Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of Faith at the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article titled “Vanity Degrades Us.”
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LOOK
We are all exposed to the temptation of vanity. In my town, as a result of my appointment as cardinal, they made me a monument, a stone statue, without me knowing it beforehand and without agreeing with it. That can make me feel big, important and believe me to be more than I am; therefore, it does me a lot of good to go there every weekend, to live with my roots, so that the cardinal’s vanity does not dominate me.
There are those who boast and belittle others because they dress more elegantly, have luxurious vehicles, have a nice house, use the latest cell phone or watch, have a university degree with a better economic future, and have a more attractive physical figure. You must always applaud those who, with their efforts, have surpassed themselves; but it is sad when, because of their physical appearance or their material achievements, they do less to those who lack them; they even offend them as if they were worth less. Appearances can deceive others and oneself. We are not worth more for what we have or appear, but for what we are.
In the exercise of government, this temptation can contaminate everything. Like those who only boast about their achievements, which may be true, but do not recognize their deficiencies and mistakes. They compare themselves with others and disqualify them; they offend those who disagree with them; they are clever at evading the laws and influencing the vote in favor of their color; they do not tolerate reality being shown to them, for example the insecurity and violence that has invaded us; they only blame previous regimes, instead of recognizing that they have not resolved the acute problems we suffer from, as they promised in their campaign. To support their vanity, they spend enormous amounts on propaganda, not from their pockets, but from our taxes.
In times of electoral campaigns, vanity can affect the nobility of politics, as when candidates boast about their qualities and disqualify other contenders, as if only they had the key to all the challenges. Instead of proposing viable solutions to voters, they insist on insulting and detracting from other contenders. It is boring and annoying to listen to the same nonsense every day, trying to convince us to support them with our vote. Politics is very noble, when energy is spent serving the community, even if one does not achieve public office. It is important to be humble and discreet in what we do for others, without publicity; that makes our lives successful and rewarding, even if we are not recognized in the media and on communication networks.
DISCERN
We carry this temptation deep within our hearts, as the Book of Genesis relates: our first parents pretended to be like gods and remained naked, outside of paradise (cf Gen 3:1-24). Jesus overcame the temptation that the devil gave him to throw himself from the top of the temple in Jerusalem to be admired and appear triumphant (cf Luke 4:9-12). For this reason, he recommends to us: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your lives” (Mt 11:29). Those who criticize the most are the Pharisees, who lived on appearances (cf Mt 23:5-7).
Pope Francis, in one of his Wednesday catechesis, said:
“Vainglory goes hand in hand with the demon of envy, and together these two vices are characteristic of a person who aspires to be the center of the world, free to exploit everything and everyone, the object of all praise and love. Vainglory is an inflated and unfounded self-esteem. The vainglorious person has a dominant ‘I’: he lacks empathy and does not realize that there are other people in the world besides him. Their relationships are always instrumental, marked by arrogance towards the other. His person, his achievements, his successes, must be shown to everyone: he is a perpetual beggar for attention. And if sometimes his qualities are not recognized, he becomes fiercely angry: others are unfair, they do not understand, they do not measure up.
To cure the vain, spiritual teachers do not suggest many remedies. Because, after all, the evil of vanity has its remedy in itself: the praise that the vain man hoped to reap in the world will soon turn against him. And how many people, deceived by a false image of themselves, later fell into sins of which they would soon be ashamed!
Vainglory manifests itself as an excessive and unfounded self-esteem. The one who boasts—the vain, the conceited—is self-centered and constantly demands attention. In his relationships with others he does not have empathy nor does he consider them as equals. He tends to instrumentalize everything and everyone to achieve what he desires” (28-II-2024).
ACT
Instead of judging and condemning others as if we were perfect, we must be humble to recognize, yes, the good we have achieved and give thanks to God, from whom all good comes; but also ask forgiveness for our mistakes and sins, especially for believing ourselves more than others. We must make our gifts available to the family and community and always learn from the Word of God the best way of life, which is love for the Lord and our neighbor. That is what makes us most valuable.
