Vanagloria, the superhero syndrome

Kenodoxìa is said in Greek vainglory, the claim to be considered, respected, admired by others. It is the infantile phase of pride, its beginning, so much so that the Fathers sometimes consider the two passions together: in fact there are seven deadly sins of the Western tradition, while for Evagrio, who divides them with subtle intuition, there are eight roots of the disordered to think.

The boastful perennially lives in a mask as on a stage where he recites the image he wants to give of himself, so that no one sees his weaknesses and limitations. He despises what others do, he is convinced that only what he does is special, because he is a superhero.
He is infatuated with himself, swells up and indulges in exhibitionist speeches, says Gregory the Great. Do not think the spirituals are exempt from this ridiculous passion: the demon of vainglory arrives when he sees the multiplication of virtues, says Cassiano.

And St. Maximus: if you overcome the most shameful passions, thoughts of vainglory assail you. The origin of vainglory is a kind of distorted compensation: man has lost the only true glory, the glory of God, and like a naked man looking for a scrap of cloth to cover his indecency, he goes in search of glory of men, says Doroteo of Gaza.

The life of the boastful is based on an illusion, on a delusional vision of reality, like those parents who see their very ugly children beautiful, says St. Maximus. The boastful is convinced that his dreams of glory are true, including the very dangerous illusion of having reached the peak of spiritual life and having acquired all the virtues: and behold that through the love of earthly glory the demons leap into the soul as from a dark window and devastate it, says Diadoco di Fotica.

The therapy proposed by the Fathers is based as always on the opposite action: if the boastful seeks admiration, the way to go is to hide their virtues from the eyes of others and instead calmly show their defects, says Giovanni Climaco (icon). One who is not ashamed of his bad temper is already on the right track. The beginning of the victory over kenodoxìa, he says, is the love for humiliations: a brother who humiliated you, that is, he also tacitly showed you your miseries, is like an angel through whom the remedy that God sends you for arrives your bad. What must be buried in us are not bad things, but virtues.

Sins, on the other hand, must be brought to light, let out like pus from an inflamed boil. Recognizing one's evils, offering them to the glory of God, this is praying, says Climacus. And while we pray, here is the healing: the detachment from the anxiety of performance, the freedom to be oneself and finally begin to love and compassionate oneself and others.

Flaminia Morandi
NP February 2015