What is the opposite of pride? The virtue of Humility.
Which of the 8 beatitudes in Mt 5:3-11 do you think speak of this virtue? In my opinion, most of them – 1st (poor in spirit), 2nd (gentle), 3rd (mourn), 5th (merciful), 6th (pure in heart), 7th (peacemakers), 8th (persecuted in the cause of uprightness). (Have Legionaries explain.) So there are many dimensions of humility actually.
Do you recall this famous passage, Mt 11:28-29?
“Come to me, all your labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Should my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Can we say that Jesus is prideful in saying that? Humble people don’t say they are humble right? No, because He is God on whom we are called to model our lives. He is Truth and the personification of humility in its fullness. What if any of us were to say “learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart”??? Would that be permissible? Eg. one of the easiest way to test whether we are proud or not is to examine ourselves as to how we handle humiliations! Like when someone puts us down. Eg. Wilson sending whatsapp message “No, you are lying” and my reaction of wanting revenge. The reality is that we will have to battle with pride all the time; it is a lifelong struggle.
Can a person be proud of something and not sinful or not be sinning? Is there a good kind of pride? Yes, when one is positively confident of oneself. Eg. Declaring I am good at designing posters; I can sing well; I play badminton expertly; I am proud of my country, my family, my work; I can sleep anywhere, anytime, hahaha 😛
Important questions to ask: what is pride? when is pride a sin or what kind of pride is sinful?
CCC 1866 describes pride as one of the seven capital sins. (“capital” because these seven sins engender other sins, other vices).
Pride is undue self-esteem or self-love, which seeks attention and honour and sets oneself in competition with God.
Let’s break that down… in order to grow in holiness, we need to grow in self-knowledge. The Holy Father, St. Pope John Paul II wrote this in his book, The Acting Person:
Self-knowledge is when we have a realistic view of ourselves and an idea of what our weaknesses and strengths are. We need awareness of these areas in order to have a healthy concept of ourselves. Now, the opposite of that healthy self-knowledge is found in pride. So, to determine what is good and what is sinful, let’s examine some specific examples and see what we learn.
Firstly, let’s say we are good at something. If we are good at something, and we are aware that we are good at it, it is not prideful to acknowledge that fact. That is speaking the truth. Some example were already given earlier.
St. Francis of Assisi said before: “True humility begins with our ability to recognise our weaknesses as well as our strengths.”
Conversely, if we know we are good at something and then say we aren’t good at it, that is lying. This is called false humility. This is when we refuse compliments and deny our goodness at certain things. Eg. shying away from responsibilities, claiming/pretending one is not good enough, I do not have this talent, I’m not as good as so and so…I cannot, when one actually can… pretending not to be good at a subject and unable to help a classmate and then scoring a “A” eventually!
We may even claim that we are too sinful and that God who loves us unconditionally cannot love us — that actually “sets oneself in competition with God.”
If it is hard for you to take compliments, try this: the next time people praise you, consider it a prayer. That person praising you is thanking God through you for the gift you manifest. One other way is to credit God rightaway with a smile and say “may all praise be unto God’s, I am only his servant” ie. lower oneself. Eg. St. Bernadette Soubirous
You might be thinking, “how ever am I going to be as humble as St. Bernadette? That is so hard to attain.”
Here are some tips:
One of the greatest weaknesses among Catholics is that we are very quick to criticize others but slow to compliment. If only, we can exercise complimenting others, recognising their gifts and talents rather than their weaknesses and faults. If we keep on criticizing, it is because we are prideful and think we are superior to others. So try complimenting others generously and sincerely this week. This will help us all to be more humble.
To attain a much higher level of holiness one way is to actively seek humiliations to chip away at one’s pride, to pray to God, “Lord, grant me humilitations…whether it be a failure, a difficulty/trial/tribulation, etc.” This is to say that we are not simply “victims” or “passive receipients” of humiliations! Again, this may sound impossible. Eg. When I proposed something to my boss I believed to be good in a meeting knowing that he would oppose it: in fact he did, and I was humiliated before those present! Oftentimes we are afraid to speak up/give our best suggestions because we are afraid they will not be accepted. If they will not be accepted, we have something wonderful to offer up to God!
Let us strive this week to work on our pride and nurture the virtue of humility with the above suggestions so that this allocution may not just come to pass. We can share about our experiences at the next Legion meeting! J