A Contemporary Father on Humility

HEART BEAT, Yudhie Indonesia's Blog (in English) is the very nice blog of a young Orthodox Christian from (you guessed it) Indonesia. His perspectives are quite engaging. His choice of quotations reflecting the Eastern Christian phronema are also quite good. Here, he quotes from Father Paisius (Olaru) of Sihla Skete, Romania.

Beautiful saying of Father Paisius (Olaru) of Sihla Skete, Romania

"What is humility, Father Paisius?" some of his disciples once asked him.

Fr. Paisius: "Humility is the thought and conviction of our heart that we are more sinful than all men and unworthy of the mercy of God. Reviling ourselves does not mean that we have true humility. True humility is when someone shames and abuses us publicly, and we endure it and say, "God ordered that brother to shame me for my many sins." We should receive everything as a command from God. When someone shames you, say that God commanded him to do it. When someone takes something of yours, God commanded him to take it, in order to make you a monk. When you are removed from a higher place, God changed your place so that you would change from your passions and bad habits. This is true humility. And the pride is when we trust in ourselves, in our mind, our strength, when we think we are more capable than someone else, better, more beautiful, more virtuous, more pleasing to God. Then it is certain that we are overcome by the ugly sin of pride, from which may God, who humbled Himself for our salvation, preserve us. Let us humble ourselves, brethren, because a proud man cannot be saved. Let us weep for our sins here, so we can rejoice forever in the next life, for after we leave this world everyone will forget us. Let us not hope in men, but only in God..." (From The Orthodox Word, Vol 28, No 1 (#162 --Jan-Feb, 1992)