PRIDE: THE OBSTACLE TO RECEIVE GOD’S MERCY
“He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts (Lk 1:51).”
The above words are taken from Our Lady’s “Magnificat” wherein Mary praises God for having looked upon the lowliness of His handmaid. Humility is the necessary virtue which all men must strive to possess in order to receive God’s grace and mercy.
The proud, however, those who want to be regarded as superior to others, even to God, whom they look down in their arrogance. Pride leads one seek to live his life without God, without counting on His grace or in opposition to God Himself. Even if they seem to live their life successfully from the human viewpoint, the words of our Lady’s canticle will ultimately come true, for God will scatter them as he did those who tried to build the tower of Babel, thinking that they could reach as high as heaven (cf. Gen 11:4).
It would be useful to meditate upon the following words of St. Josemaria:
“When pride takes hold of a soul, it is no surprise to find it bringing along with it a whole string of other vices greed, self-indulgence, envy, injustice. The proud man is always vainly striving to dethrone God, who is merciful to all his creatures, so as to make room for himself and his ever cruel ways.
“We should beg God not to let us fall into this temptation. Pride is the worst sin of all, and the most ridiculous. . . . Pride is unpleasant, even from a human point of view. The person who rates himself better than everyone and everything is constantly studying himself and looking down on other people, who in turn react by ridiculing his foolish vanity”
St. Josemaria, Friends of God, n. 100
Dear friends, let us ask God for the grace and virtue of humility so as to have our heart prepared and disposed to welcome God’s grace and mercy. Let us also strive daily to forget ourselves, to be sincere with God, with ourselves and those around us, and to serve others for these are the means to grow in this virtue.
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