Developing virtue is a balancing act — finding the golden mean between two extremes.
Take magnanimity and humility. On the surface, they look like opposites.
A magnanimous person strives to do great things and is deserving of honor. That desire lives in all of us. Think of kids’ daydreams about saving the day, being the hero. The desire for greatness is hardwired into us. That’s magnanimity.
Then St. Thomas Aquinas gives us this definition of humility: “It consists in keeping oneself within one’s own bounds, not reaching out to things above one, but submitting to one’s superior.”
So on one hand, we’re made for greatness. On the other, we’re told not to stretch beyond our own bounds. Opposites, right?
Not quite. When we dig a little deeper, we find that both are expected of us — and that it’s actually through humility that we reach magnanimity.
Humility helps us acknowledge our very real weaknesses, which causes us to depend on the Lord. Greatness is not something we attain on our own. We’re human — flawed and sinful — so we turn to the One above us. It’s by faith in Jesus Christ that the door to greatness opens. Not by our own power, but His.
Knowing who we are, and who God is — that’s what frees us to seek greatness in His name, for His glory.
Let us pray. Lord, keep us humble enough to depend on You, and bold enough to pursue the greatness You’ve placed within us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.
