Catholic Pride

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TristanCross

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I see a lot of Catholics who say they are proud of Catholicism. Isn’t that bad, since pride is hated by God Himself?

Proverbs 11:2
When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Mark 7:20-23
*20And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. *
 
Absolutely correct. Everything we teach should be done with absolute humility and love. No elitism.

But we should definitely be glad we are part of Christ’s Church.
 
I have always taken this to refer to “spiritual pride,” the opposite of humility before God and awareness of our dependence on Him. I can’t imagine that it’s wrong to feel proud of a child’s accomplishment, proud of a courageous position taken by someone in the face of social pressure to abandon one’s principles, pride in what one’s work team may have accomplished, etc.
 
There’s nothing wrong with being proud of being a member of the Catholic Church, unless you think you are the reason the Church is the greatest institution the world has ever seen! :dancing:
 
Well, the way we use “proud” in English, we can either mean “haughty” or “not ashamed.” The former is frowned upon, but the latter is absolutely essential.
 
We are proud of the graciousness of God Who has redeemed us in Christ.
The sinful pride that is mentioned in Scripture is one that takes pride in one’s own supposed ‘good’ deeds, or the belief that we are our own gods.

I always recall the quote from St. Augustine of Hippo:

“Since by Christ’s favor we are Catholic Christians:”
Letter to Vitalis, 217,5,16, 427 A.D.
 
Luke65 said:
There’s nothing wrong with being proud of being a member of the Catholic Church, unless you think you are the reason the Church is the greatest institution the world has ever seen! :dancing:
Click to expand...
Ouch! Well said.
 
And one never sees any spiritual triumphalism among pop-evangelicals, right?
 
Luke65 said:
There’s nothing wrong with being proud of being a member of the Catholic Church, unless you think you are the reason the Church is the greatest institution the world has ever seen! :dancing:
Click to expand...
Can I get an :amen:

:clapping:
 
storywriter said:
Can I get an :amen:

:clapping:
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I am proud of my Church & SO grateful to God that I was born to Catholic parents. I’m sure that many who have converted to the Faith are equally proud & grateful that God led them to the Catholic Church.

There are two definitions (at least) of pride: an inordinate self-esteem, conceit. Not an admirable way to be, nor is that what God expects from us.

Another definition is: reasonable or justifiable self-respect,
delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship.

I remember the first time that it truly seemed REAL to me that God chose His own Church for me!!! Rather than pride, I felt a tremendous humility. I don’t deserve to be a Catholic. Noone does. It’s simply another one of those gifts of God!!

BTW., I can recall when the horrid scandal of sexual abuse of young boys hit the news & was discussed almost daily at my workplace. It was harder, at that time, to answer the question, “What Church do you belong to?” Most of us just answered it truthfully & hopefully I didn’t come across as ashamed of my faith. I’ve been ashamed of some priests, angry at some of our hierachy, but always proud of & grateful for my Church.
 
TristanCross said:
I see a lot of Catholics who say they are proud of Catholicism. Isn’t that bad, since pride is hated by God Himself?

Proverbs 11:2
When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Mark 7:20-23
*20And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. *
Click to expand...
Well, the claims of the Catholic Church could sound arrogant to those who disagree and, obviously, Catholics should possess:

A firm and strongly held belief that the Catholic Church is the True Church founded by Christ and possesses the fullness of Truth. Implied by this is the fact that all other “ecclesial communities” were founded my men (not the Son of Man) and are, to a greater or lesser degree, incorrect.

I am not so sure pride is the biggest stumbling block, but more being uncharitable towards Protestants and non-Christians (I have been guilty of this). For example,

“Why can’t those Protestants realize the Catholic Church is the True Church? I mean, logic and history are on our side, but yet those idiots persist in rejecting the True Church.” (It is less an individual pride issue, but more just being uncharitable in comments and thoughts)
 
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