December 23, 2011
Virtues of the Human Heart and Spirit
The Virtue of Humility
Scott Whitehouse, a theology teacher at Mater Dei High School in Evansville, engaged his senior students in a project, assigning them to write essays on the “Virtues of the Human Heart and Spirit.”
The assignment included the guidance to “write a one page essay on the merits of the value assigned and offering suggestions on ways that value can be developed to enhance a person’s daily life.”
Students were free to include their own opinions and to challenge the readers to live in accord with the virtue.
Essays have been submitted to the Message on chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness and humility. Selected essays will be published on an occasional basis in the Message.
Joe Wannemuehler
. . . Humility is the act of being selfless. The youth today always have their guard up because they are too concerned about their pride. When I’d lose at something and use the excuse that I was hurt, my mom would say that it was my pride talking. Accepting defeat and moving on is not the easiest thing to do because I am so competitive. It always takes a good beating to ones pride to humble them.
Humility was not the easiest thing to cope with. When I was younger I was a superb athlete. I was very fast and strong so sports came easy to me. But as the years went by everyone seemed to catch up to me. In football, I wasn’t tall enough to be as good as a receiver as I wanted too. The varsity spot wasn’t just handed to me like in grade school and I wasn’t the fastest anymore. Freshman year was the year I got delivered that big piece of “humble pie.”
Adam Blankenberger
. . . Humility reminds me of my Grandpa Joe Blankenberger. I think he was the epitome of a humble man. Every day he would get up and do the daily work on the farm and raise his twelve children to be the best people they can be. My grandpa helped so many people in his life. My dad would tell me stories of how he would pull peoples cars off the interstate and let them stay at the house during snow storms. My grandpa never took money from these people.
One story that always gets me is that one day a lady’s car broke down in front of my grandpa’s farm. The lady said she was on her way to Chicago. My grandpa bought her a train ticket, took her to the train station and fixed her car. . . . My grandpa received no money. Grandpa showed me that every good deed you do does not need to be publicly rewarded. The biggest reward in life is helping others.
This is why my grandpa became a deacon later in his life. My grandpa was already seeing people at nursing homes, and he wanted to be able to bring Communion to them.
Ian Horstmann
. . . In my opinion, the rest of the seven virtues of Christian life can be conquered by first conquering humility. . . . Humility takes bravery, courage, modesty and respect – traits every human should live by whether or not they are Christian.
Dalton Brandonstein
. . . [Without humility] everyone would put themselves first. If everyone put themselves first then the world would be a wreck.
Whitney Blankenberger
. . . One definition that has made the most sense to me is this: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.”
Sally Folz
For me, humility is a difficult virtue to grasp. Historians say humility is the opposite of pride. But, I always think of pride as a positive character. My closet and room are filled with symbols for Mater Dei and Purdue pride. How can that be bad? But the more I get to thinking about humility versus pride, no one would have a shirt showing off humility because that would be contradictory.
School pride is a key goal at Mater Dei. As a member of Pep Club, Student Council, and the softball team, I personally know a lot about displaying positive school pride and how important it is in building a great team. The pride that is the opposite of humility is not the same as school spirit. That pride is selfish and boastful. Selfish pride builds oneself up while knocking others down. It is taking credit for everything a person does and possibly even more credit then is due.
Humility is expecting and accepting no credit for doing extraordinary deeds. The person who demonstrates humility is humble and does not want to be recognized for their actions. They do great work because that is what they believe is right. The person with humility is gracious and accepts sacrifices willingly.
The root word in humility is human. Remember that humility is just being true to yourself and others. Showing the real side of every being is the true aspect of humility.
Mackenzie Will
. . . Until this year I always wanted to be recognized for everything I did to help or any time I volunteered. I think once you get older and more mature you start to realize not everything is about you . . . and how working for something bigger than yourself is what is really important.
David Euler
. . . People who are always down on themselves and feel rejected are in just as much pride as those who think too highly of themselves. Jesus sees you as a person worth dying for.
Abby Eger
. . . Sporting events are a very good example of needing to be humble at times. Everyone has pride in their school, and wants to win games. However there are always going to be games that can’t be won. At those times you may need to suppress your pride and be humble towards the other team. . . . Even when you’re being humble, your pride is shown by still keeping your head up.
Andrew Schmitt
. . . When you are humble, you do not need to stand up for yourself in an angry manner in order to win an argument. . . . It is easier to talk in a loving and courteous way even if you need to talk in a strong, firm voice.
Chris Ambrose
All throughout the Bible we hear left and right about how humble people are. For instance, we have Moses who was said to be an extremely humble man. However, nowadays humility is dead. In a time of economic misfortune money is life. To get money one needs to get their story out there so others are interested and want to be like them, even if they must pay for it.
I believe everyone needs to have a humbling moment in life. For instance, a mission trip is an archetype of a humbling moment. I attended one such retreat. I realized how much better I have it than them. I do not have it great but I feel I am comfortable. I enjoyed being able to offer a hand to those in need. I personally don’t enjoy being in the limelight; I would prefer working in the background. Also, it was in the Appalachian Mountains so no one would know back home except me.
However, in society today humility is a sign of weakness not a virtue which is why Moses was revered in his time but would be shunned in our time. We live in a world of competition, if one doesn’t claim the prize, someone else will ,so we eradicate any humility we have and step into the lime light and we accept our prize.
I believe that greed and pride have twisted our social and economic standards. If you aren’t on top you’re a failure. In our times, Moses would have hired an agent, and had a book out full of scandalous detail in six weeks because society morphed him into thinking he is a loser for trying to be humble.
Garrett Scott
. . . Humility cannot be measured in numbers and put on a scoreboard. . . . It is an intangible that can only be measured in desire, dedication and demonstration.
Joey Wilson
. . . I was humbled when I saw [a] couple state their wedding vows to each other. . . . They wanted the best for one another no matter the circumstance. I believe true love is [learning] how to be unselfish to your spouse.
Anna Weinzapfel
. . . Society teaches us it is ok to think only about our image and ourselves. . . . God didn’t put his son on earth for no reason. Jesus was given to us as a model to show us how to live. He is the best example of how to live a humble life.
Alex Bassemier
. . . [Community service] is a good positive way to show humility. Community service shows that you are not above simple tasks even if they are unpleasant. It shows others that a little humility can help the community be a better place to live.