Perennial Wisdom
Perennial Wisdom is a podcast for seekers and curious minds. Each episode explores philosophical and spiritual traditions for universal truths and enduring ideas to help you (and me) never stop learning how to live.
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St. Benedict on the Ladder of Humility
Today, on this Sunday edition of Perennial Wisdom, we reflect on humility—not as weakness or self-negation, but as wisdom—through the voice of one of the great spiritual teachers: St. Benedict of Nursia.
St. Benedict lived in the sixth century, during a period of political chaos and moral confusion. From this turmoil, he initiated a quiet revolution—a rule of life centered on prayer, work, and stability. His Rule became the basis for Western monasticism and continues to serve as a guide for spiritual seekers today.
At the heart of his teaching is a single word: humility.
In The Rule of St. Benedict, he writes:
The first degree of humility is prompt obedience. This comes naturally to those who hold nothing dearer to them than Christ... Such people, as soon as they are ordered to do something by a superior, as if commanded by God himself, cannot bear to delay in doing it.
At first, this may seem strict to modern listeners. However, St. Benedict isn't advocating for blind obedience—he’s illustrating a genuine attitude that no longer demands its own way. For him, true humility is not about passivity but about liberation—liberation from the tyranny of the ego.
In The Rule, humility is described as a ladder with twelve rungs. The first is obedience. But the last is this:
The monk becomes so humble that he is always saying in his heart what was said with downcast eyes by the publican in the Gospel: ‘Lord, I am a sinner, not worthy to raise my eyes to heaven.’
This humility is not self-hatred. It is not anxiety masked as piety. It is a quiet awareness of our contingency—that we are not the source of our own existence, nor the center of the universe.
As St. Benedict writes:
A man will be perfect in humility when he no longer delights in fulfilling his own desires but walks according to the will of another.
Humility, then, is about perspective. It involves shifting away from an exaggerated self-image and moving toward the truth.
In our time, where so much depends on appearance, applause, and asserting our worth, humility offers a path to freedom. It means that you don’t need to perform in order to belong. You don’t have to be exceptional (or perfect) to be loved. You are not the creator of meaning—you are its receiver.
St. Benedict encourages us to become grounded and self-aware, letting go of the illusion of control. As highlighted in the psalms: “I was exalted, but I have been humbled and overwhelmed with confusion,” this downward journey doesn't lead to despair but to inner peace.
St. Benedict writes:
Now that the monk has climbed all these steps of humility, he will quickly arrive at that perfect love of God which casts out all fear… Through this love, all that he once performed with dread, he now begins to observe without effort.
Humility is not the end of the spiritual journey; it is the starting point.
Whether you view humility as a virtue or a practice, it is essential to remember that humility is not exclusive to monks like St. Benedict.
Humility calls us all to look beyond ourselves.
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Thank you for reading/listening; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well.
J.W.
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