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“I don’t… think… I’m prideful…?”
Great! If you examine your actions and intentions and you don’t detect any obvious pride, that’s a wonderful thing. But as each one of us grows deeper in relationship with Jesus, he will reveal ever more nuanced ways that pride can sneak its way into our lives, giving us opportunities to reveal those places to Jesus and letting him perfect us.
Today, Fr. Mike uncovers some of those sneaky areas of our life where pride can burrow itself and cause major problems.
Today Fr. Mike encourages us to consider pursuing this one antidote in combatting pride and to helping you grow in humility today!
The Saints and the Scriptures tell us over and over again that Pride is the worst sin, maybe the root of all sin.
But maybe when we realize we are struggling with pride the realization is that it’s not that we think too highly of ourselves but that we instead are struggling with a weak self image and poor self worth.
Today, Fr. Mark-Mary defines what the virtue of humility is, as the antidote to pride and how we can grow in it and wrestle with it.
“Resistance wears a thousand masks, many of which are so effective we don’t even recognize resistance is behind them. Laziness, procrastination, fear, doubt, instant gratification, self-loathing, indecision, escapism, pride, self-deception, friction, tension, and self-sabotage are just some of the ways resistance manifests its ugly self in our lives and causes us to settle for so much less than God has imagined for us. You cannot become the-best-version-of-yourself unless you wake up every morning ready to slay resistance. Resistance stands between you and happiness.
Here are 4 ways to break through resistance and stop sabotaging yourself:
1. Be mindful when you are stressed, anxious, or over-tired, and learn ways to manage these states.
2. Abolish “If only…” thinking from your mind and life.
3. Whatever you are feeling – name it and own it! You are not your feelings, but if you avoid them, they will destroy you.
4. Develop one grounding habit that you do every day and NEVER miss. Run, walk, meditate, read… find your thing and ingrain it deep into your daily routine.
And remember, don’t just be yourself, become the best version of yourself!”
“You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy—the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud.”
— St. Vincent de Paul
“Some beginners, too, make light of their faults, and at other times indulge in immoderate grief when they commit them. They thought themselves already saints, and so they become angry and impatient with themselves, which is another great imperfection. They also importune God to deliver them from their faults and imperfections, but it is only for the comfort of living in peace, unmolested by them, and not for God; they do not consider that, were He to deliver them, they would become, perhaps, prouder than ever.”
— St. John of the Cross, p. 9
“Look Busy!”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
June 12 – 13, 2021
Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
The only thing we should have pride in is the mercy of our good Lord. From His pierced heart, flows the river of Sacramental love so that we may have life and have it to the fullest in this life and in the next. It is our means of salvation. What we should be proud of, and the only thing, is our Savior’s love. It’s not a sin or a debauchery.
Now, let me tell you what you must do to get to heaven. You have to do one thing, and it’s extraordinary. You know what it is? You may be thinking, “Oh, God! Father, please, I’m having enough problems with the ordinary stuff! What the heck are the extraordinary things?” Well, although it’s extraordinary, it’s not hard. God doesn’t ask us to do hard things. The extraordinary thing we have to do is do ordinary things ordinarily; in other words, do routine things routinely. Do the same things day after day after day.
Jesus said, “If you love Me and wish to be My follower, take up your cross every day and follow Me.” So, we take up our cross and follow Him. Now, our goal is progress…not perfection. This includes saying our prayers, not choking the you-know-what out of someone who desperately needs it, and practicing spiritual and corporal works of mercy. When I say “practicing,” I mean practicing just like doctors practice medicine. It’s not perfect, but they keep trying. Another way to carry our cross is by going to Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days, and maybe even on other days of the week. The doors are open, and on weekdays, we don’t take up a collection. So, you’re welcome to come in and get extra credit. You also can carry your cross by going to Confession once a year…every three months is better. Who wants to walk around with all that doodoo staining your soul that affects the body, mind, and spirit. You’ll have a much better attitude. We have much better vision and self-awareness when our souls are bathed in the most precious blood of Christ. These are the ordinary things we can do ordinarily…the routine things we can do routinely, and that’s the extraordinary part.
Because we do ordinary things, some may be tempted, and it’s a grave temptation, to stop, because they think that they are not progressing, they think they aren’t good at it, or they believe it’s not benefitting them. All of that is a lie by the devil. “I don’t think my medicine is helping me get well, so I’m going to stop taking it.” That’s not going to lead to a good outcome. Likewise, if we stop doing ordinary spiritual works of mercy, that also won’t lead to a good outcome. The extraordinary part is when we keep doing it and doing it…whether we enjoy it or not. We embrace the suck. I don’t enjoy eating fish. But, I have to eat it, because it was prescribed by my doctor. That’s doing an ordinary thing ordinarily. If I don’t follow my doctor’s advice, it’s a sin against the Fourth Commandment and a sin against the Fifth Commandment, because I would be endangering my life unnecessarily.
Is doing ordinary things ordinarily a lot of fun? No. “Father, you’re a professional.” Yes. “Do you always enjoy your prayers?” No. If you catch me in the morning around 7:30, I’ll be over here saying my prayers. You will notice, if you see me day after day, that I’m not walking on air. I’m not levitating. I’m not in mystical ecstasy every time I say the Rosary. I’m not always happy. Do my prayers always thrill me? Oh, heck no! Do I want to listen to one more whiner who comes in to complain? “Oh, Father, it’s too hot in church!” Oh, shut up. Do I want to listen to that? No. But, remember, everything we do should be focused on Him, our Beloved. The things we do are acts of love to our dear Lord and are not done to please ourselves. When you are tempted to stop doing ordinary things ordinarily, the focus is on you. I’m not much but I’m all I think about…that’s one of my favorite sayings. Whatever we do, whatever our gifts of love for our Lord are, big or small, they are acts of love and devotion to our Savior.
Now, as you know, in the Oval Office at the White House, there’s a phone that goes from the United States to the Soviet Union in case there is a nuclear war so that people don’t end up in a mushroom cloud. In the Vatican, there is also such a phone. Remember the bat phone? It’s kind of like that. This phone doesn’t go from the Vatican to the United States or to Russia. It goes from the Vatican to Heaven. It’s not used, but occasionally the housekeepers come along and dust it like any other piece of furniture. This phone had never rang, but, one day it did. Whoa! I doubt it was a wrong number. Everyone was too scared to touch it. No one but the pope could answer the phone, so, they found the Holy Father, brought him in, and he picked up the phone. The pope said, “Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord.” The pope smiled and put the phone down. By that time, everyone in the Vatican had gathered around. “Holiness, who was it? Speak to us!” The pope said, “It was God.” “What did He say?” The pope responded, “He’s coming back soon.” “Holiness, what should we do?” The pope answered, “Look busy!”
How will you apply this message to your life? Are you doing routine things routinely? Are you coming to weekend Mass and going to Confession at least once a year? Are you practicing corporal and spiritual works of mercy?
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page). There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.
