By Tom Thomas –
“According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” — C S Lewis, Mere Christianity
The deep focus on vices that Holy Father Pope Francis has brought to us over the past few weeks has helped me open my eyes to the Vices lurking in me. In the General Audience of 6th March 2024, the Holy Father takes up the last of the vices: pride. The Holy Father says, “The ancient Greeks defined it with a word that could be translated “excessive splendour.” Indeed, pride is self-exaltation, conceit, and vanity. The term also appears in that series of vices that Jesus lists to explain that evil always comes from the heart of man (cf. Mark 7:22). The proud man is one who thinks he is much more than he really is; one who frets about being recognised as greater than others, always wants to see his own merits recognised, and despises others, deeming them inferior to himself.
From this first description, we see how the vice of pride is very close to that of vainglory, which we presented last time. However, if vainglory is a disease of the human self, it is still a childish disease when compared to the havoc pride is capable of. In analysing the follies of man, the monks of antiquity recognised a certain order in the sequence of evils: one begins with the grossest sins, such as gluttony, and arrives at the more disturbing monsters. Of all vices, pride is the great queen. It is no accident that, in the Divine Comedy, Dante places it in the very first level of purgatory: those who give in to this vice are far from God, and the correction of this evil requires time and effort, more than any other battle to which the Christian is called.”
The explanation of the Holy Father helps me to understand the distinction between pride and vainglory. The three different types of pride that Dante’s Divine Comedy mentions in the first level of purgatory are: pride of family and lineage, pride of art/human endeavour; and pride of power. I recognise all these aspects of pride in myself. Great spiritual thinkers like Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine taught that pride is the root of sin.
The next few lines about pride mentioned by the Holy Father make me think. Are we trying to replace or become like God with initiatives like Artificial Intelligence? We must take heed. Holy Father says on the subject:. “In fact, within this evil lies the radical sin, the absurd claim to be like God. The sin of our first parents, recounted in the book of Genesis, is for all intents and purposes, a sin of pride. The tempter tells them, “When you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God” (Gen. 3:5). “
The scriptural verse comes to mind: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Cor 11:3. The words of this verse sink deep.
I realised that I was full of pride when I read the Holy Father further mention. “Here then is the long list of symptoms that reveal a person’s succumbing to the vice of pride. It is an evil with an obvious physical appearance: the proud man is haughty, he has a “stiff neck,” that is, a stiff neck that does not bend. He is a man easily led to scornful judgment: with no reason, he passes irrevocable judgements on others, who seem to him hopelessly inept and incapable. In his haughtiness, he forgets that Jesus in the Gospels assigned us very few moral precepts, but on one of them he was uncompromising: never judge.
You realise that you are dealing with a proud person when, on offering him a little constructive criticism, or making a completely harmless remark, he reacts in an exaggerated manner, as if someone had offended his majesty: he goes into a rage, shouts, and interrupts relations with others in a resentful manner.”
I have done all these things. Judging often. Sometimes, even at Mass, when the homily is delivered by a deacon under training, I have inwardly judged, why is Father not saying the homily? Then there would be more takeaways? This is so wrong, I know, and yet it is a part of my nature, to judge those around me. I must overcome. But how? I get the answer from the Holy Father who says, “Salvation comes through humility, the true remedy for every act of pride. In the Magnificat, Mary sings of the God who by His power, scatters the proud in the sick thoughts of their hearts. It is useless to steal anything from God, as the proud hope to do, because after all, He wants to give us everything. This is why the apostle James, to his community wounded by infighting originating in pride, writes, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6).” 2 Cor 11:3? “I have to strive to be humble, like Mother Mary was, and like the Lord Jesus Christ was, the ultimate example of servant leadership.
According to Wikipedia, “The term “humility” comes from the Latin word humilitas, which may be translated as “humble,” but also as “grounded,” or “from the earth,” since it derives from humus (earth). So appropriate, then, when I think of the words said during the Ash Wednesday services that, in a sense, encapsulate the complete meaning of the desert Lenten season. “You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19.).
Coming across The Stations of the Cross reflection by Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the words of meditation on the first station of the cross – Jesus is condemned to death – call out:
“Pilate, the time-serving politician, stepped forward on his sunlit portico. On his right stood Christ, the Just One who came to give His life for the redemption of many; on his left stood Barabbas, the wicked one, who had incited a revolt and taken a life. Pilate asked the mob to choose between the two: “Whether you will that I release unto you, Christ, or Barabbas”? How would I have answered that question, had I been in the courtyard that Good Friday morning? I cannot escape answering by saying that the question belongs only to the past, for it is as actual now as ever. My conscience is the tribunal of Pilate. Daily, hourly, and every minute of the day, Christ comes before that tribunal, as virtue, honesty, and purity. Barabbas comes from vice, dishonesty, and uncleanness. As often as I choose to speak the uncharitable word, do the dishonest action, or consent to the evil thought, I say in so many words, “Release unto me, Barabbas,” and to choose Barabbas means to crucify Christ.”
This Lenten season, I certainly need to battle this queen of all vices, along with the other vices, if I am not to release Barabbas but Christ with my every thought, word, and action. I am thankful for the focus on vices in the past few weeks by the Holy Father.
In conclusion, I find this quote helpful to maintain my focus on battling the queen of vices:
“Jesus Christ is the ultimate definition of Humility.” St Bernard of Clairvaux