Humility of heart, antidote to pride

+JMJ+ The month devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is drawing to a close. With that in mind I want to share some quotes from our great spiritual writers and some videos on the subject of humility, the virtue that is the antidote to the deadly sin of pride, the sin that leads to all the other sins. Deadly sin, mortal sin, kills the life of grace in the soul, darkens the intellect, and weakens the will. You can get yourself into a heap of trouble messing around with what may seem like a trifling little sin, just a little puffed up pride. If you’re tempted, remember this: hell burns really hot, don’t go there.

The chief cause of inner unhappiness is egotism or selfishness. He who gives himself importance by boasting is actually showing the credentials of his own worthlessness. Pride is an attempt to create an impression that we are what we actually are not. (From Way to Happiness, by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen, page 17. Link in the notes below.)

The humble man concentrates on his own errors, and not upon those of others; he sees nothing in his neighbor but what is good and virtuous. He does not carry his own faults on his back, but in front of him. The neighbor’s defects he carries in a sack on his back, so he will not see them. The proud man, on the contrary, complains against everybody and believes that he has been wronged or else not treated as he deserves. When the humble man is treated badly he does not complain for he knows that he is treated better than he deserves…The humble man is never discouraged, but the proud man falls into despair. The humble man still has God to call upon; the proud man has only his own ego that has collapsed. —Ibid., 18.

Humility is “the truth all about oneself in one’s triple alliance with God, with one’s neighbor, with one’s own soul.” (From Humility of Heart, by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo, page viii, the preface. Links below.)

In Paradise there are many Saints who never gave alms on earth: their poverty justified them. There are many Saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting, or wearing hair shirts: their bodily infirmities excused them. There are many Saints too who were not virgins their vocation was otherwise. But in Paradise there is no Saint who was not humble. –Ibid., pg 1.

Video, Pride in the Bible, by Dr. Brant Pitre.

Jesus Christ calls us all into His school to learn, not to work miracles nor to, astonish the world by marvellous enterprises, but to be humble of heart. “Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart (Mt 11:29).” –Ibid., 2.

Video, Humility, by Fr. Leo Clifford.

Must we suppose that all the treasures of Divine Wisdom which were in Christ are to be reduced to the virtue of humility? “So it certainly is,” answers St Augustine. Humility contains things because in this virtue is truth; therefore God must also dwell therein, since He is the truth. –Ibid., 3.

Video, Spirituality Of St Therese 10 – The Virtue Of Humility, byVenerable Fulton Sheen (Audio). The audio quality is not very good but it’s still worth a listen.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hatred, let there be love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Maste grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardon that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.” –Prayer commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, quoted in Sheen, 19.

That’s it for this week. Thank you for visiting and reading. Feel free to comment or leave feedback. May this year be the year we pray and study the Scriptures, and receive grace in the sacraments, and apply the virtue of humility as the antidote to sinful spiritual pride, and become the saints the Lord always meant us to be. God bless you and may His peace be always with you. +JMJ+

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Notes and Links

Way to Happiness, by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen: Hardcover, (different edition: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook) (Amazon affiliate links, see Full Disclosure below).
Humilty of Heart, by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo: Leatherbound, Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook (Amazon affiliate links, see Full Disclosure below). Also available in free formats at archive.org.
Pride in the Bible, video by Dr. Brant Pitre.
Humility, video by Fr. Leo Clifford, I’ve watched many of Fr. Clifford’s videos on EWTN. ❤️

Image: Sacred Heart of Jesus, based on a painting by Heinrich Hofmann.

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