For the last few years, as I’ve grown and deepened my personal Christian faith, I’ve found myself drawn to a handful of books that have truly changed me from the inside out. I’ve read writings from the saints, spiritual books focused on interior growth, and of course, Scripture itself — and despite their differences, they all shared one common theme: humility.

Again and again, humility is referenced as the essential virtue to cultivate and embody if we want to grow spiritually. This led me to ask: What exactly is humility? And why is it considered the most essential virtue to learn?

Humility is the only virtue Christ explicitly tells us to imitate from Him:
“Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”

Not long ago, I had a deep conversation with my niece — a remarkably insightful and wise young woman for her age. Honestly, I wish I had possessed even a fraction of her self-awareness at that stage of my life, or the desire to question why I act the way I do. She’s currently a junior in college and chose to challenge herself by pursuing a major that demands a great deal intellectually: computer science engineering.

At the beginning of her college journey, after the excitement of getting into her dream school faded, the reality of the difficulty of her classes set in. I began to notice moments of deep self-deprecation. She would tell herself, “I don’t have the capacity to pass these classes. They’re too hard.” Her grades struggled, and she felt defeated — questioning whether she was even good enough to be in the major at all.

Out of fear and a desire for relief, she leaned into her spirituality and began spending time in adoration. In her search for solace, she experienced a moment of clarity. She realized that she had asked God to remove her from the major if it wasn’t His will — yet she was still there. And so she began to see that perhaps her continued presence wasn’t an accident, but an invitation.

What she came to understand was profound: her insecurities and anxieties weren’t humility — they were pride limiting her. Not pride in the obvious sense, but pride disguised as self-doubt. She realized that even if she didn’t feel capable on her own, God could still work through her if she allowed Him to. Three years later, she’s nearly finished with her degree, and she no longer sees her success as coming solely from her own merit, but from her desires slowly aligning with God’s direction.

When she shared this with me — that speaking harshly to herself wasn’t humility — I was immediately reminded of the spiritual books I had read, all pointing back to humility. I realized I had never considered depreciation and self-doubt as a form of pride before. And in that moment, I also realized that I didn’t truly understand humility myself. That conversation sparked a quiet curiosity in me, one that I haven’t been able to let go of. Since then, I’ve been searching for a deeper understanding of what humility truly is.

This is what led me to start a new video series, where I’ll be breaking down the book Humility of Heart by the 17th–18th century Italian Capuchin priest, Father Cajetan Mary da Bergamo. I also plan to continue exploring the seven spiritual mansions described by St. Teresa of Avila — but before entering those “castles,” I felt it was essential to first spend time understanding humility. Without it, spiritual progress simply isn’t possible.

Many of us misunderstand humility. We often see it as weakness, passivity, or low self-worth. But humility, at its core, is simply seeing oneself exactly as one is — no exaggeration, no self-denial, no self-condemnation. It is not groveling or self-deprecation. Rather, it is an accurate view of oneself and one’s place in relation to others, and most importantly, in relation to God. It acknowledges how difficult it is for a person to perform truly supernatural acts motivated purely by love of God without grace.

As the author explains, humility is diametrically opposed to the capital sin of pride. It stands in direct opposition to our natural tendency to rely on ourselves. Before we commit any choice that leads to chaos, destruction, disharmony, or conflict, we first commit an act of pride — usually by distorting the truth in some small way. Scripture reminds us: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

So I invite you to learn alongside me as I continue to grow in my understanding of humility. This is not a one-time lesson, but a lifelong challenge — the ongoing battle between our pride and our willingness to lean into humility.

I hope you leave feeling a little more inspired.

Episode 1: Watch Here and Follow me on YouTube. 🙂

✨ Catch the full episode on Spotify — linked here!

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