the final frontier” in a recent edition of Give Us This Day. Of course, I thought of Star Trek!

Other people might have had bleaker thoughts. Humility isn’t much revered by our culture. But it may be the final frontier!

In fact, people often think showing humility shows weakness. I think it’s quite the opposite.

To be truly humble requires a strong spirit. It requires a stout heart. It requires a good, strong relationship with God.

To be humble is to recognize others’ needs over our own wants. (Notice I said “wants” about ourselves. Our needs are just as important as other people’s needs. It is our wants that must be secondary.)

To be humble is, furthermore, to act on others’ needs. To help. To support.

Humility is a prime theme in the Rule of Benedict, where we are taught 12 key steps to achieving it.

If, by sublimating our wants for others’ needs, we Catholic Sisters are viewed as old-fashioned and naive, so be it. I would rather live my life for others and God than have every trinket and do-dad in the world. Contact me if you agree!!!