At our retreat last week, Father gave a very good spiritual talk on the root of all vices: Pride. Thought I would share a few of his thoughts with you.
Pride goes against the fundamental truth of what God is. It denies our reality as creatures. To be humble, we must believe that God is God and we are just creatures. Humility moves us to adoration of God so that we depend on God continuously where pride does just the opposite.
Some important things for us to remember so that we can stave off pride: We are not owners of ourselves, merely administrators. It might help to remember that we are the workers in the vineyard, not the vineyard owners.
Unfortunately, our society has all but abandoned God for the love of the self. If a country won't submit its authority to God, it will eventually end in tyranny. If the members of the country won't allow themselves to be led by a higher power like God, then what will make them submit to a higher authority like the government? Our society applauds autonomy and absolute freedom. We make the rebel our hero and make the person who obeys God out to be the immature one.
Pride is really the most serious of all defects. The prideful person is essentially an atheist because he denies the adoration due to God. He refuses to believe that God is everything and he is nothing and that everything he has is a gift from God.
So how do we combat this tempter? Well, the knowledge of Jesus will help us to break our pride. Jesus is the example of humility because even though He is all powerful, He was born obeying since He became flesh at the command of His Father. What God wants is for us to say, "Behold, I come to do Your will, not my own". One of those easy things to say, but how hard it can be to actually believe it and live it. Take heart, though, for Father said that the last big battle that all the saints have faced is their pride, so we are in good company. Have a humble day :)
God Bless!
