“I assure you that victory consists in overcoming yourself. That is your greatest enemy.” (St. Paul of the Cross)
Today we hear once again a saying of St. Paul of the Cross. How valuable are the words of the saints! They often spring from a very intimate communion with God. Sometimes they are words inspired in them by the Lord Himself; at other times they are the fruit of a long spiritual journey. In any case, they are gems we should treasure.
Today’s quote reveals who our greatest enemy is. It is neither the devil nor the world with all its seductions and temptations. No — it is ourselves: our evil inclinations and those habits we are reluctant to let go of so quickly. In other words, self‑love is our greatest enemy. It is tenacious and deeply rooted. It often hides itself, and we fail to recognize it fully. We must fight against self‑love until the end of our days. It is, so to speak, our inseparable companion, our “secret lover” who asserts himself time and again. Unfortunately, this remains true even when we have already set out on the path of following the Lord and know that we must put into practice Jesus’ exhortation to deny ourselves (cf. Mt 16:24).
This is a truly tenacious struggle that must be waged day after day — not with a tense attitude and gritted teeth, but with perseverance, aware that, as a rule, it will be a long journey. To do this, we need sincere self‑knowledge. We must be willing to discover how our nature sets traps for us and to perceive how self‑love always tries to circumvent the steps necessary for spiritual growth. How many excuses and justifications it always has at the ready! And some of them sound extremely reasonable!
So what are we to do? We must ask the Holy Spirit for His light to know ourselves and truly strive to overcome self‑love, for it hinders love for God and neighbor.
This struggle will please our Father, and with His grace we will emerge victorious!