Principal's Message Week 8 Term Two

Have you ever been struck by someone who is authentically and genuinely humble? You know the type of person that does not make it all about them, but makes you feel like you are the most important person in the room with them right now? It certainly makes you feel seen, heard, and validated.

Conversely, I have sometimes been in social situations where I can feel the person with whom I am talking (and this sometimes happens at corporate events, or conferences) and they are looking just beyond my shoulder, scanning the room, to see if there is someone more important or more influential that they should be talking to than me!

Unlike many aspects of modern society, where it is “all about me”, and the cult of individualism runs rife, our Catholic worldview rather leads us to an attitude of “it’s all about us”; and that we find in favour of the poor and marginalised as a priority. We speak of the common good, as opposed to the benefits that can be gained for the individual. Humility means acting in favour of the other, especially if the other needs our help the most. Hopefully, that is what we are instilling in the young men here at Ambrose Treacy College. We attempt to build a sense of our community in holding the common good in esteem. We find humility in our words, in our actions, and in our very being

Humility is not about false modesty. It is about being content with having less, and less than the best. It is about not chasing false Gods – the “stuff”, I call it – the flash car, the boat on the driveway, the most expensive attire and so on. Humility is being happy with our lot. And of course, if we have more than enough, then what we do with the extra to benefit someone else is humility at work. In humility, we do good for others because it is the right thing to do. And it is what God wants us to do. Humility is trying to be a bit more like Jesus every day. When we choose to let go of the masks, the excess, and the desire to be better than someone else, we can contemplate true humility. This is the stuff of a liberating education; one of the Edmund Rice Education touchstones.

Humble people seek to raise up others. Humble people see the good in the world and try to capitalise on that. Humility is a virtue. Humility does not boast, and it channels ambition into the good of all, not the self.

When we are humble about our own learning – and hopefully our boys can take something from this – we recognise that we do not yet know everything, and we probably never will. Our learning will therefore be characterised by a desire to know more, understand better, and will make us more likely to think critically and to challenge misinformation and disinformation. Humility is not about being the best, or the winner but more about being a curious learner.

Our good character can be found in possessing humility. Loving ourselves, forgiving ourselves, and accepting our shortcomings with an intention to do something about them, is part of the equation of humility. Having the ability to forgive others is the reciprocal nature of humility. This is a tall order at times I recognise.

If we seek to put ourselves first, we are not acting with humility. If we move to a place that leaves us a little uncomfortable then we become humbler. When we challenge ourselves, we are accepting a posture of humility.

Humility is not humiliation, however. Humiliation is when someone deliberately seeks to shame or belittle us. Obviously, this does not speak to character and virtue.

There are countless scriptural examples where humility is at the heart of a teaching moment. In the Gospel of Luke (14:7-14), we see a banquet parable where the guests are jostling to sit in the seats of honour – at the posh table! Perhaps much like the bridal table at a wedding. Jesus notices this manoeuvre and offers this advice:

When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honour. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table.

Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table.

The kicker here is the oft quote line at verse 11: “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

But Jesus doesn’t stop there, he goes on to instruct as to who should be invited to a banquet instead of our friends: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. We should invite these people to sit in honour at our tables precisely because they cannot reciprocate. They are therefore unlikely to invite us back or repay us. This is what humility looks like in action.

Our Edmund Rice charism invites us to be humble in our commitment to justice and solidarity, to be the great includers, and to liberate ourselves, and as Micah (6:8) reminds us: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Live Jesus in our hearts,

Forever.

Dr Craig Wattam

College Principal