The Pruning of Pride

Today, society views pride as a virtue and not as what it really is… sin. Pride has become a sign of a person’s confidence and not of a soul’s weakness.

The Catholic Church has always and continues to teach that pride is one of the “seven capital sins.” Pride is the mother of all sin. It is the sin of sins. It was Lucifer’s pride that said to God, “Non serviam” (I will not serve). It was the pride of Adam and Eve of wanting to be gods themselves that (original) sin came to this world. Pride is hell’s favorite sin, for it was the pride of the fallen angels that created it.

In His love for us, the Father prunes our pride. For pride is a block to His grace. And the more we block His  grace, the less we become alive. Sooner or later, our soul will dry up.

A healthy plant is watered plant. A healthy soul is a soul filled with grace.

So the Father permits trials, crisis and pain to prune our pride. When our arrogant self-reliance is broken and we find ourselves eating dirt, we come to realize how weak we really are, and in desperate need of God’s help. Until we are helpless, we shall not cry out for help. Until we are brought down to our knees, we shall not bend them.

It is when we hit rock bottom that we open ourselves to the heavens. Out of the depths we cry for help. And in that place of humility, grace flows. When we stop relying on ourselves and solely on God, His power is made manifest in us.

“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.”  2 Corinthians 12:9

And we shall be fruitful.

“Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” Jn 15:1-2

(#2094 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church)

One can sin against God's love in various ways:
- hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishments.