The Steps of Humility and Pride
Overview
The son of burgundian nobility, Bernard admitted after years of struggle that humility remained for him the most elusive of the virtues. Yet the uncompromising vehemence of his love for God made him strive for what monastic tradition taught is indispensable to anyone hoping to share God’s perfect love.
Top Highlights
“All the virtues are interconnected; the truly humble man is also truthful and courageous.” (Page 2)
“We must look for truth in ourselves; in our neighbors; in itself. We look for truth in ourselves when we judge ourselves;50 in our neighbors when we have sympathy for their sufferings;51 in itself when we contemplate it with a clean heart.” (Page 34)
“Bernard pauses to speak of the three fruits to be gained by mounting these steps of humility: humility itself, love and contemplation. These correspond to the three degrees of truth, or more accurately as Bernard notes, the three degrees of perception of truth; the truth in oneself, the truth in one’s neighbor and the Truth in itself.” (Pages 8–9)
“For what else is pride but, as a saint has defined it, the love of one’s own excellence.” (Page 42)
“If love can make you blind or too lenient in regard to the faults of a friend, what will your self-love do when you consider your own faults?” (Page 43)
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Sheila Ransome
8/10/2022
Novan
9/16/2021
