Spirit of the World: Day Five

Image by Denis Doukhan from Pixabay

Day five at Fish Eaters.

Day five at The Catholic Company.

Today's reading from the Imitation of Christ is about vainglory or pride. This seems to me to be the great interior battle for fallen Mankind. I say this, because I recognize my frailty in this regard. And so I assume that this is a great battle for others. I could be wrong (that is, maybe others don't have to fight this fight).

I get some pushback for making similar statements as this in the reading: "In Your sight I am vanity and nothingness, a weak, unstable man." In God's sight, I am nothing. And I think this is true. And some folks seem to think that people shouldn't think so poorly about themselves. And I acknowledge that for some people, there might be a danger here. But for prideful people, going to the opposite extreme is a good tactic for obtaining the virtue of humility. But I still think the statement is true. In my pride and in my vanity, I am nothing.

And on the other hand, in a seeming paradox, I hold this statement by Saint John-Paul II as also true:

"We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son."

I am infinitely loved by God! I really am valuable!

How do I resolve this apparent contradiction? I think the key is this: without God, I am nothing. In my pride and vanity, I push God away from me, and I diminish. When I repent and turn back to God, I am so much more. And God's plan is that I be so much more, a being in the image and likeness of God. But I must empty myself of pride and sin, and allow God to form me and fashion me into something worthy of His glory—hopefully, to be present before Him, face-to-face.