So this year, maybe partly because of everything that's happened in the last 12 months, I'm trying to simply get back in touch with myself and deepen my relationship with God and others.
This morning I read a reflection on the 'Seven Deadly Sins'. Pride tops the list, not without good reason, because if one looks closely at the other six, it soon becomes apparent that pride is the real root of those also.
Pride is a vicious spreading parasite which infects and strangles all parts of our life and if left unchecked, spreads to others around us, sucking the life, joy and hope out of entire communities.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world,
others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I should.
- Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val
