If You Struggle with Pride or Arrogance

A Catholic Path to Humility, Truth, and Freedom of Heart

Why This Matters

Pride is often misunderstood.

Many imagine pride only as:

•   Boasting

•   Looking down on others

•   Loud self-importance

But pride is far more subtle—and far more common.

At its core, pride is the temptation to place the self at the center, rather than God.

Because pride can disguise itself as confidence, competence, or even virtue, it often goes unrecognized.

What the Church Means by Pride

Pride is the disordered elevation of the self.

It appears whenever we:

•   Trust ourselves more than God

•   Resist correction or dependence

•   Refuse to receive help

•   Measure ourselves against others

•   Seek control rather than surrender

Pride is not simply thinking highly of oneself. It is forgetting our dependence on God.

Pride and Arrogance: What’s the Difference?

Pride

•   Can be quiet or internal

•   Often hidden

•   Expressed as self-reliance, defensiveness, or resistance to grace

Arrogance

•   Pride that has found a voice

•   Displays superiority or contempt

•   Dismisses others

•   Refuses to listen

Arrogance is visible pride. But pride can be just as strong when it remains silent.

Pride Is Not the Same as Confidence

This distinction matters greatly.

Healthy Confidence

•   Recognizes gifts as received

•   Remains open to correction

•   Acknowledges limits

•   Gives glory to God

Pride

•   Claims ownership of gifts

•   Resists correction

•   Denies weakness

•   Seeks control and recognition

Confidence says, “I can do this with God.” Pride says, “I don’t need God.”

Why Pride Is Spiritually Dangerous

Pride closes the heart.

Over time it can:

•   Block repentance

•   Make prayer self-referential

•   Harden resistance to grace

•   Prevent learning and growth

•   Isolate the soul

God gives grace freely—but pride makes us unable to receive it.

Grace flows toward humility because humility leaves room.

The Many Hidden Forms of Pride

Pride does not always look triumphant.

It can also appear as:

•   Refusal to ask for help

•   Inability to admit wrong

•   Excessive defensiveness

•   Spiritual self-sufficiency

•   Despair rooted in self-focus

•   Comparing oneself constantly to others

Even self-hatred can be a form of pride if it keeps the focus on the self rather than on God’s mercy.

The Virtue That Heals Pride: Humility

Humility is not self-contempt.

Humility is:

•   Living in the truth

•   Knowing both gifts and limits

•   Receiving everything as grace

•   Standing honestly before God

Humility does not deny dignity. It grounds dignity in truth and dependence.

Practical Steps to Grow in Humility

Humility grows through practice, not theory.

1. Practice Gratitude for What You Did Not Earn

Daily gratitude reminds us:

•   Life itself is a gift

•   Talents are received

•   Opportunities are given

Gratitude quietly dismantles pride.

2. Accept Correction Without Immediate Defense

When corrected:

•   Pause

•   Listen fully

•   Resist the urge to explain immediately

Correction, even when imperfect, is often a tool God uses to shape us.

3. Ask for Help Intentionally

Asking for help is a spiritual discipline.

It trains the heart to admit:

•   Need

•   Limitation

•   Dependence

What pride refuses, humility receives.

4. Admit Fault Quickly and Simply

Avoid long explanations or justifications.

A simple:

•   “You’re right.”

•   “I was wrong.”

•   “I’m sorry.”

is often an act of deep humility.

5. Serve in Hidden Ways

Choose service that:

•   Goes unnoticed

•   Offers no recognition

•   Cannot be leveraged for praise

Hidden service purifies intention.

6. Let God Be God

Pride often wants control.

Humility practices surrender:

•   In prayer

•   In plans

•   In outcomes

Trust is humility in action.

Pride and the Example of Christ

Christ is the model of true humility.

Though He was Lord, He:

•   Took the form of a servant

•   Was obedient

•   Accepted misunderstanding

•   Embraced the Cross

In Jesus Christ, we see that humility is not weakness, but the strength to love without self-protection.

A Line Worth Remembering

Pride closes the heart to grace; humility keeps it open.

A Prayer for Humility

Lord God, Free me from self-reliance and false security. Teach me to live in truth, to receive rather than grasp, and to depend on You in all things. Give me a humble heart— not small or fearful, but open, honest, and free. Amen.