One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Last Sunday’s gospel reading focused on humility. Humility is probably one of the hardest virtues to attain as a human. As humans, we suffer from lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). All those focus on SELF.
We worship at the altar of self daily.
Most people, even Christians suffer from pride and the sin of self. As I have suffered from low self-esteem through much of my adult life, I used to think, “How can you have the sin of pride when you have such low self-worth?” However, I have learned that low self-worth or esteem is just the flip side of the Pride/Selfishness coin. You’re still focused on self and that is pride. It is more like a perverse form of pride.
In the Cathecism of the Catholic Church, 1783 – 1785 deal with the Formation of Conscience. It says:
1783 Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.
1784 The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. From the earliest years, it awakens the child to the knowledge and practice of the interior law recognized by conscience. Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear, selfishness and pride, resentment arising from guilt, and feelings of complacency, born of human weakness and faults. The education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart.
1785 In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path,54 we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord’s Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.
What I’m learning is that to conquer pride and self, I need to have a more informed and enlightened conscience. To have that I must spend time in God’s Word, spend time with God in prayer and put into practice what He teaches me there.
How much time each day do you spend with God?
