Thirty-First Tuesday in Ordinary Time

In you, O Lord, I have found my peace. O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me.

Pride is a vice none of us can afford to have. Wherever we find it in our lives, we need to uproot it, cast it away, and burn it to ashes. The temptation to pride is one that can bring low even the most holy of people. It can corrupt our good works by turning them into acts weighed down with self-righteousness and disdainful judgments of others. We can prize our own time, talents, and treasures above others. We hear the music of the Church and instead of focusing on the glory of God, we are lost in criticizing others for being poorer singers than we. We see someone act with charity or mercy and we say, “I could do better!” The prideful taint all they touch turning gold to lead and bountiful harvests into wilted crops. Instead of building up the body of Christ, they build themselves up like a tower of Babel, until they collapse under the weight of their own sins and selfishness. So, let us be humble people, busy not with self-important “great things,” but with selfless good things.

Have we found peace in our lives? How can we uproot pride from our lives? What can we do to be happy with being humble?

O Lord, make our hearts not proud, but good.

Amen.