Our God is a God of surprises. From the Son of God being born a helpless infant raised by a carpenter and then dying to bring salvation, his ways are beyond human imagination.

The humility of God is the ultimate plot twist that baffles Satan. The devil chose eternity in hell rather than to humble himself before the very one who created him. And his first big score against humanity was made possible through pride — the opposite of humility — by Adam and Eve eating the fruit so they would become like God. Humility would have protected them from their foolishness.

How infinitely clever it is that through our humility and thus obedience to God, the devil is defeated. St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, who was often harassed by the devil, related a conversation with him.

“I can do everything you do,” said the devil. “I can also do your penances; I can imitate you in everything. There is one thing, however, that I cannot do; I cannot imitate you in humility.”

“That is why I defeat you,” St. John Vianney responded.

In my interviews with exorcists over the years, their message is consistent: humility, prayer, adoration and the sacraments are the most powerful tools against the devil. How fitting it is then that the Blessed Mother, the holiest and most humble mother of our Savior Jesus Christ, would defeat Satan through her humility, the Achilles’ heel of the devil.

Mary, our beloved Blessed Mother, is found referenced in the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis (3:15): ”I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”

The Miraculous Medal, revealed in 1830 to St. Catherine Labouré in France, shows the Blessed Mother stepping on the serpent. And in the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, her very name in the native tongue means, “Who crushes the serpent.”

St. Louis Marie de Montfort wrote on the humble power of Mary in his work True Devotion to Mary:

Mary’s power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight against him. ... They will be great and exalted before God in holiness. They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal, and so strongly will they be supported by divine assistance that, in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ.

The Blessed Mother does not face off in combat with the devil. She refers all to her Divine Son, and the devil is defeated. So, we can feel secure standing at the feet of Mary, our Heavenly Mother, ever humble, always pointing to God: “And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word’” (Luke 1:38), and, “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’” (John 2:5).

Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a saint whose humility many of us still living witnessed. In her words:

Humility is the mother of all virtues; purity, charity and obedience. It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent. If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. If you are blamed, you will not be discouraged. If they call you a saint, you will not put yourself on a pedestal.

Humility, as we see through Jesus, Mary and the saints, is an inoculation against darkness. It renders the devil powerless and leads us to holiness through the example of Jesus Christ. Our culture is deeply conflicted in this regard. Calling someone humble is understood as a compliment, while calling them prideful is an insult. Yet, there is a hyper-focus on the me-me-me of social media and an obsession with fame that directs people to be prideful and to work at getting attention.

But meditating on the humility of God and his saints releases us from such cultural bondage. We don’t have to care about the fickle opinions of others; we just need to care what God thinks. For ideas, we can look at the list of 15 ways that Mother Teresa shared to increase our humility.

 

Mother Teresa’s Humility List

1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.
2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.
3. Avoid curiosity.
4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.
5. Accept small irritations with good humor.
6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.
7. Accept censures even if unmerited.
8. Give in to the will of others.
9. Accept insults and injuries.
10. 1Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.
11. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.
12. Do not seek to be admired and loved.
13. Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.
14. Give in during discussions, even when you are right.
15. Choose always the more difficult task.