Humility of Heart

This is the greatest book on humility ever written and will likely be the best book you will read in the next 5 years (outside of Holy Scripture). If everyone in the United States would adhere to the advice in this book, we would convert the world.

Here is how the book opens up: "In Paradise there are many Saints who never gave alms on earth: their poverty justified them. There are many Saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting or wearing hair shirts: their bodily infirmities excused them. There are many Saints too who were not virgins: their vocation was otherwise. But in Paradise there is no Saint who was not humble."

Below are a few more gems of wisdom contained in Humility of Heart. Fr. Cajetan da Bergamo has assembled in this incomparable Catholic classic every conceivable motive for us to practice the virtue of humility."

It is only by the measure of thy humility that thou canst hope to please God and save thyself, because it is certain that God ‘will save the humble of spirit.'" (Ps. 33:19—Page 60).

• "As paradise is only for the humble, therefore in paradise every one will have more or less glory according to his degree of humility." (Page 75).
• "Humility generates confidence, and God never refuses His grace to those who come to Him with humility and trust." (Page 93).

From every direction, he marshals up the reasons why this virtue is paramount in the lives of all Saints and of all those on the way of perfection. As no one will enter Heaven who is not perfect and as no one will gain perfection who is not humble, it behooves us all to apprise ourselves of the requisites for gaining true humility of heart, for once possessing this virtue, we can then make great strides in the spiritual life. But without it, we are simply deceiving ourselves regarding our spiritual progress and postponing the great work of our own salvation.