Week Beginning October 30, 2022
Growing in Virtue
Growing in virtue is akin to strengthening our moral muscles. Just as body building requires hard work and discipline over time, developing virtuous habits also necessitates a strict regimen. This week, our soul training program exercises the four “P”s–prepare, prioritize, practice, and pray–to coach our growth in human virtue.
Our preparation is based largely upon understanding what is good for us and recognizing what detracts us from pursuing that good. Setting priorities in our lives helps us to keep things properly ordered so we can promptly choose the greatest good. Practice promotes muscle memory which shapes us to respond easily and consistently to our challenges. Prayer elevates everything by cultivating our spiritual joy and disposing us to receive the gift of grace.
Our efforts to grow in the cardinal virtues certainly contribute to the general betterment of both ourselves and others. However, Saint Thomas Aquinas notes that the moral virtues remain incomplete and imperfect unless they direct us toward the light of God. Charity, the highest form of love, binds all virtues together and orients them toward God.
Saint Augustine relates the cardinal virtues to four forms of love: “temperance is love giving itself entirely to that which is loved; fortitude is love readily bearing all things for the sake of the loved object; justice is love serving only the loved object, and therefore ruling rightly; prudence is love distinguishing with sagacity between what hinders it and what helps it.” In such a way, the cardinal virtues curtail our sinful inclinations and enable us to yield to charity. In turn, charity orients us toward God as the proper source of our fulfillment.
Realizing the ultimate object of our love is God, Saint Augustine redefines the cardinal virtues accordingly: “temperance is love keeping itself entire and incorrupt for God; fortitude is love bearing everything readily for the sake of God; justice is love serving God only, and therefore ruling well all else, as subject to man; prudence is love making a right distinction between what helps it towards God and what might hinder it.”
We opened the month with a statement from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance. Christ’s gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues. Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil” (CCC 1811).
Let’s close the month reflecting on how we can live a life of grace. Scripture teaches us to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Practically speaking, we can pause and renew our connection to God as we encounter various situations throughout our day. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our responses. We can attempt to execute the will of God by answering the question, “what would Jesus do?” United with Christ, we can love with his charity, be humble with his humility, forgive with his mercy, and endure with his patience. Inspired by Saint Paul, let us learn to say: “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Week Beginning October 16, 2022
Fortitude
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines fortitude as the moral virtue that “ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good” (CCC 1837). This cardinal virtue perfects our irascible power, which inclines us toward a good difficult to obtain or away from an evil difficult to avoid. The English word “fortitude” comes from the Latin word fortis meaning “strong” or “brave.” Fortitude, therefore, gives us the strength to endure our hardships and allay our fears with a steady will as we pursue a just cause. It also reinforces our resolve to resist the temptations and to overcome the obstacles we face in our moral lives.
Fortitude is commonly referred to as courage. Courage mediates the foolhardiness and confidence associated with excessive boldness against the fear and cowardice associated with excessive timidity. Genuine fortitude is not expressed through rashness or reckless behavior; it does not encourage us to run away and hide. Rather, we assess the sacrifices and risks involved to do the right thing in accordance with reason. Fortitude allows us to moderate our fear without permitting that fear to prevent our actions.
G. K. Chesterton notes: “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.” Fortitude can conquer the fear of death or persecution, as demonstrated by first responders, military, confessors of the faith, and martyrs. Martyrdom is considered to be the supreme display of fortitude.
The two acts of fortitude are endurance exhibited by suppressing fear and aggression regulated by curbing recklessness. Saint Thomas Aquinas states: “The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them.” When no reasonable hope exists to overtake the evil that threatens us, courage maintains us in the midst of that danger which is indestructible by a direct attack. In addition to physical trials, we also endure spiritual struggles that endanger our souls and threaten our salvation. Saint John of the Cross says, “I am not made or unmade by the things which happen to me but by my reaction to them.”
The parts of fortitude include magnanimity, magnificence or munificence, patience, and perseverance. Magnanimity inclines us to perform great works deserving of high honors in every virtue. The vices opposed to magnanimity are presumption, ambition, vainglory, and pusillanimity. Magnificence or munificence leads us to do great things despite high expense by moderating our love of wealth so that we are inclined to invest in external works. Unreasonable expenditure and stinginess oppose magnificence or munificence. Patience enables us to resist giving into sadness, anger, and pain as we accept our suffering, hardship, opposition, and persecution. Insensibility and impatience oppose patience. Perseverance reminds us that good things are worth the wait. It helps us pursue moral causes steadfastly, despite difficulty, delay, fatigue, and temptation toward indifference. Inconstancy and pertinacity oppose perseverance. The vices opposed to fortitude are cowardice or timidity, fearlessness, and recklessness.
A disposition of fortitude shifts our perspective away from self-pity regarding our struggles toward gratitude for the endurance to suffer well. Fortitude is the only cardinal virtue that is also a gift of the Holy Spirit. The grace of God elevates and perfects the fortitude needed to persist through our trials and to strengthen our spiritual desire to complete just works.
Fear is necessary for courage, and love is necessary for fear. Fear is based on our desire to prevent the loss of something we love. Courage allows us to set our fear aside to pursue something we value above that which we are risking. We are willing to sacrifice a lesser love for a greater love. Saint Thomas Aquinas observes: “Courage is love readily enduring all for the sake of what is loved.”
As you think about practicing the virtue of fortitude this week, think about what you fear losing the most. What are you willing to give up in pursuit of that goal? Prioritizing the things you fear and love most in your life facilitates overcoming lesser fears in pursuit of greater goods. To that end, pray to the Holy Spirit for the gift of Fear of the Lord, which enables us to fear the loss of His love above everything else.
Week Beginning October 9, 2022
Justice
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due” (CCC 1836). Because we are social and political animals, our lives are meant to be lived in community and not in isolation. We are always part of some society–part of a greater whole–where our actions are relational to others.
“Justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man does what he ought to do in the circumstances confronting him,” according to Saint Thomas Aquinas. While fortitude and temperance guide and perfect our actions in relation to ourselves, justice sets us in right relation to others in pursuit of the common good. When we consider the concept of justice as a virtue, we are primarily concerned with giving entitlements not punishments to others not to ourselves. This is particularly important when we owe a debt or when our actions might restrict the exercise of certain rights. “Blessed those who do what is right, whose deeds are always just” (Psalm 106:3).
Our English word “justice” comes from the Latin word jus or ius meaning “rights” or “laws.” When we give someone their due, they receive that to which they have a legitimate right or claim. Our natural rights are God-given rights founded on basic human needs, such as the right to life or the right to truth. Natural rights are primordial, inviolable, absolute, and inalienable. Other rights or claims include private agreements and public laws, such as contract rights, constitutional rights, and civil rights. These rights may differ among people with regard to their position in society and may change with varying circumstances. In a properly-ordered system of moral justice, our legal rights must not outweigh our natural rights.
We refer to justice as being “blind,” because it is meant to be impartial and objective. Practicing the virtue of justice toward our neighbors means treating everyone with the dignity and respect inherent to all human beings made in the image of God. We promote harmony in our relationships through fair and equitable treatment of others by following natural law which flows from eternal law and by observing applicable societal rules and governmental laws. Practicing the virtue of justice toward God means loving God with all of our hearts, with all of our souls, and with all of our minds. It means following religious traditions, living in accordance with the Commandments, serving God and others, adoring Him, and expressing gratitude to Him as our Creator.
Saint Thomas Aquinas follows Aristotle in naming two species of justice: commutative and distributive. Commutative justice is also known as reciprocal, individual, or particular justice. It involves an individual rendering what is owed to another individual. Commutative justice has an arithmetic mean where goods and services of equal value are exchanged. Injustices of this sort consist of injury to property and injury to people. Injustices in deed include theft, robbery, bodily harm, and murder. Injustices in speech include reviling, backbiting, tail bearing, derision, and cursing. In addition to harming the body or the reputation of another person, spiritual injury occurs through subversion or obstruction of faith and propagation of heresy. Church tradition maintains that injury to the soul is more dangerous than injury to the body.
Distributive justice concerns the relationship between individuals and groups. It has a geometric mean where common goods are distributed proportionately, not necessarily equally, depending upon one’s station in society. Although we are all equal before God in terms of our human nature and our origin, we are not equal in terms of our talents. We place our unique gifts at the service of each other, and we accept special privileges with the intention of contributing to the well-being of the whole. We also reserve preferential care for those who are most vulnerable. An example of failure in distributive justice is distribution of some communal good to individuals according to unjust or irrelevant criteria.
Legal or general justice concerns the individual’s relationship to the common good. It safeguards order, peace, and progress. Saint Teresa of Calcutta observes: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
“The common good consists of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of the fundamental rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the spiritual and temporal goods of society; the peace and security of the group and of its members” (CCC 1925).
“Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority” (CCC 1928).
Saint Thomas Aquinas describes virtues of veneration and virtues of civility that derive from the virtue of justice. Virtues of veneration resemble justice but deal with unequal relationships or relationships where the debt cannot be repaid. Religion, piety, and observance help to perfect such relationships. Virtues of civility include gratitude, vindication, truth, affability, and liberality. These virtues apply in circumstances where considerations are not clearly defined within the species of justice.
Saint Jerome notes: “To be angry is human; to put an end to one’s anger is Christian.” To that end, we have an obligation to correct injustices within our power. We return or restore property, repair injuries, and offer restitution when rights are violated. When injustices cannot be remedied by human effort, we humbly entrust ourselves to the mercy of God.
Like the other virtues, justice calls for more than human effort alone. Justice also benefits from the grace of God. The gift of piety elevates and perfects justice through reverence for God and meekness of man. It orients us to respect authority and to seek justice for all. “You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
Charity also inspires compassion and motivates us to help others. In some cases, charity rises above justice to give beyond what one is due. Love of God leads us to love our neighbors. It forms us to follow Christ and give selflessly.
“As we contemplate the vast amount of work to be done for justice and peace in this world, we trust that we will find the grace to accomplish, to believe in, and to hope for the greatest things,” says Saint Peter Faber. “We look for grace in the smallest things, and are sustained by our confidence in God’s presence in our work and our gatherings.”
This week, think about how the virtue of justice guides your daily life. In your exchanges, make an effort to consider God and neighbor before you consider yourself. Follow your conscience. Remember that your actions are relational to others. Even small acts of justice have large consequences for those involved.
Let us reflect upon the instructions of Pope Saint John Paul II:
“It is necessary, therefore, to deepen our knowledge of justice continually. It is not a theoretical science. It is virtue, it is capacity of the human spirit, of the human will and also of the heart. It is also necessary to pray in order to be just and to know how to be just. We cannot forget Our Lord’s words: ‘The measure you give will be the measure you get’ (Matthew 7:2). A just man is a man of a ‘just measure.’ May we all be so! May we all strive constantly to become so!”
Week Beginning October 2, 2022
Prudence
Aristotle defines prudence as “right reason applied to practice.” Prudence is not simply about knowing the good, but also about doing the good. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it” (CCC 1835).
Because prudence directs choice (an act of the will) by means of counsel (an act of the intellect), it is categorized as a moral virtue. As the charioteer of the cardinal virtues (auriga virtutum), prudence sets the rules and measures for justice, temperance, and fortitude while guiding the judgment of conscience (CCC 1806). According to Saint Basil the Great: “Prudence must precede every action that we undertake; for if prudence be wanting, there is nothing, however good it may seem, which is not turned into evil.”
Saint Thomas Aquinas notes that prudence is comprised of three acts: counsel, judgement, and command. Counsel is an act of inquiry, discovery, and deliberation. We distinguish between preferable and non-preferable means. Judgment corresponds to consent and choice. We determine the most fitting course of action for both ordinary and extraordinary matters by applying general moral principles and considering individual circumstances. Command is the chief act of prudence in which we execute the best means possible and achieve our goal.
Saint Thomas Aquinas also notes that prudence is comprised of three parts: integral, subjective, and potential. The integral parts consist of eight foundational excellences that must all be present for the perfection of prudence. Memory, intelligence, and docility concern counsel; shrewdness and reason concern judgement; foresight, circumspection, and caution concern command. The two subjective parts order prudence toward ends either directed to ourselves (monastic prudence) or to others (domestic, military, regnative, and political prudence). Finally, the potential parts of good deliberation and good judgment (both in matters that conform to ordinary rules and in matters that call for exceptions to ordinary rules) relate to prudence but fail to fully satisfy its formal definition.
Imprudence can arise from defects to prudence and cause us to choose contrary to authentic happiness. We may exhibit imprudence through precipitateness at the stage of counsel, thoughtlessness at the stage of judgment, and inconstancy and negligence at the stage of command. “The shrewd always act prudently but the foolish parade folly” (Proverbs 13:16).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid” (CCC 1806). To grow in prudence, we seek insight from others who are sound judges of morality, pray for guidance, study scripture in conjunction with the Magisterium, follow the Ten Commandments, learn the principles of truth and goodness, follow the natural and eternal laws, reflect on our experience, learn from mistakes, continue our education, engage in virtuous acts, persevere through struggles, and be patient with ourselves and our choices as we develop this important virtue. In the words of Marcus Tullius Cicero, “Rashness belongs to youth; prudence to old age.”
This week, consider what might cause you to act imprudently, both deliberately and accidentally. How can you modify your thoughts and actions to overcome that? As an example, if you tend to make decisions hastily, consider engaging in a more thoughtful process. For matters that are not urgent, take time to examine your options and explore how different outcomes might impact the different parties involved.
Please also consider the ways you can grow in prudence. Select one method for personal growth to focus on this week. For instance, if you tend to rely only upon your own opinions, seek the insights of others. If you make the same mistakes repeatedly, try to learn from those mistakes to improve your outcome.
Prudence is brought to perfection by the supernatural gift of counsel. Saint Augustine observes “prudence is love discerning aright that which helps from that which hinders us in tending to God.” Therefore, pray for the virtue of prudence and the gift of counsel.
