VICARIOUS PRIDE

20151010 VICARIOUS PRIDE

Readings at Mass

First reading

Joel 4:12-21 ©

The Lord says this:

‘Let the nations rouse themselves, let them march

to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for I am going to sit in judgement there

on all the nations round.

Put the sickle in:

the harvest is ripe;

come and tread:

the winepress is full,

the vats are overflowing,

so great is their wickedness!’

Host on host

in the Valley of Decision!

For the day of the Lord is near

in the Valley of Decision!

Sun and moon grow dark,

the stars lose their brilliance.

The Lord roars from Zion,

makes his voice heard from Jerusalem;

heaven and earth tremble.

But the Lord will be a shelter for his people,

a stronghold for the sons of Israel.

‘You will learn then that I am the Lord your God,

dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will be a holy place,

no alien will ever pass through it again.’

When that day comes,

the mountains will run with new wine

and the hills flow with milk,

and all the river beds of Judah

will run with water.

A fountain will spring from the house of the Lord

to water the wadi of Acacias.

Egypt will become a desolation,

Edom a desert waste

on account of the violence done to the sons of Judah

whose innocent blood they shed in their country.

But Judah will be inhabited for ever,

Jerusalem from age to age.

‘I will avenge their blood and let none go unpunished’,

and the Lord shall make his home in Zion.

Psalm

Psalm 96:1-2,5-6,11-12 ©

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.

The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,

  let all the coastlands be glad.

Cloud and darkness are his raiment;

  his throne, justice and right.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.

The mountains melt like wax

  before the Lord of all the earth.

The skies proclaim his justice;

  all peoples see his glory.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.

Light shines forth for the just

  and joy for the upright of heart.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord;

  give glory to his holy name.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

Or

Lk11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy are those

who hear the word of God

and keep it.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 11:27-28 ©

As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

VICARIOUS PRIDE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: JOEL 4:12-21; LK 11:27-28

There are two kinds of pride.  The first type of pride, I label as “personal pride.”  This is the most obvious and common form of pride.  It is a pride that comes about through one’s personal achievements or success.  Thus, a man is proud of his achievements because of what he has done and feels greater still when he is honoured publicly for his works.  However, there is another kind of pride which is more subtle.   I call this pride a vicarious pride.  Vicarious because it is a pride that rides on the pride of another.  That is to say, it is a pride that springs from the success of another person who is honored.  This pride originates from one’s belief that the honour of another is due to one’s contribution.

Vicarious pride occurs mostly among parents, teachers and formators.  Indeed, many parents do not really love their children. They want their children to do well in life, not primarily for their children’s happiness but for their own glory.  They are more concerned about their reputation as parents than about the success of their children.  Thus, many parents feel great when they attend their son or daughter’s convocation ceremony or ordination or religious profession.  They feel proud too when their sons or daughters own big cars, big houses or are earning big money.  Although the success is not directly theirs, they would often boast to others how well and successful their children are.  The reason behind their boasting is of course an indirect way of boosting up their own ego and indirectly telling others that they have been such great parents and guardians.

What is said of parents can also be said of priests as well.  Sometimes, we too feel proud when people whom we have helped become successful.  We think that their success is due to our contribution; and we might even boast to others how we have helped this person when he was young or when he was then a ‘nobody’.  Formators too can fall into vicarious pride when seminarians get ordained or when they become successful priests because we secretly believe that their ordination or popularity is very much due to our work as formators.

This is precisely the kind of pride that irked Jesus in today’s gospel.  When a woman in the crowd, presumably a mother herself, raised her voice and said, “Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts that you sucked!” she was expressing her envy of Mary, the mother of Jesus; how great a mother she must have been to produce such a brilliant and marvelous son.  By this remark, it shows that this woman first and foremost was much too concerned with external success.  She measured Jesus’ success in terms of His abilities.  But worse still is that she implied that Jesus’ success was due to His mother and therefore the credit must go to Mary.

For this reason, Jesus immediately corrected her by saying that “Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!”  In other words, the real joy and blessedness of Mary was not so much that Jesus had turned out to be such a great rabbi or prophet but that both shared the same Word of God, and were living it out in their lives.  In this way, both also shared the same life of God.  It was their common vision, common principles and unity in love that truly made Mary such a great mother and a happy mother.  It had nothing to do with her claims of being responsible for Jesus’ success.  Nay, Mary was contented to have heard and lived out the Word of God, just like her Son.  Yes, the greatest joy of Mary for Jesus and Jesus for Mary was that both were happy and living good and godly lives.

Consequently, if we are not to unconsciously fall into vicarious pride, we must examine our motives of forming people.  We do not make others successful so that we can boast about what we have done for them.  Rather, if we help people to grow in life and to become successful, it must be done solely for their sake, for their own happiness.  The greatest reward that we get in helping others to be successful is see that they are happy and independent;  and not because we are responsible for their success.  Only such an altruistic love can protect us from such subtle vicarious pride.

Today, let us continue to purify our motives in loving and helping people as we wait for the Day of the Lord.  In the first reading from prophet Joel, we are called to prepare ourselves for judgement.  Until that day comes, we must continue to eradicate any impure and egoistic motives in what we do for others so that we can truly be said to be the home where God lives.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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