Pride: A Spiritual Disease
Narcissus by Caravaggio , 1594-96, oil on canvas,
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)
Pride is no cause to celebrate. It is a spiritual illness, a deadly form of the cancer of sin, which threatens the human soul. The only hope for those infected by pride is to seek out the healing, sacramental balms of Christ—coupling grace with corrective doses of humility and prayerful self-restraint. If the pride-sick soul refuses these lifesaving treatments, it will decline into eternal death.
The symptoms of pride are toxic levels of self-love and promotion, and a dangerously low level of humility. As a result, the soul infected with pride is so puffed up, it thinks itself bigger and better than God—in no need of Him or His protective laws. Pride causes the eyes of the soul to swell shut; it cannot see that it is little more than a precious child of God, in ongoing need of His grace and care. “I will not serve!” screams the pride-inflamed soul, echoing the very phrase of Lucifer’s rebellion.
In refusing to submit to God’s nurturing rule, the soul finds itself a slave of a disordered world—and self. Because pride has dubbed itself in-charge and incapable of wrong, it fears no earthly or eternal consequence. And so, the pride-sick soul gives way, more and more, to its every carnal and virulent desire. This does not improve its well-being—as it had hoped—but greatly weakens it. The soul winds up sicker than ever: blistering with anger and lust, pained by envy and sloth, pockmarked by greed and gluttony. And yet, the disease of pride will not allow it to acknowledge its own, failing condition.
Untreated, pride will deteriorate the soul into a septic state of delirium. The open and oozing sores of sin will cover and consume it; it will no longer be able to contain its ill. Fevered and frantic, the malignant soul will flaunt its diseased stripes before all, demanding praise for its sickest, most destructive behaviors. It will eagerly contaminate the weak and innocent, for pride has a parasitic need to siphon away what is pure and good. The soul is now in critical—if not comatose—condition. The cancer of pride has spread, overtaken the conscience to deaden the mind and heart as well. The soul is on the brink of eternal death; it will not recover or reset itself, apart from Him.
The pride-sick soul's only hope is to humble itself: it must acknowledge its helplessness, and earnestly implore Jesus to come to its aid. He will not refuse the suffering soul who seeks Him. He has been waiting in His sacraments for exactly this—to administer help, healing and relief to the needy. If the soul has not yet been baptized, it must first invite Him in through this door. It must pledge itself to the loving care of Jesus the Divine Physician, giving Him permission to dwell and operate within it, to blast away every cancerous trace of sin by way of Baptism’s wondrous grace.
To keep pride in remission, the baptized soul’s best treatment plan is to continue to humble itself before Jesus. It must frequently approach Him in sacramental Confession with an honest and contrite heart, admitting where it has hurt, failed and infected others by its own wrongdoing. For Jesus wishes to remove the soul’s every sore and scar, obliterating them forever. The soul must also properly, prayerfully receive Jesus in the fortifying supplement of the Eucharist. For there is no medicine, no remedy or prophylactic, as gentle and effective at combating the disease of sin in the soul as the Holy Eucharist. When this Living Presence of Jesus is taken within, His natural side effects are to dissolve small, venial sores, while increasing the souls reserve of virtue and self-restraint. The soul will be revived in zeal and clarity, saturated with the grace and strength it needs to fight against pride and its former, diseased behaviors.
The more often a soul receives the remedy of Jesus in Confession and Holy Communion, the faster it will heal and improve, until it is no longer dying from self-centered pride, but flourishing in humility and vitality—so fully alive and well that it desires to love and serve God by loving and serving His other precious children. The soul will be ready to employ the sacramental strength and grace of Confirmation, to carry the love and hope of Christ back into the sick and suffering world it is still part of, yet no longer belongs to.
And on that unexpected day when the soul passes into the realm of eternity, may Jesus not find it so bloated and disfigured—even dead—from festering sin and pride that it is unable to “enter by the narrow gate” (Matthew 7:13), is not fit for heaven but only the place he called, “hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. For every one will be salted with fire” (Mark 9:48-49). For we have been told, “the Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5). Rather, may Jesus look upon the soul with a loving joy and recognition, offering it the same, familiar hand that relieved its spiritual ill. May He be able to utter the words the soul has so long craved, “well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21) as He ushers it into His home of light and happiness, that perfect place where it finally belongs and is loved—forever—where, “God himself will be… will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:3-4).
And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. – John 3:19-21
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another. - Galatians 5:13-15
What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Unfaithful creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is in vain that the scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. - James 4:1-10
