Pride makes us displeasing to everyone: the good, the bad, and even ourselves
November 3, 2021 • 2 min
From The Sinner’s Guide, page 329
By Venerable Louis of Granada
Again, O proud man! I would ask you to remember that your pride is displeasing to all—to God, Who resists the proud and gives His grace to the humble; [St. James iv. 6.] to the humble, who hold in horror all that savors of arrogance; and to the proud themselves, who naturally hate all who claim to be greater than they.
Nor will you be pleasing to yourself. For if it ever be given to you in this world to enter into yourself and recognize the vanity and folly of your life, you will certainly be ashamed of your littleness.
And if you do not correct it here, still less satisfaction will it afford you in the next world, where it will bring upon you eternal torments.
St. Bernard tells us that if we truly knew our hearts we would be displeasing to ourselves, which alone would make us pleasing to God; but because we do not know ourselves we are inflated with pride and therefore hateful in His sight.
The time will come when we shall be odious to God and to ourselves—to God because of our crimes, and to ourselves because of the punishment they will bring upon us.
Our pride pleases the devil only; for as it was pride which changed him from a pure and beautiful Angel into a spirit of malice and deformity, he rejoices to find this evil reducing others to his unhappy state.
Latest book snippets
Search | Random | 909 total | 50h 1m
June 7, 2022
God’s goodness in giving Himself to us sinners should inspire us with even greater humility, trust and love
1 min — Imitation of Christ
June 6, 2022
The more we preserve our hearts for God, the more will he fill us with Divine Love and Grace
1 min — Imitation of ChristThe love of friends must only depend on and exist in the Love of God
1 min — Imitation of Christ
May 24, 2022
Mary’s love was greater than any angel’s or saint’s as much as the moon is bigger and brighter than any star
1 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De SalesMary only slept in order to love and serve God better
2 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De Sales
May 17, 2022
May 17th: Mary not only practiced perfect obedience, but recommended it to all in the Gospel
2 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De Sales
May 15, 2022
May 15th: The union of Humility and Charity in the Blessed Virgin Mary
4 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De SalesMay 15th: The three Unions that occurred at the Incarnation
2 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De Sales
May 13, 2022
By humility and a desire to love God, we begin to pray, which is so effective against the devil that he tries to convince us not to
2 min — The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena