St. Thomas More: Model of Confidence

I have been remiss in not making a post about one of my favorite Saints- St. Thomas More! Friday, July 22nd had been his Feast Day. St. Thomas More is probably the Saint whom I most wish that I could emulate; he also happens to be the Saint whose personality is most different from mine. One fruit of the Holy Spirit that St. Thomas More had been especially blessed with was extraordinary humility. On account of his humility, More didn’t care about being liked by everyone and did not fear being disliked by others. Hence, More didn’t change his personality or opinions around different people- he was the same man in every situation. He had what we in the modern era would call self-confidence- yet his self-confidence wasn’t based on self-love, but rather based on a firm knowledge that God’s love for him was all mattered.

It’s often extremely difficult to achieve even a minimum level of self-confidence, much less the level of confidence that More had. However, I’ve found a two helpful prayers from the North American College Manual of Prayers (which I lovingly call my “Nack Book”). The prayers are on adjacent pages; the first was written by St. Thomas More, the second was written by Cardinal Merry del Val. While they might not be instant confidence-boosters, I’ve found that saying them over time has given me a greater inner peace:

A Godly Meditation

Thomas More, 1478-1535

Give me grace, good Lord

To count the world as nothing,

To set my mind firmly on you And not to hang on what people say;

To be content to be alone, Not to long for worldly company, Little by little to throw off the world completely And rid my mind of all its business;

Not to long to hear of any worldly things;

Gladly to be thinking of you, Pitifully to call for your help, To depend on your comfort, Busily to work to love you;

To know my own worthlessness and wretchedness,

To humble and abase myself under your mighty hand,

To lament my past sins,

To suffer adversity patiently, to purge them, Gladly to bear my purgatory here,

To be joyful for troubles;

To walk the narrow way that leads to life,

To bear the Cross with Christ,

To keep the final hour in mind,

To have always before my eyes my death, which is always at hand,

To make death no stranger to me,

To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of hell,

To pray for pardon before the judge comes;

To keep continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me, For his benefits unceasingly to give him thanks;

To buy back the time that I have wasted before,

To refrain from futile chatter,

To reject idle frivolity,

To cut out unnecessary entertainments,

To count the loss of worldly possessions, friends, liberty and life itself as absolutely nothing, for the winning of Christ;

To consider my worst enemies my best friends, For Joseph's brothers could never have done him as much good with their love and favor as they did with their malice and hatred.

Litany of Humility
Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...

From the desire of being extolled ...

From the desire of being honored ...

From the desire of being praised ...

From the desire of being preferred to others...

From the desire of being consulted ...

From the desire of being approved ...

From the fear of being humiliated ...

From the fear of being despised...

From the fear of suffering rebukes ...

From the fear of being calumniated ...

From the fear of being forgotten ...

From the fear of being ridiculed ...

From the fear of being wronged ...

From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved more than I,Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...

That, in the opinion of the world,others may increase and I may decrease ...

That others may be chosen and I set aside ...

That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...

That others may be preferred to me in everything...

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…