Litany of Humility: Full Text, Who Wrote It, Meaning and How to Pray It

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The Litany of Humility is one of the most challenging prayers a Christian can pray: “From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus. … That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.” It asks Jesus, “meek and humble of heart,” to free us from the need for praise and the fear of humiliation, and to let us rejoice when others are preferred to us. It is usually attributed to Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (1865–1930), who prayed it daily, but it was already in print decades earlier. Below is the full litany from an 1880 Catholic manual, its history, what it means, and how to pray it.

The Litany of Humility

From the Little Manual of Novices (English translation, 1880):

O Jesus meek and humble of heart!
Jesus, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being sought, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being considered, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humbled, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being rebuffed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.
That others may grow in the opinion of the world and I diminish, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.
That others may be employed and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.
That others may be praised and I forgotten, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.
That others may be preferred before me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.
That others may be more holy than I, provided I am as holy as I can be, Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.

The leader can say the first half of each line and everyone answers “deliver me, Jesus” or “Jesus, grant me the grace to wish.” Many people end with a Glory Be or with the short prayer: “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.”

How the litany is built

  1. “From the desire of being …”: nine petitions to be freed from wanting esteem, love, attention, honor, praise, preference, being consulted, approval and consideration.
  2. “From the fear of being …”: eight petitions to be freed from fear of humiliation, contempt, rejection, slander, being forgotten, ridicule, injustice and suspicion.
  3. “That others may …”: seven petitions asking for the grace actually to want others to be loved, esteemed, chosen and praised more than we are, and even to be holier than we are, “provided I am as holy as I can be.”

The third part is the hardest, and the most freeing. It does not ask us to think badly of ourselves, but to stop measuring ourselves against others.

Who wrote the Litany of Humility?

The litany is commonly credited to Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, Secretary of State to Pope St. Pius X from 1903 to 1914, a man known for his humility and his care for the poor boys of Rome’s Trastevere quarter. He is said to have prayed it every day after Mass, and it spread widely in the twentieth century through his reputation.

But the litany is older. A “Litany to Obtain Holy Humility” was published in English in 1867, and the version above appeared in the Little Manual of Novices (copyright 1879, published 1880), “translated from the French of the fifth edition,” while Merry del Val was a teenager. The original author is unknown. The version usually printed today follows the 1880 text closely, with a few lines added or reworded.

What the prayer means

Humility is not low self-esteem; it is the truth about ourselves before God. “Humility is the foundation of prayer” (CCC 2559). Jesus invites us: “Learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart” (Matthew 11:29), and he promises that “he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.”

But when thou art invited, go, sit down in the lowest place; that when he who invited thee, cometh, he may say to thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have glory before them that sit at table with thee.
Because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.

In like manner, ye young men, be subject to the ancients. And do you all insinuate humility one to another, for God resisteth the proud, but to the humble he giveth grace.
Be you humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation:
Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you.

How to pray the Litany of Humility

  • Pray it daily for a season, for example through Lent or for thirty days, and notice which lines you resist most. Those are the ones you need.
  • Pray it before a situation that tempts you to pride or envy: a job interview, a performance review, a family gathering, social media.
  • Pray slowly. It is better to mean one line than to rush through all of them.
  • Don’t be discouraged if you cannot yet sincerely “wish” what the litany asks. Asking for the grace to want it is already the beginning of humility.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Litany of Humility an official prayer of the Church?

It is a private devotion. Only a few litanies are approved for public liturgy, such as the Litany of the Saints and the Litany of Loreto. Private litanies like this one are freely prayed by Catholics.

Why is the Litany of Humility so hard to pray?

Because it asks for what our pride resists: to be overlooked and to be glad when others are praised. That is why many spiritual directors recommend it.

Who was Cardinal Merry del Val?

Rafael Merry del Val (1865–1930), born in London to a Spanish diplomatic family, became one of the youngest cardinals in history and served as Secretary of State to St. Pius X. His cause for beatification has been opened.

More litanies

Texts and sources

  • Litany of Humility: Little Manual of Novices, by the author of Golden Sands, translated from the French of the fifth edition (1880; copyright 1879), public domain (archive.org); responses written out after each line.
  • Scripture: Matthew 11:29; Luke 14:10–11; 1 Peter 5:5–7, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church 2559.