Men's Rosary

We can be our own worse enemy, and the devil knows this and uses it against us. In our ignorance and pride, we place many obstacles in the way of our sanctification. We were created to be holy, and sanctification is God’s work of making us truly holy, moving us from a life of sin to a life lived with and for him; uniting our will with God’s will.

One of the most dangerous obstacles is spiritual pride. St. Thomas Aquinas describes this as the inordinate, disordered desire to excel in spiritual matters. He sees it as the “queen of all vices” and a subtle, dangerous form of self-righteousness. These desires become disordered when we turn away from God, and his will, and seek our own desires; have a desire to be “better” or “above” others; or refuse to be subjected to God through his Church.

It is prideful to think too highly or too lowly of oneself. On the other hand, humility will allow one to think accurately of himself. God helps us with this though prayer and contemplation. In discerning his will and uniting our will with it we will see ourselves as God sees us; accurately and will grow in holiness and service to him and his holy Church and be able to imitate Christ more. We are really nothing without God. Jesus said to Catherine of Sienna, “Catherine, remember one thing; I am he who is and you are she who is not.” This goes for all of us. The saying goes that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. This is true also in the spiritual life. If we are not careful, as we grow in knowledge we will not grow in our hearts and develop an overconfidence in spiritual maturity and become arrogant, sabotaging any good work going on in us. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

We must ask ourselves, why do we do what we do? Is it in service of God or is it in service of ourselves? Many times, we commit to some work or ministry, and as soon as we are asked to do something else, or do it differently, we take offense. If our work or ministry is truly for God, would it not be true that we should not take offense but see God asking us to serve differently? If we let our blessing of knowledge and understanding of our faith cloud our thinking and look at others as not doing things right, or less reverent than I, placing ourselves in a higher position, haven’t we missed the opportunity to share with others and lift up the Church and turned our back on God’s will? When we fight the rubrics and teaching of the Church, when we undermine the apostolate of the pastor, when we do things our way at Mass attracting attention to us and away from the Mass, are we not refusing to be subjected to God? Pride and obedience, like oil and water, are incompatible – they do not mix.

It is necessary to recognize our sinfulness, our limitations and need for God’s mercy. No matter how much we think we have advanced in the spiritual life, in our prayer, our service to the Church; we all are found wanting. The devil will use our pride to alienate us from God and doom our soul. The humble, repentant sinner God will not reject; the prideful man he will leave to his own design. “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you; this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)

Sanctity is not complicated, it is simple, we complicate it by inserting our pride and egos into it. It is not so much of what we know, how much we pray, how many things we volunteer for, the number of good works, or the money we give. It really is about how we love. If we do not step away from our pride and in humility make room for Christ, we will not be able to love fully because God is love and if he is not in us, we can not give what we do not have. “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” (Matthew 22:37-40)

“Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.” (St. Therese of Lisieux)