What is the response to the Litany of Humility?

The prayer has two halves with two responses. Through the first, after each line beginning "From the desire…" or "From the fear…", the response is "Deliver me, O Jesus." Through the second, after each line beginning "That others may…", the response is "Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it."

Why is the Litany of Humility so hard to pray?

Because the second half does not ask to be freed from something unpleasant — it asks for the grace to genuinely want to be overlooked, so that others are preferred. Most people can pray the first half sincerely and find the second half sticks in the throat. That is not a reason to avoid it. Praying to want something you do not yet want is itself an act of humility, and the prayer is honest about asking for a grace rather than claiming a virtue.

How do you pray the Litany of Humility?

Slowly, and preferably aloud, saying the response after each line. It takes two or three minutes. Many pray it after Mass or Communion, as its author did, or as part of an examination of conscience at night. There is no rule requiring it and no indulgence attached; it is simply a prayer for a disposition that does not come naturally.

Is the Litany of Humility approved by the Church?

It is a devotional prayer in wide and long-standing use, not an official liturgical text, so there is nothing to approve or forbid in the way there would be for a rite. It is entirely orthodox: every petition is addressed to Jesus, and it asks for the humility the Gospel repeatedly commends. Praying it is free and unremarkable.

Can I print the Litany of Humility?

Yes. Use your browser’s print command and it comes out as a plain one-page sheet with the navigation and colours removed. Parishes and prayer groups are welcome to print it.

The Litany of Humility

A prayer by Cardinal Merry del Val, secretary to Pope St Pius X, who said it daily after Mass. It asks first to be freed from the desire to be esteemed and the fear of being overlooked, and then — the harder half — for the grace to genuinely want others preferred above oneself. It takes about three minutes.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honoured, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

The response is said after every line: “Deliver me, O Jesus” through the first part, “Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it” through the second.

Where it comes from

The prayer is attributed to Rafael Merry del Val, a cardinal of Spanish and Irish parentage who became Secretary of State to Pope St Pius X at the age of thirty-eight. He was, by every account, a man of considerable gifts and standing who prayed daily to be delivered from wanting exactly the esteem his office brought him.

It is a private devotion, never part of the liturgy, which is why you will find slightly different wordings from one holy card to the next. None of the differences touch the substance. What every version keeps is the two-part shape: first the desires and fears to be freed from, then the graces to be asked for.

Why the second half is the hard part

Most people can pray the first sixteen lines honestly. Nobody enjoys the fear of being ridiculed or forgotten, and asking to be freed of it costs little. The second movement is different. It does not ask to be spared something unpleasant; it asks for the grace to genuinely want to be passed over, so that others are chosen, praised and preferred instead.

That is where the prayer sticks in the throat, and it is meant to. It does not pretend you already feel this way. It asks Jesus for the grace to desire it — which is the honest position of someone who knows they do not desire it yet. Praying to want a thing you do not want is itself a small act of the humility the prayer is about, and it is a more truthful place to start than pretending.

Print it, or keep it on your phone

This page prints as a plain one-page sheet. Cardinal Merry del Val prayed it after Mass; it also sits naturally at the end of an examination of conscience at night. Parishes and prayer groups are welcome to print it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930), who served as Secretary of State to Pope St Pius X. He is said to have prayed it every day after Mass. It is a private devotion rather than a liturgical text, which is why several slightly different wordings are in circulation; the version here is the one most commonly printed.