In this episode, we hear the vocation story of Fr. Angelus Montgomery, CFR, how he and his brother (Fr. Innocent) were led to the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and the work they do to help brothers discern God’s voice leading them. We learn about the
Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18
St. Francis de Sales identified Humility as the greatest of the human virtues. Human virtues are the ones natural to us as rational creatures and can be attained by human effort (i.e., by habituation), though after the Fall, due to the effects of Original Sin, not without the assistance of grace. St. Thomas Aquinas writes that while the supernatural and infused virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity are first and highest among the virtues, the foundation of the virtues is Humility “inasmuch as it expels pride, which ‘God resisteth,’ and makes man submissive and ever open to receive the influx of Divine grace.”
The word “humility” derives from the Latin root humus, which means “earth” or “ground.” The humble person is “grounded”; the humble person “lowers” himself and has his head “bowed down” to the ground. This means that he does not consider himself in a lofty way, but has a sober view of himself. Thus, an essential aspect of the virtue of Humility is remembering that we are taken from the ground, that our very life is dependent on the ground (e.g., for food), and that we are destined to die, decompose, and become ground again. “And to Adam [the Lord God] said… ‘cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life… In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.’”
Humility is the greatest of the human virtues, because its opposite is the greatest of sins: Pride. In his classic work on the spiritual life, Transformation in Christ: On the Christian Attitude, Dietrich von Hildebrand suggests that, as our primal sin and the source of all moral evil, Pride is the “deepest root of the malignancy within ourselves.” While Pride and Lust are the “great enemies to combat within us” and you rarely will find the one without the other, Lust is a consequence of Original Sin, whereas Pride comes before the Fall. Satan’s rebellion against God and vain attempt to appropriate His power and dominion influenced the fall of one third of the angels, and then the fall of Adam and Eve: “And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.”
Von Hildebrand goes on to discuss the effects of Pride and contrasts them with the effects of Humility. First, Pride blinds us – it makes us see ourselves as better than we are. Second, Pride isolates and divides – it makes us see ourselves as above others and judge everything (and everyone) in terms of our own advantage. Even our altruism becomes a guise for self-promotion and for asserting how “good” we are. Third, Pride turns freedom into license – it makes us see ourselves as the ones who decide what is good or evil, what is just or unjust, what is a human right or a crime against humanity. Fourth, Pride refuses all submission as such – it makes us refuse either to bow to God or to legitimate human authority. Fifth, Pride rejects the sovereignty of God – it makes us seek to become “like Gods.”
On the contrary, Humility acknowledges our creaturely status and cries out with the Psalmist upon surveying the sun, the moon, and the stars: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?” Humility recognizes that God not only created us, but also conserves us in being every moment of every day. Humility acknowledges our debt to God – whether for creating us, for showering us with manifold benefits, or for redeeming us at the cost of the blood of His only Son – as well as our inability to repay it: “What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that he hath rendered to me?” Humility recognizes our utter dependence on God, and our utter inability to control ourselves, let alone anyone or anything else. Humility is well aware of our true metaphysical situation – that we are dignified but disordered, beautiful but broken, good but inclined to evil, called to be saints but sinners. Consequently, the humble person gives all glory to God and deflects praise to others. He is ever conscious of his own imperfections, and never takes credit for or is puffed up by whatever good there is in him. The humble person is quick to notice good in others and to look past their faults (given our common fallen nature and its weaknesses). And the humble person does not fear subordination to God or legitimate subordination to human authorities.
I would like to emphasize this last point. Subordination to God means subordination to what God has revealed. It means submission to the teaching of the Catholic Church as it has been passed on to us. It means accepting the created order established by Almighty God in His wisdom: “[Wisdom] reacheth therefore from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly.” And this means accepting the truth of God’s plan for sex and sexuality, gender and generation, marriage and family. It is the prideful person, the one who rejects the sovereignty of God and seeks to decide for himself what is good or evil (or who the allies or the haters are for that matter), that, while believing himself enlightened, actually becomes blind. It is not uncommon for someone in this state to twist Divine Revelation and the teaching of the Church in such a way as to make those who actually submit to it appear “un-Christian.” If you find just the right “hermeneutic,” the right “narrative,” and you toss aside all conflicting evidence, you can say just about anything you want. And after a while, not only do you believe it, but you have to impose it in your newfound righteousness.
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1. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Secunda Secundae Partis, Ques. 161, Art. 5, Obj. 2. St. Thomas also makes clear that Faith is “the foundation in a more excellent way than humility.” 2. Genesis 3:17-19 3. Genesis 3:4 4. Psalm 8:5 5. Psalm 115 (116):12. It is interesting to note that the only return we can make is to “take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people…” (13-14). The blood of the Lord Jesus is the only return we can make, calling upon His name. We also must keep our Baptismal promises. 6. For more on this, check out my blog The Key to Real Progress: https://arrayofhope.net/the-key-to-real-progress/ 7. Wisdom 8:1 8. If, as Dietrich von Hildebrand stated, Pride and Lust are the “great enemies to combat within us,” then Humility and Chastity are their opposites. It is deep within a man to do combat, but first he must win the war within his own heart. David C. Hajduk, Ph.D. has over thirty years of experience in religious education and pastoral ministry, including youth, family life, and pro-life ministries. He has been a high school Theology teacher since 1993 and an Adjunct Professor of Moral Theology since 2008. David did his doctoral work on the thought of St. John Paul II. In 2019, he became the Director of Theology for Array of Hope. David is responsible for reviewing and creating program content, writing blogs, giving talks, and co-producing Array of Hope’s Reason for Hope podcast. David is an acclaimed and versatile speaker, specializing in topics related to God’s plan for life and love. His book, God’s Plan for You: Life, Love, Marriage & Sex (Pauline Books & Media, 2006, 2018), a book for teens on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, received the Catholic Press Association of the United States & Canada Book Award in 2007. David is also a member of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, a supernatural fellowship of men and women dedicated to pursuing and promoting chastity under the powerful patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Blessed Virgin Mary. David and his wife, Shannon, have 11 children and homeschool.
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The following is a selection from David’s book Protecting Your Purity: Help from St. Thomas Aquinas and the Angelic Warfare Confraternity (New Hope Publications, 2009) and is used by permission. You can purchase the book here.
In the Arctic tundra of North America and Europe lives a short-tailed weasel with snow-white
fur called the ermine. Supposedly, it takes great pride in its pure coat, and hunters take advantage of this. Rather than setting traps, the hunters find the ermine’s home and put garbage around the entrance to it. Then they send out the dogs. In an attempt to escape, the ermine dashes for the safety of his home. However, when he finds the entrance covered in filth, he refuses to enter because doing so would soil his pure white fur. Instead, the ermine turns around to face his certain doom.
You could say that the ermine has the attitude: “Give me purity or give me death!” However, most of us share the attitude of St. Augustine, who before his conversion would pray, “Give me purity…but not yet!” We say we want to be pure, but we often don’t want to make the necessary lifestyle changes to protect our purity. Perhaps this is because we have grown quite attached to our lifestyle — we like it; it’s comfortable; it’s familiar — and we’re just plain terrified of change. Perhaps it’s because we think a life of purity is simply impossible, having been discouraged by so many failed attempts in the past. Whatever the case, we tend to give up very quickly on the idea. Yet, by giving up we expose the truth that we never really made purity a priority. If we really desire to live a sexually pure life, then we will have a firm resolve to do whatever it takes and seek whatever help is available to foster and sustain such a life.
The Angelic Warfare Confraternity provides just the kind of help we need to protect our purity! The graces that flow from membership in this official association of the Dominican Order are truly out of this world! This is due to the prayers and protection of St. Thomas Aquinas, the “Angelic Doctor,” and the constant help of Mary, the “Queen of Virgins,” associated with the confraternity…
Before we delve into how St. Thomas Aquinas and the Angelic Warfare Confraternity can help us to protect our purity, however, we need to put first things first. What exactly is a sexually pure life? It’s a life of chastity…. Chastity, simply put, means living according to God’s plan for love and sex. So chastity should be seen as a virtue for everyone — whether a single person, a priest or religious, or a married person… Every Christian is called by virtue of his or her baptism to live God’s plan for love and sex!
This is where St. Thomas comes in. Thomas came from a very wealthy and politically-connected family, but to be honest he really didn’t want to have anything to do with the lifestyle that came along with that… One day when Thomas was in his mid-teens he did something unthinkable (at least to his family): He joined a new religious order of poor beggars called the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans). Let’s just say his family was less than thrilled. They didn’t mind so much Thomas becoming a priest; they just preferred that he would be a prestigious churchman with a lot of power and political clout. For this reason, Thomas’ family constantly tried to persuade him to abandon the idea of being a Dominican. Yet, Thomas’ resolve only grew and grew — he was convinced that this was God’s will for him. In an attempt to get Thomas away from his family, the Dominicans arranged to have him leave the country for his formation. However, on the way his own brothers (at the prompting of their mother) kidnapped him and dragged him away, throwing him into the prison tower of his family’s castle. Thomas was still a teenager at the time. During Thomas’ time in captivity his family bombarded him with threats and bribes to get him to give up on the idea of being a Dominican, yet every attempt failed miserably. Then Thomas’ brothers contrived a sinister plot. They would destroy Thomas’ purity, for surely if he committed a mortal sin and broke his vow of chastity, then he would feel himself unworthy and leave the Dominicans. So, Thomas’ brothers went into town and hired a prostitute to come to the tower to seduce Thomas. The woman, dressed provocatively, entered the cell and began to approach him. When Thomas caught sight of her, he immediately knew her intentions. Then St. Thomas did something that stunned everyone: This humble, gentle, mild, quiet “ox” of a man grabbed a torch from the fire in his cell and began to chase the prostitute away, all the while shouting at the top of his lungs like a wild man! The woman, terrified, ran to the door of the cell and banged on it frantically, crying to be released. The brothers, shocked by the commotion, ran to the cell and let the woman out. Then Thomas, shaken by this temptation and attack on his purity, fell to his knees before a crucifix and begged God to give him the strength to remain chaste. At that very moment, two angels appeared to Thomas and girded his waist with a cord, saying, “On God’s behalf, we clothe you with the cord of chastity, a cord which no attack will ever destroy.” St. Thomas himself testified that after this experience he was never again tempted to sin against the virtue of chastity! He also believed that his ability to understand and penetrate the truths of the Faith was a direct consequence of his purity, for Christ Himself had said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8)…
The Angelic Warfare Confraternity is an official association of the Dominican Order, dedicated to the preservation of chastity and the pursuit of truth under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas. It finds its inspiration in St. Thomas’ victory in his battle against sexual temptation as a teenager in the prison tower, and his being girded by the angels with the cord of chastity. Though no one is quite sure when the custom of wearing a cord in honor of St. Thomas and invoking his intercession to practice chastity began, it was a popular devotion even before any official local confraternities were founded in the 15th and 16th centuries. Pope Benedict XII made the Angelic Warfare Confraternity an official apostolic fraternity in 1727. Eight popes have recommended it, and popular saints and blesseds, such as St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Blessed Columba Rieti and Blessed Stephana Quinzan (who actively promoted the devotion among women), were among its members. The devotion has begun to spark interest again, especially among young people, in part because St. Thomas was a teenager himself when he resisted the attack on his chastity, and in part due to the unique challenges of our modern culture which is so steeped in sexual immorality and is generally contemptuous of God’s eternal law and the virtue of chastity. Indeed, as Satan sought to destroy Thomas’ purity through the plot of his brothers, so even today Satan wishes to destroy our purity through the plots of those who spread lies and deceptions about God’s plan for love and sex — whether it be through the media, through the entertainment industry, through the schools and universities, or through the bad example of others. When I take a look at our world, it seems to me that we need the Angelic Warfare Confraternity more than ever!
To learn more about the Angelic Warfare Confraternity and how to become a member, click here. Also, listen to next Reason for Hope podcast being released on May 24: Angels, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare, featuring Fr. James Dominic Brent, O.P., Promoter of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph.
David C. Hajduk, Ph.D. has over thirty years of experience in religious education and pastoral ministry, including youth, family life, and pro-life ministries. He has been a high school Theology teacher since 1993 and an Adjunct Professor of Moral Theology since 2008. David did his doctoral work on the thought of St. John Paul II. In 2019, he became the Director of Theology for Array of Hope. David is responsible for reviewing and creating program content, writing blogs, giving talks, and co-producing Array of Hope’s Reason for Hope podcast. David is an acclaimed and versatile speaker, specializing in topics related to God’s plan for life and love. His book, God’s Plan for You: Life, Love, Marriage & Sex (Pauline Books & Media, 2006, 2018), a book for teens on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, received the Catholic Press Association of the United States & Canada Book Award in 2007. David is also a member of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, a supernatural fellowship of men and women dedicated to pursuing and promoting chastity under the powerful patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Blessed Virgin Mary. David and his wife, Shannon, have 11 children and homeschool.
