The Catechism says that “If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity it is a mortal sin.” Medieval artists depicted wrath with scenes of people fighting as well as scenes of suicide. WrathĪnger can be a normal reaction to injustice, but wrath is something more.
We must be willing to accept humiliations and strive to seek God in all things.Gregory articulated this when he added envy to his list of vices, writing that envy engendered “exultation at the misfortunes of a neighbour, and affliction at his prosperity.” 4. We must not seek honors, but admit our nothingness and lack of virtue. We must live in the presence of God, practice self-denial and the other Christian virtues, especially patience, forbearance, charity, meekness, submission, abandonment to God and conformity to His Will, sympathy, confidence in God, compunction for sin, modesty. We must have recourse to prayer, again and again asking for this virtue. We must cling to God and do His Will with all our soul. We must keep in mind His promises in favor of the humble and the vengeance He reserves for the proud. In striving for humility, we must always have before our eyes the example of Our Lord. It may sound like a contradiction, but the humble man realizes that he is proud, and earnestly strives to overcome the manifestations of pride in his life. The only way to get the better of pride is to practice humility. Everybody is infected with the virus of pride! But there is a particular kind of pride in each individual at least a particular kind dominates, though there may be several of its viruses in the same character. When we are blinded by pride, we do not consider our talents and abilities as God’s gifts to us, but attribute our good qualities to ourselves, with the right to use them as we see fit. Pride is the most dangerous of sins, because it blinds our understanding, and unless something finally makes us realize the truth, we are liable to go on, day after day, in a spiritual self-delusion, imagining our acts to be good and virtuous when certain habits actually may be vicious. There is a species of pride in every sin, whatever may be the individual nature of the sin itself. Pride is likewise the greatest sin because it is the fountainhead of the self-love in which all other sins take root: “From pride all perdition took its beginning.” (Tob. The punishment of the Angels, of Adam and Eve, of Nabuchodonosor, related in the Book of Daniel (4:27-30), bear witness to this.
It is, therefore, the sin most hated by God, and the one He punishes most severely. Pride is the greatest of sins because it is the summit of self-love and is directly opposed to submission to God. It was also the root of the Original Sin committed by Adam and Eve. The following are excerpts from Chapter 1: ” Pride” from The Seven Capital Sins Let us take up arms now and go to the battle! We will be what we will to be!” (Pages 46-47) “True understanding of the nature and effects of the Capital Sins is the first step in combating them. The Seven Capital Sins explains the true nature, degrees, acts and family relationships (or connecting links) among these seven vices, and it gives the remedies and safeguards against them. Everyone, unfortunately, will see himself described in the pages of this little book, The Seven Capital Sins, since all our sins are traceable to these seven roots: Pride, Covetousness (Avarice), Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth.
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