Pride and prejudice

As people, we are all inflicted with the poison of pride.

Pride and prejudice go together, as a sort of self-separation from the “others”, producing a host of other sins.

Their progeny: vanity, self-righteousness, impatience, unchecked angry outbursts, pointing out others’ faults and failures, grudge-holding and unforgiveness.

Our pride becomes the shell that protects our prejudice against others, and sufficiently blinds us to our own shortcomings.

Pride is also binding, holding us captive in a childish state of “Me-hood” and frustration, hindering us from growing into full maturity as a man or a woman.

Christianity: The three-pronged antidote

Christ Himself taught the antidote to the vicious venom of pride: humility, gratitude and service.

Like the Holy Trinity, this three-pronged remedy allows one to plunge into the mercy of God and beg Him to give him the ability to be humble.

But it starts with humility–which leads to gratitude–which leads to service.

God is …humble?

God–who is power and and existence Itself and needs no one–submitted to the humiliation of becoming human.

With all its discomforts and limitations, He endured depending on a human mother and father to provide for His needs as a child with perfect humility.

In His ministry and crucifixion, He endured the ignorance, indifference and hostility of human pride, by undergoing the humiliation of being publicly tortured, “… despising its shame … for the sake of the joy that lay before Him” (Heb 12:2).

Self-reliance leads to self-satisfaction

The American self-reliant “lone-ranger” mentality limits our potential as social beings.

We are made by God to rely on Him, just as He set aside His infinite power to rely on his Mother to feed Him as a child.

Self-reliance feeds pride, which suppresses freedom.

A good question to ask ourselves is, “What is preventing me from being more charitable, gentle or patient with others?”

As long as one doesn’t need God or anyone else, he has no use for them and he becomes satisfied with too little.

And he can’t receive love.

“My will be done” or “Thy will be done”?

Pride chains us to our fleeting and meaningless notions.

Humility frees us to choose.

“My will be done” imposes my will on others. “Thy (God’s) will be done” leaves others free to choose.

Humility attracts, Pride attacks

Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane when faced with the greatest trial of His human life, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will” (Mt 26:39).

By giving Himself over to His Father’s plan in humility beyond human strength or comprehension, the Father glorified His sacrifice for our sake. God will do the same with us.

In keeping with His characteristic humility during His life on earth, Jesus still displays profound humility today, by becoming bread for us to consume in the Most Holy Eucharist.

This constant humiliation of our Creator confounds, astounds, and attracts us like a magnet, because it fills a deep void inside and makes us whole.

As people, we are all inflicted with the poison of pride (as stated above), and we lash out when our pride is threatened.

When one asks for the supernatural strength from God to free him from this toxin on a regular basis, his life will be infused with meaning, becoming an offering to God in humble service and gratitude.

And a supernatural peace will accompany him who entrusts his journey to Jesus, The Humble One.

St. Crispin (martyred c. 286) on your feast day, pray for us.