VAIN is the man who puts his trust in men, in created things.Imitation of Christ
Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ and to seem poor in this world. Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power and God will aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who helps the humble and humbles the proud.
If you have wealth, do not glory in it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God Who gives all things and Who desires above all to give Himself. Do not boast of personal stature or of physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a little sickness. Do not take pride in your talent or ability, lest you displease God to Whom belongs all the natural gifts that you have.
Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man. Do not take pride in your good deeds, for God’s judgments differ from those of men and what pleases them often displeases Him. If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and frequent anger.
Showing posts with label pride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pride. Show all posts
Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Avoiding false hope and pride - Thomas a Kempis
Monday, 25 August 2014
Pride is Robbery - Cardinal Bacci
Pride is Robbery
1. When we are proud, we steal from God. Everything which we are and have, both in the natural and supernatural order, is a gift from God. Therefore, when we claim the credit for ourselves, we take from Him that which really belongs to Him. “What hast thou that thou hast not received?” asks St. Paul. “And if thou hast received it why dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7)
Pride is a very grave sin, therefore. According to Sacred Scripture, “pride is the reservoir of sin, a source which runs over with vice.” (Ecclus. 10:15) “The beginning of pride,” says the same Book of Ecclesiasticus, “is man’s stubbornness in withdrawing his heart from his Maker.” (Ecclus. 10:14) It is worth meditating on these words, for because of this sin “God sends unheard-of afflictions and brings men to utter ruin.” (Ecclus. 10:15) As St. Augustine points out, the first sin was one of pride, and it changed an angel into a demon. (Ps. 18:15)
When we reflect on the matter, it becomes quite clear that pride is the basis of every sin. (Ibid.) When a man disobeys the law of God, he prefers sin to God. Sin, therefore, is always an act of rebellion against God. It is as if we were to say to Him: “I prefer to obey my own caprice rather than to obey Your will.” In this sense it is true to state that every sin is founded on pride and involves a turning away from God. But when we turn away from our Creator and Redeemer, where are we to go? “Lord,” let us say with St. Peter, “to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life…” (John 6:69)
2. With the exception of our Blessed Lady and the Saints, all men are more or less proud. Pride employs many subtle stratagems in order to insinuate itself into our hearts. Very often it does not take the form of an open revolt against God, like that of Lucifer, but expresses itself in a sense of self-complacency, which feeds on the praise and adulation of others. We forget that it was God Who gave us whatever talents we possess. If we have achieved any kind of success or have accomplished anything good in the world, we forget that we have been dependent upon God for our very existence as well as for our power to act.
We believe that we are important, whereas we are as nothing before the infinite majesty of God and before the immensity of His universe. Let us be humble, therefore. If we wish to be raised up by God, let us abase ourselves in the sight of Him who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Only then shall we be able to perform actions worthy of everlasting life.
3. In order to combat human pride, God humbled Himself. (Ps. 18:15) Not only did He assume a human nature like ours, but He was born poor and lowly and willed to die upon the Cross as a condemned criminal. What a tremendous lesson for human pride! God gave us Himself as an example to be imitated: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt. 11:29) If we do not learn from this great lesson in humility, we shall never make any progress in the way of Christian perfection. Nothing, says St. Augustine, is a greater barrier to perfection than pride. (Ps. 18:15) We must take care to lay the foundation stone of humility, therefore, before we can begin to build the edifice of Christian perfection.
1. When we are proud, we steal from God. Everything which we are and have, both in the natural and supernatural order, is a gift from God. Therefore, when we claim the credit for ourselves, we take from Him that which really belongs to Him. “What hast thou that thou hast not received?” asks St. Paul. “And if thou hast received it why dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7)
Pride is a very grave sin, therefore. According to Sacred Scripture, “pride is the reservoir of sin, a source which runs over with vice.” (Ecclus. 10:15) “The beginning of pride,” says the same Book of Ecclesiasticus, “is man’s stubbornness in withdrawing his heart from his Maker.” (Ecclus. 10:14) It is worth meditating on these words, for because of this sin “God sends unheard-of afflictions and brings men to utter ruin.” (Ecclus. 10:15) As St. Augustine points out, the first sin was one of pride, and it changed an angel into a demon. (Ps. 18:15)
When we reflect on the matter, it becomes quite clear that pride is the basis of every sin. (Ibid.) When a man disobeys the law of God, he prefers sin to God. Sin, therefore, is always an act of rebellion against God. It is as if we were to say to Him: “I prefer to obey my own caprice rather than to obey Your will.” In this sense it is true to state that every sin is founded on pride and involves a turning away from God. But when we turn away from our Creator and Redeemer, where are we to go? “Lord,” let us say with St. Peter, “to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life…” (John 6:69)
2. With the exception of our Blessed Lady and the Saints, all men are more or less proud. Pride employs many subtle stratagems in order to insinuate itself into our hearts. Very often it does not take the form of an open revolt against God, like that of Lucifer, but expresses itself in a sense of self-complacency, which feeds on the praise and adulation of others. We forget that it was God Who gave us whatever talents we possess. If we have achieved any kind of success or have accomplished anything good in the world, we forget that we have been dependent upon God for our very existence as well as for our power to act.
We believe that we are important, whereas we are as nothing before the infinite majesty of God and before the immensity of His universe. Let us be humble, therefore. If we wish to be raised up by God, let us abase ourselves in the sight of Him who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Only then shall we be able to perform actions worthy of everlasting life.
3. In order to combat human pride, God humbled Himself. (Ps. 18:15) Not only did He assume a human nature like ours, but He was born poor and lowly and willed to die upon the Cross as a condemned criminal. What a tremendous lesson for human pride! God gave us Himself as an example to be imitated: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt. 11:29) If we do not learn from this great lesson in humility, we shall never make any progress in the way of Christian perfection. Nothing, says St. Augustine, is a greater barrier to perfection than pride. (Ps. 18:15) We must take care to lay the foundation stone of humility, therefore, before we can begin to build the edifice of Christian perfection.
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Singularity - St Philip Neri
"Avoid every kind of singularity, for it is generally the hot-bed of pride,
especially spiritual pride."
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Pride - Cardinal Bacci
Pride
1. Pride is the sin of Satan. Being a pure spirit, he could not commit sins which have material things as their object, such as sins of impurity or of avarice. The one sin of which a spirit is capable is pride. Satan had been created by God and had been endowed with the loftiest gifts, but he was obliged to undergo a trial in order that he could merit the reward reserved for him by God, namely, the everlasting happiness of the Beatific Vision. It is generally held that God revealed to Satan and to all the legions of Angels the Eternal Word made man, Jesus Christ, and commanded them to adore Him. But when Satan and the other rebellious Angels saw in Jesus Christ a nature far inferior to their own, they were indignant because the Divine Word had not been united to the angelic instead of the human nature. They refused to bow their haughty heads and flung back at God the arrogant and blasphemous ultimatum: "I will not serve."
This is the essence of pride; the creature attributes to himself the gifts which he has received from his Creator and believes that he can do without God. Pride is opposed to truth which requires us to acknowledge that we have received everything from God. We should not grow proud, therefore, but should gratefully refer all that we are and all that we have to our Lord and Creator. We should remember that one day we shall have to render to God a strict account of all these gifts.
2. Just as humility is the hardest of the virtues to acquire, pride is the most common of the vices. We are all conceited and take pride in things which do not belong to us, but to God. One would imagine that it would be easy to understand that we are nothing without God, but in practice it is the other way round. It is not only prominent personalities, noted scientists and men of letters, but also the most ordinary men who believe that they are unique and superior to their fellows. Other vices follow pride. There is presumption, which leads us to believe that we are more important than we really are and to attempt things which are beyond the powers which God has given us. There is ambition, which drives us to make an immoderate quest for honours and responsibilities our main goal in life, as if our heart could be satisfied by these things rather than by God and by our own sanctification. There is empty vanity, the futile but burning desire to be praised and esteemed, as if our merits (if we have any) were anything else but a gift from God, which we have been able to develop only by His assistance and grace. Let us examine ourselves in this regard and we shall find many distortions in our own personality. We shall discover many vain notions which we ought to dispel, and many selfish detractions from God's glory of which we are and have been guilty. "Take away pride," said St. Augustine, "and what are men but men?" Remove the mask of arrogance and affectation, and you will find that even those men who regard themselves as outstanding personalities are very insignificant creatures after all. We can learn a great deal from a meditation on this subject.
3. Do you remember the occasion when the Apostles, their minds filled with ambitious speculation, approached Jesus, and asked Him who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? Our Lord called a little child and placed him in the centre of the group. “Unless you turn and become like little children,” He said, “you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 18:3) How different are God's designs from the desires of men! His ways are full of simplicity and humility, in sharp contrast with our pride and ostentation. Jesus taught us this lesson not only in His discourses but also in His life. He was God and He became man; He was rich and He became poor. He left his heavenly mansion and came down to live in a stable in Bethlehem and in the home of a poor carpenter in Nazareth. For thirty years He performed a tradesman's job in this obscure village in Galilee. It was only when He had already spent thirty years teaching us His love of poverty that He emerged to preach the Gospel in public. After He had preached and worked miracles for three years, He sank back into the depths of lowliness and was even condemned to die upon the cross. This is a tremendous lesson for us. This is the road which we must travel if we are to follow Jesus.
1. Pride is the sin of Satan. Being a pure spirit, he could not commit sins which have material things as their object, such as sins of impurity or of avarice. The one sin of which a spirit is capable is pride. Satan had been created by God and had been endowed with the loftiest gifts, but he was obliged to undergo a trial in order that he could merit the reward reserved for him by God, namely, the everlasting happiness of the Beatific Vision. It is generally held that God revealed to Satan and to all the legions of Angels the Eternal Word made man, Jesus Christ, and commanded them to adore Him. But when Satan and the other rebellious Angels saw in Jesus Christ a nature far inferior to their own, they were indignant because the Divine Word had not been united to the angelic instead of the human nature. They refused to bow their haughty heads and flung back at God the arrogant and blasphemous ultimatum: "I will not serve."
This is the essence of pride; the creature attributes to himself the gifts which he has received from his Creator and believes that he can do without God. Pride is opposed to truth which requires us to acknowledge that we have received everything from God. We should not grow proud, therefore, but should gratefully refer all that we are and all that we have to our Lord and Creator. We should remember that one day we shall have to render to God a strict account of all these gifts.
2. Just as humility is the hardest of the virtues to acquire, pride is the most common of the vices. We are all conceited and take pride in things which do not belong to us, but to God. One would imagine that it would be easy to understand that we are nothing without God, but in practice it is the other way round. It is not only prominent personalities, noted scientists and men of letters, but also the most ordinary men who believe that they are unique and superior to their fellows. Other vices follow pride. There is presumption, which leads us to believe that we are more important than we really are and to attempt things which are beyond the powers which God has given us. There is ambition, which drives us to make an immoderate quest for honours and responsibilities our main goal in life, as if our heart could be satisfied by these things rather than by God and by our own sanctification. There is empty vanity, the futile but burning desire to be praised and esteemed, as if our merits (if we have any) were anything else but a gift from God, which we have been able to develop only by His assistance and grace. Let us examine ourselves in this regard and we shall find many distortions in our own personality. We shall discover many vain notions which we ought to dispel, and many selfish detractions from God's glory of which we are and have been guilty. "Take away pride," said St. Augustine, "and what are men but men?" Remove the mask of arrogance and affectation, and you will find that even those men who regard themselves as outstanding personalities are very insignificant creatures after all. We can learn a great deal from a meditation on this subject.
3. Do you remember the occasion when the Apostles, their minds filled with ambitious speculation, approached Jesus, and asked Him who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? Our Lord called a little child and placed him in the centre of the group. “Unless you turn and become like little children,” He said, “you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 18:3) How different are God's designs from the desires of men! His ways are full of simplicity and humility, in sharp contrast with our pride and ostentation. Jesus taught us this lesson not only in His discourses but also in His life. He was God and He became man; He was rich and He became poor. He left his heavenly mansion and came down to live in a stable in Bethlehem and in the home of a poor carpenter in Nazareth. For thirty years He performed a tradesman's job in this obscure village in Galilee. It was only when He had already spent thirty years teaching us His love of poverty that He emerged to preach the Gospel in public. After He had preached and worked miracles for three years, He sank back into the depths of lowliness and was even condemned to die upon the cross. This is a tremendous lesson for us. This is the road which we must travel if we are to follow Jesus.
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