Matt Fradd
Spirituality/Belief • Books • Writing
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The Saints on Humility

Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.

If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.

-- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 8, “The Great Sin,” Kindle location 1665


True humility consists in being content with all that God is pleased to ordain for us, believing ourselves unworthy to be called His servants. -- St. Teresa of Jesus

To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but the greatness of its humility. --St John of the Cross, OCD

There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart. --Saint Augustine

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. --Saint Augustine

Be humble towards God and gentle with your neighbor. Judge and accuse no one but yourself, and ever excuse others. Speak of God always to praise and glorify Him, speak of your neighbor only with respect -- do not speak of yourself at all, either well or ill. -- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

The truly humble reject all praise for themselves, and refer it all to God. - St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

In the difficulties which are placed before me, why should I not act like a donkey? When one speaks ill of him - the donkey says nothing. When he is mistreated - he says nothing. When he is forgotten - he says nothing. When no food is given him - he says nothing. When he is made to advance - he says nothing. When he is despised - he says nothing. When he is overburdened - he says nothing. The true servant of God must do likewise, and say with David: "Before Thee I have become like a beast of burden." -- St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

What will be the crown of those who, humble within and humiliated without, have imitated the humility of our Savior in all its fullness! -- St. Bernadette

He who wants to learn true humility should reflect upon the Passion of Jesus. (267) -- St Faustina, Divine Mercy in my Soul

The soul's true greatness is in loving God and in humbling oneself in His presence, completely forgetting oneself and believing oneself to be nothing; because the Lord is great, but He is well-pleased only with the humble; He always opposes the proud. -- St Faustina, Divine Mercy in my Soul

Let us therefore give ourselves to God with a great desire to begin to live thus, and beg Him to destroy in us the life of the world of sin, and to establish His life within us. -- St. John Eudes

To be pleased at correction and reproofs shows that one loves the virtues which are contrary to those faults for which he is corrected and reproved. And, therefore, it is a great sign of advancement in perfection. -- St. Francis de Sales

No man can attain to the knowledge of God but by humility. The way to mount high is to descend. -- Bl. Giles of Assisi

If you would rise, shun luxury, for luxury lowers and degrades. -- St John Chrysostom

Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance. ~ St. Augustine

Our Lord loves you and loves you tenderly; and if He does not let you feel the sweetness of His love, it is to make you more humble and abject in your own eyes. -St. Pio of Pietrelcino

A truly humble person never believes that he can be wronged in anything. Truly, we ought to be shamed to resent whatever is said or done against us; for it is the greatest shame in the world to see that our Creator bears so many insults from His creatures, and that we resent even a little word that is contradictory. - St. Teresa

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation. -Saint Augustine

We should let God be the One to praise us and not praise ourselves. For God detests those who commend themselves. Let others applaud our good deeds. --Pope St. Clement I

If humble souls are contradicted, they remain calm; if they are calumniated, they suffer with patience; if they are little esteemed, neglected, or forgotten, they consider that their due; if they are weighed down with occupations, they perform them cheerfully. - St. Vincent de Paul

The first degree of humility is the fear of God, which we should constantly have before our eyes. -St. Louis de Blois

The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it. - Saint Vincent de Paul

Prayer must be humble: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Here St. James tells us that God does not listen to the prayers of the proud, but resists them; while, on the other hand, he is always ready to hear the prayers of the humble: The prayer of the man that humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds, . . . and he will not depart till the Most High behold. The prayer of an humble soul at once penetrates the heavens and presents itself before the throne of God, and will not depart thence till God regards it and listens to it. However sinful such a soul may be, God can never despise a heart that repents of its sins, and humbles itself: A contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. - St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

But, my daughter, I am going a step further, and I bid you everywhere and in everything rejoice in your own abjection. Perhaps you will ask in reply what I mean by that. In Latin abjection means humility, and humility means abjection, so that when Our Lady says in the Magnificat that all generations shall call her blessed, because God hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden, she means that He has accepted her abjection and lowliness in order to fill her with graces and favours. Nevertheless, there is a difference between humility and abjection; for abjection is the poverty, vileness and littleness which exist in us, without our taking heed to them; but humility implies a real knowledge and voluntary recognition of that abjection. And the highest point of humility consists in not merely acknowledging one's abjection, but in taking pleasure therein, not from any want of breadth or courage, but to give the more glory to God's Divine Majesty, and to esteem one's neighbour more highly than one's self. This is what I would have you do; - St. Francis de Sales

00:35:49
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Rating Viral TikTok Dating Advice | Isabel Brown | Last Call Ep. 17

It’s Last Call! Isabel Brown is here to rate popular dating advice as Toxic or Not while sharing some pointers of her own.

Pints: Last Call Ep. 17

00:30:57
5 Hours Investigating the Strongest Miracle Evidence for Catholicism (Ethan Muse) | Ep. 581

Ethan Muse is here to make watertight arguments for how the Marian apparitions of Fatima, the stigmata of Padre Pio, and the Lanciano Eucharistic miracle, each naturalistically inexplicable, collectively vindicate the core doctrines of Catholicism, such that rejecting all of them as fraud, coincidence, or demonic deception becomes increasingly implausible.

Ep. 581

Theotokos Rosaries are available here: https://dwplus.shop/TheotokosRosaries

📚 Resources Mentioned:

Ethan Muse on Substack: https://substack.com/@ethanmuse

Ethan Muse Padre Pio Substack: https://substack.com/@ethanmuse/p-174400229

St. Beluga: https://www.saintbeluga.org/our-lady-of-fatima-queen-of-the-heavens

04:56:28
Philosopher DESTROYS Nihilism TikToks | Dr. J. Budziszewski | Last Call Ep. 16

Dr. J. Budziszewski, philosopher and author of Pandemic of Lunacy, is back to destroy the incoherence of nihilism.

Pints: Last Call Ep. 16

📚Resources Mentioned:

Pandemic of Lunacy: https://a.co/d/0bzGt0fd

00:26:22
Simple NEW Lofi Song

Working on an entire album of lofi music. Here's one of those songs. Album should drop next week. THEN, a couple of weeks after that we hope to have our 24/7 stream up and running.

Simple NEW Lofi Song
December 01, 2022
Day 5 of Advent

THE ERROR OF ARIUS ABOUT THE INCARNATION

In their eagerness to proclaim the unity of God and man in Christ, some heretics went to the opposite extreme and taught that not only was there one person, but also a single nature, in God and man. This error took its rise from Arius. To defend his position that those scriptural passages where Christ is represented as being inferior to the Father, must refer to the Son of God Himself, regarded in His assuming nature, Arius taught that in Christ there is no other soul than the Word of God who, he maintained, took the place of the soul in Christ’s body. Thus when Christ says, in John 14:28, “The Father is greater than I,” or when He is introduced as praying or as being sad, such matters are to be referred to the very nature of the Son of God. If this were so, the union of God’s Son with man would be effected not only in the person, but also in the nature. For, as we know, the unity of human nature arises from the union of soul and body.

The...

Day 5 of Advent
November 27, 2022
Day 1 of Advent

RESTORATION OF MAN BY GOD THROUGH THE INCARNATION

We indicated above that the reparation of human nature could not be effected either by Adam or by any other purely human being. For no individual man ever occupied a position of pre-eminence over the whole of nature; nor can any mere man be the cause of grace. The same reasoning shows that not even an angel could be the author of man’s restoration. An angel cannot be the cause of grace, just as he cannot be man’s recompense with regard to the ultimate perfection of beatitude, to which man was to be recalled. In this matter of beatitude angels and men are on a footing of equality. Nothing remains, therefore, but that such restoration could be effected by God alone.

But if God had decided to restore man solely by an act of His will and power, the order of divine justice would not have been observed. justice demands satisfaction for sin. But God cannot render satisfaction, just as He cannot merit. Such a service pertains to one who ...

Day 1 of Advent
7 hours ago

Sometimes the sky looks like a masterpiece. Here are some pictures I've taken of the sky over the years.

When your doctor’s office has stained glass windows, but your church doesn’t … 😡

I really wish the current world wasn’t so backwards.

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A must listen episode of the Exorcist Files podcast, where Fr. Carlos Martins explain why and how our Lord Jesus Christ descended into Hell after his crucifixion. This is available on all podcasts apps, but here the YouTube link.

Since Joining The Daily Wire...

Since joining The Daily Wire, we’ve started streaming the show on Spotify, and somehow we’re now in the top 7 under Religion & Spirituality. 

Take that, other religions and spiritualities!

Seriously though, thank you to everyone who watches here on Locals, Youtube, or Spotify. 

Christ is King. Glorify Him. 

PS: I know the Internet keeps saying that the Daily Wire is a sinking ship but I disagree :) But even if PWA will sink, it will sink proclaiming the goodness of God and Holy Mother Church.

Thanks for helping me do that.

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December 16, 2025
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6 Month Daily Wire+ Membership (FREE!)

Hello dear Locals member!

I want to thank you again for your support. And I'm not talking about your hard earned money (though I'm grateful for that!). I'm thankful for you for trusting me during this transition. And more than that, some of you have even come to my defense when haters online have accused me of selling out to those nefarious Jews!

Here's a comment we just got on my interview with Scott Hahn:

"What an absolute delight. I hope that everyone who was throwing shade and casting judgement on the new PWA/DW relationship takes a deep listen to this first post-collaboration episode. Seriously! I feel that having Hahn on speaks volumes to the integrity of PWA and the respect DW has for that integrity." - @arealdonut

Okay ... with that out of the way, I'm happy to annoucne that:

  • Locals members (whether monthly or annual members) will get 6 months of DailyWire+ for free!
  • Existing Daily Wire subscribers will get a 6 month extension on their account. No action needed.
  • If you’re not yet subscribed to DailyWire+, you’ll be sent an email the week of January 5 containing a unique code for 6 months of DailyWire+ for free.
  • If you’re not subscribed to our emails, be sure to go to pintswithaquinas.com/subscribe, scroll to the bottom where it says “sign up to get the Latest”, enter your name and email and click sign up now.

God bless you guys, and thanks again.

Matt

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October 23, 2025
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It's finally here! Jesus Our Refuge 🙌

It’s finally here! 

I’ve been pouring my heart into what I truly believe is an important book—Jesus Our Refuge (get here). It’s the most personal thing I’ve ever written, and my hope is that it helps you find peace and refuge in the heart of Jesus. 

Please consider getting a copy here and reviewing!

P.S. I don’t earn anything from this book. When I wrote it, I knew it had to reach far and wide, so I partnered with a publisher who believes in that mission. Every bit of the royalties I’d have received goes into a fund to give away one million copies for free.

 

 

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