Why ought we not to pray for humility? Shouldn’t we ask for every gift?
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humility is not a gift
Its a fruit of the Spirit...
Its something you can do without praying for it...
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
Galatians lists the fruit of the Spirit as...
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law Galatians 5:22, 23
I thought it was we who were the works folks.
But I tell you what. You go ahead and be humble without praying for it. I'm obviously a VERY unfruited guy (ah, let me rephrase that ...), so I will ask, ask early and often.
Anyway, at least one reason I was referring to Del Val's Litany of Humility is that I think it a good meditation on what humility can be like, and how hard it is to desire it.
For those who do not 'get' Catholic conventions (and why should you?), remember we are ALL about vain repetitions (Ps 136), so the "Deliver me, Jesus," is repeated after each petition until we get to the new response,"Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it," and so on.
There's another issue here, though, one represented by the word "Hosanna." Strictly speaking, that's a petition. Save! Yet because of confidence in the Lord, it becomes a word of praise, of acclamation.
People say of us that we think our priests conjure God. This is an unserious charge, since the demands of monotheism, Biblical or not, indicate that if there's any conjuring to be done, God alone can do it. By what 'jus' can the Lord of all,or his Son, the true Pantocrator, be compelled, since all power and authority is His?
So, even if it be true that humility is a fruit and we have but to reach up and pluck it, we will still ask before we pluck.