Divinisation is good, if humility is not lost

Divinisation is bad if it blinds, if it keeps us from seeing clearly that our feet are made of clay, for the touchstone to distinguish good divinisation from bad is humility. Therefore, our divinisation is good if we do not forget that it is a gift from God, a grace from God. It is bad if we attribute to ourselves (to our deeds, our merits, our own excellence) the spiritual greatness we have been given.

Be humble, be humble! Because we all know that we are made partly of clay, and we recognize a little of our pride and our wretchedness... but we do not see it all. May we discover what hinders our faith and our hope and our love!

“There are two ways that those who wish to become saints attain humility. One is when the person who struggles to pursue the love of God finds himself in the midst of a spiritual trial and, because of weakness of the flesh, or on account of people who are ill-disposed to those who pursue virtue, or because of bad thoughts which assail him, learns to think more humbly and meekly about himself. The second way is when the intellect is enlightened by holy grace in depth and fullness: the soul then has, as it were, a natural humility. Made more complete and richer by divine grace, it cannot now be swelled up with a desire for glory, even though it always fulfils God’s commandments perfectly, but rather considers itself inferior to everyone, with an attitude filled with meekness and divine humility.”³