Homilies about pride

Where Are You on Good Friday? Overcoming Pride to Embrace Christ's Love

Fr. Alex Dugas

This reflection, part of a Lenten mission, challenges listeners to consider their personal presence at the foot of the cross on Good Friday. Father Dugas explores various male figures present during Christ's Passion—from the indifferent and fearful to the men of action (Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea), the man of speech (the Centurion), and the man of pure love (John). The core message emphasizes overcoming pride and embracing vulnerability to truly experience God's love, drawing a parallel to the good thief's humility and John's intimate connection to Jesus's heart.

How Sin Twists Your Self-Image (and How to Break Free)

The homily explores how sin distorts our self-perception, making us believe we are unworthy of love and community, much like Turin in Tolkien's tale and the Samaritan woman. It emphasizes that while sin is real, it should not define us; instead, we are called to embrace our identity as beloved children of God, overcome self-imposed isolation, and live in the joy and freedom of Christ's forgiveness.

The Nudist Beach and the Virtue of Humility

Msgr. Jerry McCarron

Msgr. Jerry McCarron shares a humorous story about accidentally wandering onto a nudist beach to illustrate the profound difference between social modesty and Christian humility. Drawing on the teachings of St. John Henry Newman, he explains that while modesty is a social grace that can coexist with pride, true humility is the deep recognition that every talent and success we possess is a gift from God.

How Could You Be So Obtuse? Surrendering to the Mystery of the Cross

Drawing from the film 'The Shawshank Redemption', the priest explores the concept of human 'obtuseness' in failing to recognize Christ's divinity and the necessity of the Cross. He challenges the modern desire to figure everything out through intellect or AI, calling instead for a total surrender to the mystery of God's perfect plan.

Why Humility Isn't What You Think It Is

Father Peter

The homily emphasizes that true humility is not self-deprecation but knowing one's place before God, revealed through our reactions to mundane tasks and annoyances. It challenges listeners to recognize their own pride and ask for God's grace to love without expecting anything in return, mirroring Christ's sacrificial love, which is the path to true happiness and entry into the Kingdom of God.

The Deadly Sin of Refusing to Repent

The homily connects the readings about Joseph and the parable of the vineyard to the Pharisees' conspiracy against Jesus, highlighting how pride and a refusal to repent lead people to attack those who expose their corruption. The priest challenges listeners to examine their own lives for similar attitudes, emphasizing the destructive nature of such pride and the necessity of immediate repentance and seeking God's mercy.

The Joy of Seeing: Why Choosing Blindness Keeps You From God

Father Avery

The homily explores the concept of spiritual sight and blindness, particularly in the context of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, 'Laetare Sunday.' It emphasizes that true joy comes from seeing the truth of our need for God's salvation, contrasting the blind man who accepts healing with the Pharisees who choose to remain blind due to pride and a refusal to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ.

Why We Call Priests 'Father': Service, Not Status

The homily addresses the Gospel reading where Jesus tells his disciples not to call anyone 'father' on earth. The priest clarifies that Jesus is not banning the word but correcting the heart's pride, emphasizing that titles like 'father' for priests represent spiritual fatherhood and service, not status. He extends this to all forms of leadership and influence, urging humility and service over seeking recognition.

Overcoming Pride: The Path to Humility and God's Will

This homily, delivered during the third week of Lent, focuses on the sin of pride, defining it as an inordinate love of one's own excellence and the unlawful pleasure derived from thinking one has no superiors. The priest contrasts pride with humility, emphasizing that humility is truth and the path to greatness, allowing God to work through our imperfections. He encourages self-reflection on how we abandon God through pride and calls for embracing our imperfectness to do God's will.

Why God's Plans Are Better Than Yours: A Priest's Story

The homily emphasizes the importance of listening to God's plan rather than our own, using the priest's personal anecdotes of his unexpected vocational path. It connects this to the readings, highlighting how both the Israelites and the people in the Gospel struggled to accept God's will and Jesus as the Messiah. The core message is to surrender our plans to God's, especially during Lent, and to resist the temptation to derail His divine design through selfishness, stupidity, or pride.

Why We Struggle to Be Humble: Lessons from the Disciples

The homily emphasizes the pervasive nature of pride, drawing parallels between the disciples' misunderstanding of Jesus's kingdom and our own selfish desires. The priest challenges listeners to move beyond self-interest and convenience, urging them to embrace humility and service to others, reflecting Christ's ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

Joseph and the Pharisees: A Tale of Two Paths to God

The homily contrasts the lives of Joseph from the Old Testament and the Pharisees from the Gospel, highlighting Joseph's journey from pride to humility and his use of talents for good, versus the Pharisees' misuse of their high position and pride. It connects these narratives to the parable of the vineyard, emphasizing the importance of producing good fruit, following Jesus, and embracing sacrifice for salvation within the Church.

The Danger of Self-Righteousness: Lessons from the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

The homily reflects on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, emphasizing the dangers of self-righteousness and comparing oneself to others. It highlights the importance of humility, recognizing God as the standard, and using the season of Lent for a conversion of heart towards greater humility and charity.

The Humbling Call of Lent: Reflecting on Sin and Christ's Sacrifice

The homily focuses on Jesus' critique of the scribes and Pharisees, highlighting the misalignment between their teaching and practice, particularly their pride and desire for outward show. It calls for humility, urging listeners to reflect on their own sinfulness and how it affects their relationship with God and others, ultimately leading them to Christ's sacrifice.

Why Pride Stops God's Healing in Your Life

The homily emphasizes the importance of sacrificing pride to allow God to work healing wonders in our hearts. Drawing parallels between Naaman's initial reluctance to wash in the Jordan and the people of Nazareth's rejection of Jesus due to their familiarity, it highlights how pride prevents us from receiving God's grace and experiencing transformation.

Living God's Drama, Not Our Own Human Drama

The homily encourages listeners to adopt the 'mind of Christ' and live a 'God drama' rather than a 'human drama.' It uses the story of Naaman's healing to illustrate how human expectations, pride, and anger can prevent us from experiencing God's plan, emphasizing the importance of humility and prayer in discerning God's will.

Why Humility is the Most Important Virtue for Following Jesus

The homily emphasizes humility as the most essential virtue for following Jesus, drawing from the day's Gospel and St. Augustine's teaching. The priest humorously acknowledges his own struggles with the Gospel's admonitions against seeking honor, highlighting that pride is the root of sinfulness and humility is necessary to serve others rather than oneself.

The Merciful Father: Why God Delights in Forgiveness

This homily reinterprets the parable of the Prodigal Son as the parable of the Merciful Father, emphasizing God's eagerness to forgive and embrace. It highlights that both the openly rebellious younger son and the self-righteously angry elder son are lost in different ways, and both need the father's mercy. The core message is that Lent is about softening hardened hearts and mirroring God's delight in forgiveness and celebration of restoration.

Why Humiliation is Good for Your Soul: Lessons from the Tax Collector

Father Salvo

The homily reflects on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, emphasizing the importance of humility and dependence on God over self-righteousness. It argues that moments of ego humiliation, whether through suffering or temptation, are opportunities for the soul to grow in grace and draw closer to God, fostering compassion and a true understanding of our identity as God's children.

Don't Harden Your Heart: A Lenten Call to Repentance

The homily emphasizes the danger of hardening our hearts against God's voice, drawing parallels between the Israelites in Jeremiah's time and those who rejected Jesus's miracles. It warns against self-indulgence, materialism, and pride that can lead us to miss God's mark, but also highlights God's enduring graciousness and mercy, especially during the season of Lent, as an opportunity for introspection and repentance.