In May of 2004, several things happened to prompt the creation of the 12 Degrees website. First, I was faced with a series of challenges that caused me to question if I really knew what it meant to have humility as a characteristic or quality of my life. Various aspects of my life were being called into question and to be honest, I did not handle the situation with, well, humility.

As I began to understand the need for humility in my life, the challenges I was facing put me in a situation where I was humbled, more by the situation than my own choosing. I discovered not only the need for humility, but also the need for a frame of reference by which to understand how to handle being humbled.

Even as I was going through these challenges, I was also leading a spiritual formation group that was focused on discovering the ways believers had sought out and grew in the Lord throughout Christian history. The week all of my challenges came to head was the week we were reading The Rule of St. Benedict. Previous experiences with this type of group had taught me the importance of a regular rhythm of Scripture reading, such as the one Benedict outlines in his Rule. (I have added links to the right that explore these Divine Hours more fully.) What I saw afresh was Benedict's focus on the need for humility.

Chapter 7 of The Rule describes what Benedict calls "12 degrees of humility." Using the analogy of a ladder, each degree or step or rung of this ladder helps move us towards the perfect love of God. This is not meant to be 12 easy steps in becoming a good Christian - anyone who has read what Benedict has to say about humility recognizes there is nothing easy about them. Even more important, like the Divine Hours readings and monastic life itself, Benedict calls for practices that help shape and guide us as we strive to be the men and women that God calls us to be. The 12 degrees are ways to help rid ourselves of the prideful ways of life so prevalent and instead be filled with God's Spirit. They do not make us holy; they move us toward God, who makes us holy.

This web site, therefore, is a place for me to wrestle with the implications of Benedict's 12 degrees of humility for my own life, but also the life of God's church. I have listed my paraphrase and adaptation of the 12 degrees below and will over time include comments and thoughts on each one. I would invite your feedback on the 12 degrees and my thoughts on them.

I pray that this site provides you something that blesses your life and encourages you as you strive to have your own life filled with the perfect love of God.

 

12 Degrees of Humility - My Paraphrase

1st Degree: Fear God. Always keep Him in mind.

2nd Degree: Seek to do only the will of God.

3rd Degree: Find someone wiser than you in matters of the Spirit. Have him or her be your guide.

4th Degree: Persevere through the hard times with patience and endurance.

5th Degree: Confess your sins.

6th Degree: Be content with what you have and who you are, remembering who you are not and who God is.

7th Degree: Be convinced in your heart of your status before God.

8th Degree: Be guided by a spiritual rule.

9th Degree: Keep silence.

10th Degree: Do not be quick to laugh.

11th Degree: Speak gently.

12th Degree: Whatever you do, remember that you do it as if you are standing before God.