The Freedom of Humility: Listening to Today’s Word of God
How this Sunday's readings reveal humility as the path to grace, communion, and true dignity in Christ
Humility is not merely one virtue among many in Catholic teaching; it is the foundation of the spiritual life, the soil from which all other virtues grow. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church repeatedly teach that pride is the root of sin because it closes us off to God, while humility is the gateway to grace because it opens the soul to receive. To be humble is not to despise oneself but to see oneself truthfully: limited, fragile, and sinful on the one hand, yet beloved, dignified, and gifted entirely by God on the other. This truthful posture of the heart allows us to be receptive to God’s action, to be transformed into the likeness of Christ who “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7). Today’s Scripture readings at Mass draw us again and again to this theme, weaving together wisdom from the Old and New Testaments, the psalms, and the Church’s own prayer, showing that humility is the path to communion with God and authentic freedom.
Sirach sets the tone with a counsel that is at once simple and profound: “Perform your tasks with humility, then you will be loved by those whom God accepts” (Sir 3:17). The text insists that the greater one becomes, the more one must humble oneself, for God reveals his glory precisely through the meek. This paradox, that exaltation comes through lowliness, is taken up by the Psalmist, who sings of the God who “gives the desolate a home to dwell in” and who defends the orphan and widow (Ps 68). The psalm is a hymn to divine condescension: God’s majesty is revealed not by crushing the weak but by raising them up, not by exalting the powerful but by dwelling with the poor. Hebrews deepens this revelation, contrasting the terrifying theophany of Sinai, where God’s holiness seemed untouchable, with the radiant nearness of Mount Zion, “the city of the living God,” where Christ the mediator opens access to the Father by his blood (Heb 12:18–24). The movement is again toward humility: God’s glory is not diminished by drawing near but is magnified in mercy.
The Gospel of Luke presents Jesus entering a Pharisee’s banquet, where the scramble for honour exposes human pride (Lk 14:1,7–14). Here Christ unmasks the futility of self-exaltation and points to the law of the Kingdom: “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” The true banquet is the Eucharist, where places of honour are overturned and the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame are invited to the table of the Lord. The Collect prayer for today gathers all these threads: we ask God, “giver of every good gift,” to deepen our reverence, to nurture what is good in us, and to protect it. The prayer recognises that every virtue, every fruit of holiness, is God’s work in us, sustained not by our own efforts but by his “watchful care.” This is humility enacted in prayer—the confession that our life is wholly gift and must be wholly entrusted back to him.
Against this rich liturgical backdrop, Pope Leo XIV’s Angelus address draws the theme together with precision. He takes today’s Gospel scene of the Pharisee’s banquet and shows how Jesus transforms a familiar moment of social gathering into a lesson on freedom through humility. Christ does not remain an outsider but engages directly, even uncomfortably, with his hosts, using words that both challenge and liberate. Leo highlights the contrast between competition for recognition and the liberating humility that frees us from self-preoccupation, allowing us to encounter others authentically and to recognise our true dignity as children of God. The Eucharistic table, he notes, is where this vision comes alive: Christ becomes our host, teaching us to see ourselves through his eyes, while the Church must be a home of humility, welcome, and formation in Christlike freedom. His invocation of Mary as “the true Mother of this home” underlines humility as belonging and security, the soil in which dignity grows. In choosing this passage, Pope Leo is clearly aiming to confront the competitive, status-driven culture of today with the liberating vision of Gospel humility, and to remind the Church that her credibility depends on embodying this humble freedom in her own life.
Pope Leo XIV’s Angelus Address from today, 31 August, 2025:
Gathering together at the table, especially on days of rest and feast days, is a sign of peace and communion in all cultures. In this Sunday's Gospel ( Luke 14:1, 7-14), Jesus is invited to lunch by one of the chief Pharisees. Welcoming guests expands the heart; being invited requires the humility to enter into the world of others. A culture of encounter is nourished by these gestures that bring people together.
It is not always easy to meet. The evangelist notes that the guests were "observing" Jesus, who was generally regarded with a certain suspicion by the most rigorous interpreters of tradition. Nevertheless, the encounter takes place because Jesus truly draws near; he does not remain outside the situation. He becomes a true host, with respect and authenticity. He renounces good manners, which are mere formalities, to avoid mutual involvement. Thus, in his own style, he describes what he sees with the help of a parable and invites those observing him to reflect. He has, in fact, noticed that there is a race to take the top places. This still happens today, not in families but when it is important to "stand out"; then, being together becomes a competition.
Sisters and brothers, sitting together at the Eucharistic table on the Lord's Day also means giving Jesus the floor. He willingly becomes our host and can describe us as he sees us. It is very important to see ourselves through his eyes: to rethink how we often reduce life to a competition, how we degrade ourselves to gain some recognition, how we uselessly compare ourselves to others. To stop and reflect, to allow ourselves to be shaken by a word that challenges the priorities that occupy our hearts: this is an experience of freedom. Jesus calls us to freedom.
In the Gospel, he uses the word “humility” to describe the perfect form of freedom (cf. Lk 14:11). Humility, in fact, is freedom from oneself. It is born when the Kingdom of God and his righteousness have truly aroused our interest and we can allow ourselves to look far and wide: not at the tips of our toes, but into the distance! Those who exalt themselves, in general, seem to have found nothing more interesting than themselves and, deep down, they are very insecure. Those, on the other hand, who have understood that they are precious in the eyes of God, those who feel deeply that they are sons or daughters of God, have greater things to boast about and a dignity that shines forth of itself. This comes to the forefront, occupies the first place without effort and without strategies, when, instead of using situations, they learn to serve.
Dear friends, let us ask today that the Church be for each of us a place of learning humility, that home where we are always welcome, where places are not to be conquered, where Jesus can still speak and educate us in his humility, in his freedom. Mary, to whom we pray now, is the true Mother of this home.