Franciscan humility as seen by Blessed Honorat Koźmiński

Abstract

Very often we view Saint Francis of Assisi through the prism of his extreme poverty, perfect joy, universal brotherhood or contemplation of the beauty of nature. Such a reading of the Saint is certainly true, but it does not exhaust his full characteristics. It should not be forgotten that the Poverello also earned for himself in the Church the common name of the humble Francis.

The Servant of God understood well the importance of St. Paul's exhortation: "For by the power of the grace that has been given to me, I say to each one of you: let no one have a higher opinion of himself than is right, but let him judge himself soberly (...). Do not chase after greatness, but let you be attracted to that which is humble! Do not consider yourselves wise!".

And that is why his humility as read by Fr. Honorat is the subject of this study. The constant pursuit of humility animated Saint Francis of Assisi, which his faithful son Honorat Kozminski meditated on. In our study, we will try to trace the thought of the Blessed from Biała Podlaska on this subject by following the following path. First, let us turn our attention to the source from which Francis drew light and wisdom in the formation of humility. Then we will point out the connection between humility and truth, service, minority and humiliation.