[Question]{.underline}: Ought I to be proud to be a Catholic?
[Answer]{.underline}: Pride is a horrifying and frightening vice. It is not only a capital sin; it is the root of them all, and one of the three concupiscences that is “of the world and not of the Father” (I Jn 2:16), and directly opposed to the will of God.
However, the evil disorder of pride is not the simple affirmation that there is good in us, but rather the inordinate love of ourselves that makes us consider ourselves as our first principle and last end, as the source and purpose of any goodness we might have. It is consequently the vice of those who explicitly make themselves their last end: atheists, who say there is no God, rationalists who deny we can know divine revelation, heretics who chose their own truth and refuse to submit to the Church. It is likewise the sin of those who implicitly refuse to acknowledge the divine origin of their natural and supernatural qualities, their intelligence, their capacities, their virtues, either by exaggerating them or attributing them to themselves. This is the terrible vice that prepares the way for lukewarmness and a fall.
However, when forced by the rebelliousness of the Corinthians, St. Paul had no hesitation in commending himself, explaining all the things that he had had to bear for Christ. After pointing out that he dare not compare himself with others, but only with himself, he gives the principle: “But we will not glory beyond our measure; but according to the measure of the rule, which God has measured to us, a measure to reach even unto you.” (2 Cor. 10:13). From this he draws two conclusions, the first adapted from the prophet Jeremias (9:24): “But he that glorieth, let me glory in the Lord” (2 Cor 10:17). It is Christ Himself, true God, who is the source and end of all goodness, and consequently *“though Him and with Him and in Him that is given to God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory” (*Canon of the Mass). The second conclusion concerns ourselves: “If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my infirmity” (2 Cor 11:30). It is consequently not forbidden to speak of how God’s grace has overcome our weakness. However, the hidden danger of self-glorification must be carefully avoided, which is why in general it is better to say nothing of oneself nor to speak of one’s own experiences (Cf. Protestants, whose faith is entirely based upon their own so-called own personal experience of God, and of which they speak constantly, leading into the trap of self-centeredness).
There can consequently be a duty to be proud: - proud of our Faith, and of our holy Mother Church. It is a sense of honor for that which is truly great, and it acknowledges that the Holy Trinity is the source of all goodness and love, and that it is to the glory of his divine Majesty that it is directed. We are proud of our Faith, proud of the Cross, proud of the love of the Son of God made man, proud of our Mass, proud of the superabundance of graces that the Church bestows upon us. There is no self love here, but simply the consequence of the Catholic Faith. Far from being a personal initiative, a self-centeredness, this Faith is a complete submission. Our defense of the Faith, and of the Church is likewise a submission. The Crusaders were proud to die at the hands of the infidels, marked with the sign of the Holy Cross. Likewise must we be proud to be Catholic: “Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation.” (2 Cor 1:3,4).
We can likewise be proud to be traditional, for the attachment to Tradition is nothing more or less than submission, obedience to the deposit of the Faith, as passed down by the Church. Yet, there is here a grave danger, and it is the danger of the boasting of the Pharisee: “O God, I give Thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men” (Lk 18:11). In point of fact, if we are to be proud of being traditional, it is purely and simply because we know how great sinners we are, and how much we desperately need Catholic Tradition, for our constantly repeated prayer, both during and outside Mass, is “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:13). If such were not our prayer, we would indeed be in grave danger of losing our soul and our Faith, of abandoning what is most essential to being a Catholic and traditional - understanding of the difference between the Creator and the creature, the Almighty and our weakness.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.