Saint Benedict is almost ruthless on the question of self seeking—self-will. What he is aiming at is to eradicate from our lives—to save us from ourselves—those forms of self-seeking and assertiveness which lead us into misery and constitute a barrier between ourselves and God. There is nothing so subtle, so pervasive, as the enthronement of “self” at the expense of others and of God.
CARDINAL BASIL HUME, OSB The Intentional Life