Moral Life Archives - Page 6 of 36 - Community in Mission

April 15, 2018April 15, 2018

Pondering the Great Reversal Announced in Scripture

One of the strong traditions of Scripture is of the great reversal that will one day come for many. I have often been sobered by it when I consider how blessed I have been in this life. I have also been consoled by it when I struggle to understand why some people in this world seem to suffer so much more that I do, or others do.

Life seems a very uneven proposition if we only look at this side of the equation. Only God sees the whole picture, but to some extent, he has revealed that those who have suffered much in this life will be more than rewarded in the life to come and that there will be a great reversal.

The theme of the great reversal is most fully developed in the New Testament where the understanding of the life to come is also most developed. Consider the following texts:

But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first (Matt 19:30, Mark 10:31).
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; but the rich he has sent away empty (Lk 1:52-53).
Abraham replied [to the rich man], “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented …” (Luke 16:25).
Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way (Luke 6:21-26).
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more (Luke 12:48).
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us (Rom 8:18).
For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor 4:17-18).

There are other examples, and I invite you to add to this list. But, for now, let these suffice. As I have said, I am both challenged and consoled by these texts.

I am consoled because I have suffered and experienced setbacks in this life, as I’m sure have you. But the Lord promises that if these are endured with faith, they ultimately lead to profit, not loss. And while much of this benefit may wait until Heaven, sufferings endured with faith are like treasure stored up in Heaven. First the cross, but then the crown. Hallelujah!

I am also consoled on behalf of others. I know many people who have suffered far more than seems fair. They have experienced loss after loss: lost health, lost jobs, lost homes, lost family members. My humanity recoils at this and I often cry to God on the behalf of these people who seem to suffer so much more than others. Why, O Lord?

But I am also challenged. I am certainly among those who are first. What does this say for me in the great reversal that is coming upon this world? My health is good; I enjoy bountiful blessings. I am more blessed that I deserve. I live in the richest and most powerful country in the world. My needs are largely provided for. I am here in my temperature-controlled room with plenty of time to write and to ponder things. I live far above mere subsistence level. I am surely among the first, the rich. Even the poorest in this country are blessed compared to many in other parts of the world.

Where shall I be when the first trumpet sounds, when the great reversal sets in?

Not everything is as it appears. We crave wealth, power, and access, considering those to be blessings. We want to be first. But God warns that it may well be a curse:

Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains (1 Tim 6:9-10).

Even though we are familiar with texts like this we still want to be rich, on top, first. We are very obtuse!

And so I am challenged. I am not, however, defeated or fatalistic. God has not utterly forsaken those who are first. He has left us a way. He has given us instruction on how to avoid the “curse” of our wealth and good fortune: use our position as “first” in order to bless others; place our many gifts at the service of the human family. A few texts come to mind:

I tell you, make friends for yourselves with deceitful wealth, so that when it fails, they [likely the poor whom we befriended] will welcome you into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9).
Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life (1 Tim 6:17-19).

And so it is that the Lord instructs those who are cursed to be first to store up our true treasure in Heaven (Matt 6:19). Of course we do not store up our treasure in Heaven by sending it up in a balloon or rocket! Rather, we store it up by generously dispensing it to the poor and needy. We may do this through a simple gift. Perhaps we provide jobs and economic opportunity for others. Maybe we share our knowledge, talents, or time. In doing such things, perhaps our curse of being among the first will be overcome.

The great reversal is coming! Where will I be when the first trumpet sounds?

This Chant of the Funeral Mass refers to the great reversal but prays that the deceased will be found with Lazarus, who once was poor. The text says, In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem. (May the angels lead you to paradise and at your coming may the martyrs receive you and may they lead you into the Holy City Jerusalem. May a choir of Angels receive you and with Lazarus who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.)

March 13, 2018March 13, 2018

Out of Pride and into Humility

In yesterday’s post, we considered the twelve steps of pride set forth by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. In escalating ways, the twelve steps draw us to an increasingly mountainous and enslaving pride.

St. Bernard also enumerates the twelve steps to deeper humility and it is these that we consider today. As with yesterday’s post, the list by St. Bernard is shown in red, while my meager commentary is shown in plain, black text. To read St. Bernard’s reflections, consider purchasing the book Steps of Humility and Pride.

(1) Fear of God – To fear the Lord is to hold Him in awe. It is to be filled with wonder at all God has done, and at who He is. Cringing, servile fear is not recommended. Rather, the fear rooted in love and deep reverence for God is what begins to bring us down the mountain of pride. It is looking to God and away from ourselves and our egocentric tendencies that begins to break our pride.

Scripture says, The fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10). To fear the Lord is to turn to the Lord seeking answers, seeking meaning, realizing that in God is all wisdom and knowledge. To fear the Lord is to hunger and thirst for His truth and righteousness. To fear the Lord is to look outside oneself and upward to God.

Here begins our journey down the mountain of pride, a simple and loving look to God, who alone can set us free from the slavery that pride and sinfulness created for us.

(2) Abnegation of self-will – In the garden, Jesus said to His father, Father, not as I will, but as you will (Lk 22:42). This is what abnegation of the will means: to surrender one’s will to God’s will, to allow His decisions to override one’s own.

Pride demands to do what it pleases, to determine what is right or wrong. In this stage of humility, I am willing to look to God.

The saints say, “If God wants it, I want it. If God doesn’t want it, I don’t want it.” The prideful person says “Why can’t I have it? It’s not so bad. Everybody else is doing it.”

On the journey away from pride, having come to a fear of the Lord, we are now more joyfully ready to listen to Him and to submit to His vision for us.

(3) Obedience – Having attained a humbler disposition of heart, we are now more willing to obey. Obedience moves from hearing God’s word to heeding it, to obeying His holy will, to surrendering our stubborn will to His. We are made ready, by God’s grace, to execute that will, to put it into action.

(4) Patient endurance – Embarking on this journey down the mountain of pride, and striving to hear and understand God’s will and obey, we can surely expect to fact both external and internal obstacles.

Our flesh—that is, our sinful nature—does not simply and wholeheartedly surrender, but rather continues to battle. It resists prayer, resists being subject to anything other than its own wishes and desires. Thus, we suffer internal resistance from our sinful nature.

Little by little, we gain greater self-discipline and authority over our unruly passions. This is truly a struggle, requiring patience and an enduring spirit and will.

We also often encounter external resistance as we try to come down from the mountain of pride. Perhaps friends seek to draw us back into our former ways. Perhaps the structures of our pride remain: willfulness, self-reliance, powerful positions, etc. They continue to draw us away from our intention to come down the mountain of pride and further embrace humble submission to God. Perhaps the world continues to demand that we think and act out of old categories that are not of God, and still hold us bound to some extent.

Patient endurance is often required to see such things borne away. It often takes years—even decades—of patient and persistent action for the sinful world to lose its grip on us.

(5) Disclosure of the heart – As we come down the mountain of pride, perhaps the most humble journey is the one into our wounded hearts. Scripture says, More tortuous than all else is the human heart; beyond remedy; who can understand it? I, alone, the LORD, explore the mind and test the heart (Jer 17:10).

Recognizing our sinful drives, and misplaced priorities requires a lot of humility. We must often resurrect unpleasant memories and even traumas from the past, ones that we have experienced ourselves or have inflicted on others. In our heart, we are called to repent and show forgiveness and mercy or to accept that we must be forgiven and shown mercy.

We may be asked to remember and to realize that we have not always been 100% right, that we have sometimes acted unjustly and sinfully toward others, that we have at times been insensitive. This is a humbling but necessary part of the journey down the mountain of pride.

(6) Contentedness with what is – Contentedness is a form of acceptance; it is a great gift to seek and to receive. We can distinguish between external and internal contentedness:

External contentedness is rooted in the ability to live serenely in the world as it is and to realize that God allows many things that are not to our liking. Acceptance does not imply approval of everything. There are many things in the world that we ought not to approve of, but acceptance is the willingness to live and work humbly in a world that is neither perfect nor fully in accordance with our preferences. Some things we are called to change, other things to endure. Even with those things we are called to change, we may have to accept that we cannot change them as quickly as we would like. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus cautioned us not to act hastily to remove the tares lest the wheat be harmed as well. It is a mysterious fact that God leaves many things unresolved. Part of our journey in humility is to discern what we are empowered to change and what we must come to accept as beyond our ability to change.

Internal contentedness is gratitude for what we have and freedom from resentment about what we do not. Pride demands that our agenda be fully followed. In our journey toward humility, we come to be more content with accepting what God offers and saying, “It is enough, O Lord. I am most grateful!”

(7) Lucid self-awareness – In pride, we are often filled with many delusions about ourselves, thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. We are often unaware of just how difficult it can be to live or work with us.

Humility is reverence for the truth about ourselves. It is a lucid self-awareness that appreciates our gifts, but remembering that they are gifts. It is also an awareness of our struggles and our ongoing need for repentance and for the grace of God.

With lucid self-awareness, we increasingly learn to know ourselves the way God knows us (cf 1 Cor 13:12). As we come down from the mountain of pride into deeper humility, God discloses more to us about just who we really are. We become more and more the man or woman God has made us to be; our self-delusions and the unrealistic demands of the world begin to fade. The darkness of these illusions is replaced by the lucidity of self-awareness. We are able to see and understand ourselves in a less egocentric way. We are mindful of what we think and do and of how we interact with God and others, but we do this in a way that we are strongly aware of the presence and grace of God. We come to self-awareness in the context of living in conscious contact with God throughout the day.

(8) Submission to the common rule – The egocentric and prideful person resists being told what to do and is largely insensitive to the needs of others and the common good. The proud man thinks he knows better than the collective wisdom of the community.

As our journey down the mountain of pride into deeper humility continues, we become more aware of the effects we have on others. We must learn to interact and cooperate with others for goals larger than ourselves. Humility teaches us that the world does not revolve around us and what we want; sometimes the needs of others are more important than our own. Humility helps us to accept that although my individual rights are important, laws typically exist to protect the common good. Humility also makes us more willing to submit our personal needs and agenda to the needs of others and the wisdom of the wider community.

(9) Silence – Silence is a respectful admission that other people have wisdom to share and important things to say. The proud person interrupts frequently, thinking either that he already knows what the other person is going to say or that what he has to say is more important. As our humility grows, we become better listeners, appreciating that others may be able to offer us knowledge or wisdom that we currently lack.

(10) Emotional sobriety – Many of our emotional excesses are rooted in pride and egocentricity. When we are proud we are easily offended, easily threatened, for fear begets anger.

As we discussed yesterday, the initial stages of pride are often rooted in inordinate curiosity, mental levity, and giddiness. All of these things cause our emotional life to be excessive and disordered. As we grow deeper in humility, though, we are less egocentric and thus less fearful and less easily offended.

Having our mental life focused on more substantial and less frivolous things adds stability to our thought life. We are less carried off into gossip, intrigue, and rumor. We are less stirred up by the machinations of marketers, less disturbed by the 24/7 “breaking news” cycles of the media. We are more thoughtful and less likely to rush to judgments that often unsettle us. The humble person trusts God and is thus not easily unsettled by these things—and it is thoughts that generate feelings.

As our thought life becomes more measured, our conclusions are drawn more carefully and humbly, our emotions are less volatile, and we attain greater emotional serenity and sobriety.

(11) Restraint in speech – As we become more emotionally stable and less anxious and stirred up, that serenity is reflected in our speech and demeanor. We are less likely to interrupt, to speak in anger, or to be unnecessarily terse or harsh. We don’t need to “win” every debate. Rather, we are satisfied with staying in the conversation, with just sowing seeds to be harvested later, perhaps even by others. Our serenity tends to lower our volume and speed in talking; we are more content to speak the truth in love, with both clarity and charity.

(12) Congruity between one’s inside and one’s outside – We saw in yesterday’s post on pride the problem of hypocrisy. The Greek word hypocritas refers to acting. Hypocrites are actors playing a role rather than being who they are.

The proud and fearful are always posturing, trying to align themselves with what makes for popularity and profit. As humility reaches its goal, integrity, honesty, and sincerity come to full flower.

This is because the gift of humility opens us to be fully formed by God. Having turned our gaze to God and made the journey into our heart, we discover the man or woman God has made us to be. We begin to live out of that experience in an authentic and unpretentious way. In humility we are more focused on God and less nervously self-conscious.

By the gift of lucid self-awareness described above, we are comfortable in our own skin. We do not need to posture, dominate, compare, or compete. Rather, our inner spiritual life and focus on God now inform our whole self.

Humility has now reached its goal: reverence for the truth about our very self. We are sinners who are loved by God. As we make the journey to discover our true self before God, we become ever more grateful and serene. Living out of this inner life with Him, we are enabled to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

Thanks be to God for these insightful lists of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Benedict, which have so aided in this reflection! Pray God that we are all able to make the journey down from the mountain of pride and into deeper humility.

March 12, 2018March 12, 2018

The Twelve Steps of Pride

If you think the idea of “Twelve Steps” is new, go back and see how the Greeks put it, or in this case how the medieval Latins put it. St. Bernard of Clairvaux identified twelve steps up the mountain of pride in his 12th century work The Steps of Humility and Pride.

In today’s post, we focus on the twelve steps of pride, and tomorrow we’ll tackle the twelve steps of humility. The list below is from St. Bernard, but the commentary is mine.

Notices how the twelve steps grow progressively more serious, leading ultimately to the slavery of sin. The steps begin in the mind, move to behavior, then to a deeper attitude of presumption, and finally bring forth revolt and slavery. If one does not serve God, he will serve Satan.

Think of these steps like escalating symptoms:

(1) Curiosity – Although there is such a thing as healthy curiosity, we often delve into things we should not: other people’s affairs, private matters, sinful situations, and so forth. What makes such curiosity prideful is that so thinking we have a right to know things we do not. Casting all caution aside, and with a certain prideful and privileged attitude, we pry, meddle, and look into things we ought not to, as if we had a right to do so. This is sinful curiosity.

(2) Levity of mind – In this next step, we occupy our mind with inappropriate things; we become less serious in wider matters. There is a place for a reasonable sense of humor and some recreational diversion, but too often this is just about all we do. We cast aside matters about which we should be serious, instead pursuing only light and passing things. In ignoring or making light of serious things pertaining to eternity and delving only into entertaining and passing things, we ignore things to which we ought to attend. Watching sitcoms and “reality” TV for hours with no time for prayer, study, instruction of children in the faith, caring for the poor, and so forth shows a lack of seriousness that is a symptom of pride. We lightly brush aside what is important to God and substitute our own foolish priorities. This is pride.

(3) Giddiness – Here, we move from levity of mind to the frivolous behaviors it produces, behaviors in which we overemphasize trivial experiences or situations at the expense of more important, profound things. Silly, vapid, foolish, and capricious behaviors indicate a pride wherein one is not rich in what matters to God. We maximize the minimum and minimize the maximum. We seem to find plenty of time for frivolity but no time for prayer or study of Holy Truth.

(4) Boasting – Increasingly locked into our own little world of darkened intellect and foolish behavior, we begin to exult in baser, carnal activities and consider them a sign of greatness; we begin to boast of foolish things. To boast is to speak and think of oneself more highly than is true or reasonable. While we should appreciate the gifts we have, we ought to recall that they are gifts given to us by God and often developed through the help of others. St. Paul says, What have you that you have not received? And if you have received it, why do you boast as though you had not? (1 Cor 4:7) The boaster thinks too highly of himself, either claiming to have gifts he does not or forgetting that what he does have is a grace, a gift. This is pride.

(5) Singularity – Our world gets ever smaller and yet we think ourselves as even greater. We are king, all right, king of an ant hill, rulers of a tiny speck of dust sweeping through the immensity of space. As our pride grows, we too easily forget our dependence on God and others for who and what we are. There really is no such thing as a “self-made man.” We are all contingent beings, dependent on God and others. Further, we also too easily withdraw into our own little mind and world, tending to think that something is so just because we think it to be so. Withdrawing only to our own counsel, we discount the evidence of reality and stop seeking information and advice from others. The man who seeks only his own counsel has a fool for an adviser—and a prideful one at that! Singularity is pride. This pride swells in us as our world gets ever smaller and more focused on our own self.

(6) Self-conceit – This is an unjustly favorable and unduly high opinion of one’s own abilities or worth. As our world shrinks and our pride grows, we become increasingly self-referential. We’ve reached the point at which we believe that something is so merely because we say it is so. We are fine because we say so. Never mind that all of us are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses, sanctity and sinfulness. Too easily we grow blind to just how difficult we can be to live with. Too easily we find faults in others but fail to see them in ourselves. Further, we tend to compare ourselves to others favorably, thinking, “Well, at least I am not like that prostitute or drug dealer over there.” Being better than someone else is not the standard we must meet. Jesus is the standard we must meet. Rather than comparing ourselves to Jesus and seeking mercy, we compare ourselves to others on whom we look down, and give way to pride.

(7) Presumption – At this stage, even God’s judgements must cede to ours. We believe we are saved because we say so. This is a sin against hope wherein we take salvation as granted and due to us no matter what we do. In effect, we already claim to possess what we do not. It is right for us to confidently hope for God’s help in attaining eternal life—this is the theological virtue of hope—but it is pride that makes us think we already possess it. It is further pride for us to set aside God’s Word, which over and over teaches us to walk in hope and seek His help as beggars rather than as possessors or as ones legally entitled to glory in Heaven. Presumption is pride.

(8) Self-justification – Jesus must now vacate the judgment seat because we demand to take His place. Not only that, He must also vacate the cross because we don’t really need His sacrifice. We don’t really need a lot of saving, and if we do we can save our own self. Self-justification is the attitude that we can, by our own power, justify (that is, save) our own self. It is also the attitude that says, in effect, “I will do what I want to do and I will decide whether it is right or wrong.” St. Paul says, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me (1 Cor 4:3-4). The prideful person cares only for his own view of himself and refuses to be accountable, even to God; he forgets that no one is a judge in his own case.

(9) Hypocritical confession – In Greek, the word hypocrite means “actor.” In certain settings, some degree of humility and acknowledgement of one’s faults is profitable. One can get “credit” for acknowledging certain faults humbly and calling oneself a sinner; the prideful man is just acting when he does this. He’s merely playing a role, more for social credit than out of any real contrition or repentance. If posturing and playing the role of the humble and contrite sinner will get him somewhere, he’ll say his lines, play the part, and pretend to be holy—but only if the “applause” from the audience is forthcoming.

(10) Revolt – Pride really begins to get out of control when one revolts outright against God and His lawful representatives. To revolt means to renounce allegiance to or any sense of accountability or obedience to God, His Word, or His Church. It is to attempt to overthrow the authority of others, in this case God and His Church. It is prideful to refuse to be under any authority and to act in ways that are directly contrary to what lawful authority rightly asserts.

(11) Freedom to sin – Here, pride reaches its near conclusion, as it arrogantly asserts and celebrates that it is utterly free to do what it pleases. The prideful man increasingly rejects any restraints or limits, but his “freedom” is not really freedom at all. Jesus says, Whoever sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34). The Catechism echoes, The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to the slavery of sin (Catechism #1733). The proud man will have none of this, continuing to assert his freedom to do as he pleases even while descending deeper and deeper into addiction and slavery.

(12) The habit of sinning – This is see pride’s full and ugly flower: habitual sin and slavery to it. As St. Augustine says, For of a forward will, was a lust made; and a lust served, became custom; and custom not resisted, became necessity (Confessions 8.5.10).

Thus we have climbed the twelve steps of the mountain of pride. It begins in the mind with a lack of sobriety, rooted in sinful curiosity and frivolous preoccupation. Next come frivolous behavior and excusing, presumptive, dismissive attitudes. Last come outright revolt and slavery to sin. The slavery results because if one refuses to serve God out of pride, he will serve Satan.

We have seen an escalation in these steps that is not far from an old admonition: sow a thought, reap a deed; sow a deed, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.

Is there a way down this mountain of pride? Tune in tomorrow …

March 11, 2018March 11, 2018

Some Thoughts on Sin, Contrition and Repentance from C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis is revered for his solid insight and for his ability to look beyond the ordinary understanding of things. Although he was not a Catholic, I would like to present several of his thoughts on sin, contrition, and repentance as part of our Lenten consideration of these matters. The quotes below are all drawn from a collection of passages from Lewis’ writings entitled The Business of Heaven. The page numbers in my citations refer to that book.

On contrition and the honest assessment of our own wretchedness:

Most of us equate the word contrition with remorse or sorrow, but Lewis reminds us that there is more to the word. He also recaptures the word miserable, which most of us take to mean terrible or despicable. He writes,

Contrite … is a word translated from the Latin, meaning crushed or pulverized. Now, modern people complain about that …. They do not wish their hearts to be pulverized and they do not feel they can sincerely say they are “miserable offenders” [as the English prayer books of that time said] …. I do not think whether we are ‘feeling’ miserable or not matters. I think [the prayer book] is using the word miserable in the old sense—meaning an object of pity. … [p. 55].

Indeed, the word miserable comes from the Latin miserabilis, meaning “pitiable, miserable, or lamentable.” We sinners are surely pitiable in our condition, and God does show us great pity, mercy, and love in this lowly and lamentable state. For a well-formed Christian the recognition of our lowly condition and of God’s pitying love for us can bring forth gratitude and relief.

Sadly, as Lewis notes, many too easily take offense at such notions and thereby reveal their thin-skinned natures. In our pride we do not often see ourselves as pitiable or wretched. For example, some Catholic hymnals removed the phrase “that saved a wretch like me” from the hymn “Amazing Grace” because it offended modern sensibilities. While we do not accept the Protestant notion that we are utterly depraved, wretch can be understood in a very Catholic sense. We are pitiable and do not stand a chance without the Lord’s grace and mercy through Jesus. We should be careful to check our pride when we bristle at such notions, for Jesus warned the proud church of Laodicea,

You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent (Rev. 3:17-19).

C.S. Lewis goes on to observe that even if we do not feel pitiable, we are. He writes,

A person can be an object of pity when he is not feeling miserable …. Imagine yourself looking down from a height on two crowded passenger trains that are travelling towards one another along the same line at sixty miles and hour. You can see that in forty seconds there will be a head-on collision … The passengers are an object of pity … though they do not feel miserable themselves [p. 55].

This is our condition, too, all the more so if we deny it. God sees our pitiable state from on high. Many of those on the imaginary trains may think of themselves as quite secure. Some may be jovial, others content. Still others may be anxious about lesser things. Not one of them is thinking of an approaching train and likely death. No, they do not feel pitiable and are not thinking about the fact that they are contingent beings, dependent on God for every beat of their hearts. They are not thinking that they are about to be summoned to judgment.

Recognizing our condition is a first step to healing. Through contrition we announce not only our sorrow but admit that our sins have crushed and pulverized us. Surrendering our pride, we realize that we are, as the Lord says, wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. In our pitiable state, though, the Lord’s pity and mercy can now reach us.

Forgiving is not excusing:

We often conflate the idea of forgiving and excusing, but they are not the same. C.S. Lewis points out,

There is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing. Forgiving says, “Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology and will not hold it against you … But excusing says, “I see you couldn’t help it, or didn’t mean it. You weren’t really to blame.”

[But] If one was not really to blame, then there is nothing to forgive. In that sense, forgiving and excusing are almost opposites.

This is an important insight because it is a very different thing to say to someone, “I did something wrong. I admit it and ask for your forgiveness,” than it is to say, “I didn’t really mean it. I’d had a long day and was upset. Please excuse me.” The second option in effect is saying this: “I have an excuse and want you to accept it. Because I have an excuse I didn’t really do anything wrong, or at least I didn’t mean to.”

How rare it is for someone to think, let alone say, “I did it. I will not excuse what I did or ask you to excuse it. I will not try to explain away what I did. I simply and humbly ask for your forgiveness.”

Our good qualities do not simply do away with what is wrong in us:

We have a tendency to minimize our sins by focusing on our better qualities. Surely, we have good qualities, but this does not eliminate the fact that we have sins and they must be attended to. Lewis makes this simple observation:

When you go to the doctor you show him the bit of you that is wrong—say, a broken arm. It would be a mere waste of time to keep on explaining that your legs, and eyes, and throat are all right [p. 60].

Looking to our sins does not mean that there is nothing good in us, but neither will the good in us simply make the sins of no account. Using our virtues to make light of our sins betrays the virtues by turning them to pride.

The forgiveness of sins is not just about receiving; it is about giving as well:

Do you believe in the forgiveness of sin? If so, you do well. But do you also believe in forgiving the sins of others? C.S. Lewis makes the following interesting observation:

We say in the creed, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” … The people who compiled the creed apparently thought this was a part of our belief which we needed to be reminded of each time we went to church [pp. 57-58].

But why? It is not widely disputed that God forgives sins. As Lewis next observes, believing in the forgiveness of my sins by God may seem easy, but in saying “I believe in the forgiveness of sins” I am also stating that I believe that I must forgive the sins of others. This is harder, and often we’d like to forget that part. Thus, the creed has us mention it every Sunday. Lewis says,

We [easily] believe that God forgives us our sins; but also that He will not do so unless we forgive other people their sins against us [pp. 57-58].

Do you believe in the forgiveness of sins?

On the easy substitution of communal sin for our own sin:

We live in times when it is popular and often demanded that we apologize for the sins of our ancestors or of our nation. Of itself, this is not always wrong, but it has many pitfalls. Lewis notes,

The first and fatal charm of national repentance is, therefore, the encouragement it gives us to turn from the bitter task of repenting our own sins to the [more] congenial one of … denouncing others … [by this] you can indulge in the popular vice of detraction without restraint, and yet feel all the time that you are practicing contrition [pp. 56-57].

Yes, indeed! How quickly we congratulate ourselves on being more enlightened than our ancestors. How easy it is to claim the we are not part of any collective problem in our nation. There is a lot of “virtue signaling” going on today rather than personal repentance or action. Surely there are times when it is appropriate to point to our collective and communal sins, but strangely enough, the collective is made up of individuals—like you and me. Denouncing communal sin, as Lewis notes, is too easily a substitute for looking in the mirror.

These are just a few thoughts on sin, repentance and contrition.

March 8, 2018March 8, 2018

The Cardinal Virtues: Justice

As we explore the cardinal virtue of justice, it is helpful to follow the schema of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae (II, IIae, qq. 57-122), where he treats it expansively. Because I am summarizing a large amount of material here, I have not included references for each specific point below. Please allow the previous citation of the Summa to serve for the entire post.

The cardinal virtue of justice enables us to render to others what is due to them on a consistent basis. Justice seeks to observe the rights of all. While it is sometimes easy render to others what is their due, at other times it is difficult; these are the situations in which justice shows itself as residing in the will. In particular, justice seeks the good of others. Temperance and fortitude are internally focused, as they are directed to the appetites and passions of the soul. In contrast, justice is more of an external virtue because it is directed to others. Justice seeks proportionality, such that each person has what is his part, share, portion, or due. Justice seeks to render to each what he should have.

As we have noted before, “every virtue observes or consists of the mean” (omnis virtus in medio consistit). Virtue is the middle ground between excess and defect. Justice is no exception. There are two fundamental vices opposed to justice:

Injustice is the defect. This is obviously the exact opposite of justice; it strikes against both the common good and the good of individuals. It fails to render to others what is their due. It possesses or withholds unlawfully or unreasonably. Injustice in small matters can be a venial sin; in more significant matters it becomes a mortal sin. One may be unjust intentionally (which increases one’s culpability) or through ignorance or in a moment of passion (which lessens one’s guilt). If one habitually and knowingly acts with injustice, he bears the mark of an unjust person.

Judgment is the excess. Judgment in this context refers to what we call “rash judgment” or “harsh judgment” today. There are, of course, judgments that we should and must make, such as between right and wrong. There are some whose occupations require them to pass judgment; there is no problem with this provided such judgments are conducted with justice.

There are certain judgments, however, that involve an overreaching, wherein we seek to establish justice by excess. For example, out of too much zeal for justice we may rush to judgment without sufficient information; this is rash judgment. Further, in our zeal for justice we may at times render judgments or inflict punishments on others that are overly harsh. At still other times we may pass judgments that are not ours to make. This is usurped judgment, wherein we take justice into our own hands unreasonably and possibly illegally.

Anger is a common response to witnessing injustice. Sometimes out of this anger we sinfully overreach. It is this “excess” of zeal for justice that the true cardinal virtue of justice seeks to moderate.

Thus, justice as a virtue stands in the middle between injustice and rash or harsh judgment. It regulates our tendencies toward those extremes.

Just as the seven deadly sins have related sins which spring from them (which St. Thomas calls “daughters”), the virtues have what St. Thomas calls “parts.” These parts are different aspects of the virtue that help us to describe it or recognize it in action.

Commutative Justice – This is justice that between persons; it looks to the exchange of goods in due proportion and with a significant degree of exactness. For example, if I agree to pay you $50 for some good or service, then I owe you $50 when the work is complete. If I pay less or if you demand more, there is injustice.
Distributive Justice – This is justice exercised by the community (e.g., government, Church, religious order) toward its individual members. This type of justice looks to the bestowal of goods rather than their exchange. It is rooted in proportionality of merits or needs. Thus, some with greater merit are rightly honored more highly; those who truly need more are given more.
Restitution – This is the restoration of balance or equality that is due. For example, if I possess something I should not, I must return it, or something of equal/greater value, to the owner. If I have damaged something, I must compensate the owner for the damage. If I have harmed someone’s reputation by false accusation, I must set the record straight. Sometimes acts of restitution are required of more than one person. If multiple people benefitted from something that was stolen, they must all take part in the restitution (though perhaps to various degrees); if several people were harmed, they must all be compensated. All who cooperate in evil must join in making restitution. St. Thomas lists many ways in which one may cooperate in evil or unjust acts: counsel, command, consent, flattery, receiving, partaking, silence, or refusing to intervene or denounce when it was possible.
Religion – It is interesting that St. Thomas includes religion as one of the parts of justice. Most of us think of religion under the heading of faith, which is one of the three theological virtues. Religion, by contrast, is among the moral virtues and is a part of justice because we owe God a great deal. We owe Him a debt of honor, worship, gratitude for He has given us: life and every good thing. Many people today have forgotten this, thinking of religion as essentially for their own good, as something to serve, console, and benefit them. Indeed, there is great benefit to religious observance, but first and foremost, religion is an act or virtue required of us in justice. We are to render to God what is rightly His. St. Thomas enumerates some of the following things we owe in justice to God: devotion, prayer, sacrifices, oblations, tithes, and in some cases vows and oaths.
Piety – This disposes us to show due honor, deference, and respect to those who have bestowed benefits on us and/or have a place of excellence in our life. Clearly piety is due to God, but it is also due to parents, family members, teachers, and leaders of the Church and government. It is due in justice because from God and our parents comes our very life, and from the others listed come the things that make for and supply our life.
Observance – This is a respect we have for those with special dignity among us. This form of reverence is due in justice on account of the excellence of those with dignity; excellence ought to be praised. It is related to veneration or dulia (reverence accorded to saints/angels).
Obedience – This is conforming our behavior to the lawful command of a superior. We owe God absolute obedience. Human superiors are to be obeyed within the sphere of their authority and when what they command is not contrary to God’s law or our duties toward Him. Obedience is a requirement of justice on account of the common good and our obligation to preserve order and charity. Obedience to just civil law is also required of us under justice.
Gratitude – We owe God thanks for all things. We also owe a debt of gratitude to all who bestow benefits upon us. Gratitude should be expressed in words and deeds. In enumerating our debt of gratitude we should take into account especially the disposition of the giver, not merely the size of the gift.
Truthfulness – We ought to speak the truth to others; we owe them the truth. This moral virtue does not require us to tell all that we know, but others deserve to hear the truth from us rather than a lie.
Liberality – Even though liberality refers to giving more than what is strictly due, it is allied with justice because it is related to the proper use of money and the universal destination of goods (wherein God gives all the goods of this world to all the people of this world). Thus excess wealth is rightly shared not only in charity but in justice. If I have excess, to some degree some of it belongs to the poor.
Equity (or Epikeia) – This helps to interpret the mind of the lawmaker in order to best apply the law in particular circumstances. Because laws are most often written in a general way, applying them to specific situations serves justice.

Yes, justice is a many-splendored thing; it is rightly numbered among the cardinal virtues. The word “cardinal” is derived from the Latin cardo/cardin, meaning hinge. Many of the other virtues swing upon the hinges of justice. Rendering to others what is due is sometimes complex and/or difficult, but it is always necessary. Injustice, particularly accumulated over a long period of time, often breeds anger and even contempt; From such things violence and war emerge.

May justice protect us!

March 7, 2018March 8, 2018

The Cardinal Virtues: Fortitude

In exploring the cardinal virtue of fortitude, it is helpful to follow the schema of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae (II, IIae, qq. 123-140), where he treats it expansively. Because I am summarizing a large amount of material here, I have not included references for each specific point below. Please allow the previous citation of the Summa to serve for the entire post.

Not only is fortitude a cardinal virtue, it is also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit, of course, elevates this natural virtue to something greater and more directly rooted in faith and in God. In today’s article, we will consider fortitude as a cardinal virtue and therefore ponder it primarily as a natural and human virtue.

The cardinal virtue of fortitude enables us to withstand even great difficulties that hinder us from attaining our true goal. A chief feature of fortitude is being able to see an act or decision through to the end despite obstacles. It is not merely being brave in the face of danger or sallying forth into battle; it is also being steadfast in the face of difficulties and enduring without sadness or loss of faith.

In its strictest and loftiest sense, fortitude is the virtue that enables us to face the danger of death; in this sense it is at the root of martyrdom. However, fortitude is operative at every level short of mortal danger as well. By it one endures in order to overcome not merely physical dangers, but spiritual ones as well, which are enemies of our soul and impediments to our salvation. Therefore, the chief and most common act of fortitude is enduring in order to see a thing through despite obstacles, hardships, persecution, and any number of other difficulties.

As we have noted before, “every virtue observes or consists of the mean” (omnis virtus in medio consistit). Virtue is the middle ground between excess and defect. Fortitude is no exception. There are two vices opposed to fortitude:

Timidity or cowardice is the defect. While there are proper fears which teach us to shun or flee what we ought, timidity or cowardice leads us to avoid what virtue requires of us. It is especially serious when such fear leads us or makes us willing to violate divine law in order to avoid what we fear. As a defect of fortitude, timidity makes us indisposed to endure hardships or difficulties and influences us to give up easily or to refuse to do what is reasonably required of us.

Insensibility to fear or foolhardiness is the excess. As noted, there are some things we should reasonably fear and avoid. Insensibility or foolhardiness causes us to rush into danger when not required. As a result, this excess amounts to a form of stupidity, pride, impulsiveness, and/or presumption.

Thus, fortitude as a virtue stands in the middle between cowardice and foolhardiness. It regulates our tendencies to these extremes.

Magnanimity – This word literally means “large-minded” and it refers to pondering great things such that we are inspired to yearn for or pursue them. Magnanimity helps us to comprehend with our mind things that are great, honorable, virtuous, and worthwhile. By it we he lay hold of a kind of vision for our goals; we are inspired to reach for them and are willing to endure difficulties and obstacles to attain them.
Magnificence – This word literally means doing great things. With magnanimity we consider great, virtuous, and honorable things to pursue; with magnificence we set about accomplishing them, overcoming difficulties and being willing to make sacrifices to do so.
Patience – This helps us to resist giving way to sadness and to bear up under the difficulties of life with a certain equanimity or steadiness of soul. By it, we do not give way easily to excessive sadness or anger. Patience helps us to endure painful or difficult things without weakening in our faith or in our commitment to the truth and the pursuit of our spiritual goals.
Perseverance – This helps us to pursue good purposes steadily in spite of difficulties, delays, fatigue, and the common temptation to eventual indifference if results are not quickly forthcoming. Many worthy goals take a long time, even generations, to accomplish. Perseverance keeps us steadfast.

Fortitude is rightly numbered among the cardinal virtues. The word “cardinal” is derived from the Latin cardo/cardin, meaning hinge. Many of the other virtues swing upon the hinges of fortitude.

Fortitude is more than mere bravery. It is a beautiful virtue that considers great things, enduring difficulties to attain to them, but doing so via the middle path, avoiding both cowardice and foolhardiness.

March 6, 2018March 6, 2018

The Cardinal Virtues: Temperance

In exploring the cardinal virtue of temperance, it is helpful to follow the schema of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae (II, IIae, qq. 141-170), where he treats it expansively. Because I am summarizing a large amount of material here, I have not included references for each specific point below. Please allow the previous citation of the Summa to serve for the entire post.

Temperance, in its broad sense as a general virtue, disposes us to act in moderation and do what is ordinate or measured. In one sense, temperance is a part of every virtue because “every virtue observes or consists of the mean” (omnis virtus in medio consistit). Virtue is the middle ground between excess and defect, as St. Thomas often notes in the Summa.

In a more specific sense, though, we usually restrict the cardinal virtue of temperance to the virtue that helps us to moderate our appetite for tactile and bodily delights, specifically food, drink, and sexual activity. The senses of taste and touch are especially involved and only to a lesser degree those of sight and hearing, insofar as they present to our intellect the food, drink, or sexual things that must be moderated. Temperance not only controls our pursuit of pleasurable goods; it also helps to curb our distress when we lack them.

As a virtue, temperance stands in the middle of defect and excess:

Insensibility is the defect. It involves an unreasonable rejection of the pleasures associated with preserving our life. Because food, drink, and sexual activity are necessary for our survival either as individuals or as a race, God has associated pleasures with them to assist us in not neglecting them. Rejecting the pleasures associated with them to the extent that they harm our well-being is what is meant by insensibility. Unhealthy fasting would be an example of this.

There are some among us who perpetually abstain from sexual pleasure through virginity and celibacy. This is not to be confused with insensibility because it is not necessary for every person to engage in sexual activity for the human race to survive.

Intemperance is the excess. As the literal opposite of temperance, it consists in the immoderate indulgence of taste and touch through excessive and unreasonable indulgence in food, or drink, or sex. St. Thomas reminds us that intemperance is the most disgraceful of the vices because it indulges those pleasures that man has in common with animals. It also plays a powerful role in dimming the light of our reason (we noted this in our discussion of lust last week).

Just as the seven deadly sins have related sins that spring from them (St. Thomas calls them “daughters”), the virtues have what St. Thomas calls “parts.” These parts are different aspects of the virtue that help us to describe it or see it in action.

Shamefacedness – This is a passion whereby one recoils from what is disgraceful because of the shame resulting from the consequences of sin. People feel this and fear this most in the face of those they know. One way of avoiding this is to live virtuously. Sadly, some are unashamed not so much due to a lack of virtue but because they are so accustomed to sin that they have lost the normal shame it should bring. Healthy shame should make us recoil from deserved reproach, humiliation, or the loss of our good reputation. In this way it can assist us in moderating or tempering our sinful desires.
Decorousness (decency) – This is a love of the beauty that virtue brings. Because temperance repels what is most unbecoming in us, namely the indulgence of our lower (or animal-like) desires, it helps us in being decent and possessing that which is beautiful in us, which decorousness desires.
Abstinence – This refers to refraining from some lawful pleasure or thing entirely or for a specific period of time. It must be ordinate, however, lest it become insensitivity. Because temperance helps us to moderate and have authority over matters of taste and touch, abstinence is a species or subset of temperance.
Fasting – his refers to refraining from food for a specific timeframe. The same observations and distinctions apply as for abstinence.
Sobriety – This is the reasonable, moderate use of intoxicating beverages. To be sober indicates a clear mind, rather than one distorted by excessive drink. St. Thomas observes that moderation may need to vary from individual to individual. There are some who do not tolerate alcohol well and may need to refrain entirely. For most, however, drinking in moderation is what is meant by sobriety.
Chastity – This refers to the virtue by which we “chasten” or rebuke concupiscence. We curb or hold it in control based on our state in life.
Virginity – This is the perpetual refraining from the use or pleasures of sexual activity. Sex is a necessary and essential good for the propagation of the human race, and though required for people in general, it is not necessary that everyone engage in it. Those who vow themselves to virginity do so in order to be more wholly devoted to the spiritual life.
Continence – This refers to the general controlling or resisting of lustful desires. It regulates the sexual desires and thereby moderates them.

St. Thomas also notes that certain virtues, though not technically parts of temperance, are aligned with it. These would include virtues such as clemency, meekness, modesty, and studiousness. Clemency and meekness moderate punishment and anger. Modesty observes the “mode” and regulates things such as decorum in clothing, posture, and movement. Studiousness moderates the spiritual appetite for knowledge, permitting it to be neither too weak nor too exclusive in opposition to other goods. It also moderates the tendency toward excessive curiosity, which is the intemperate seeking of knowledge that is not for us to know, is useless, or is the cause of pride.

Finally, St. Thomas notes that the 9^th and 10^th Commandments forbidding us to covet are directed at temperance. This is because coveting is excessively or inappropriately desiring that which is not ours or is not for us to have. The virtue of temperance greatly assists in the battle to refrain from covetousness.

Temperance is rightly numbered among the cardinal virtues. The word “cardinal” is derived from the Latin cardo/cardin, meaning hinge. Many of the other virtues swing upon the hinges of temperance.

Temperance is a beautiful virtue that rejoices in pleasures by moderating their use and preventing our slavery to them. Pleasure is best enjoyed in freedom.

March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

The Cardinal Virtues: Prudence

Last week we considered the seven deadly sins; this week we begin a series on the virtues. Traditionally, there are seven Christian virtues: the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, and the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. There are also seven virtues (some of which are also in the previous list) that are specifically directed against the seven deadly sins. I will begin today with a consideration of the cardinal virtue of prudence.

Prudence is often misunderstood as merely caution or hesitance in taking action. While prudence sometimes dictates caution, and hasty action is seldom prudent, there are times when it is prudent to act quickly. Having a lengthy discussion about the best way to put out a house fire before acting would not be prudent. This is sometimes the case in less obviously urgent matters as well. For example, it would not be prudent to hesitate in stemming the influence of an erroneous teaching that might confuse or scandalize the faithful. Sometimes a carefully planned and gradual response is best, but at other times a quick denunciation of the error is in order. Prudence is the virtue that sees the best way and commands the will to execute that approach.

Let us consider more fully what prudence is by reviewing the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae (II, IIae 47). The following is my meager attempt at a summary. Read St. Thomas directly if you seek further clarification.

St. Thomas states, It belongs to prudence chiefly to direct something to a right end; and this is not done aright unless both the end be good, and the means good and suitable (II, IIae 49.7, respondeo). So prudence is the knowledge of how to act or conduct one’s life rightly, what to avoid or seek in the concrete and particular situations that make up our daily life. While prudence belongs to the intellect—because it so fundamentally guides the will—it also has the quality of a moral virtue. Prudence does not so much determine what is right and what is wrong as it regulates the means to make that assessment. In effect, prudence discovers what is good by taking counsel, judging what is discovered, and then commanding the will to execute what we ought to choose.

Because prudence is a virtue rather than merely an ability, it is oriented to what is good and morally upright. If perchance one were to speak (incorrectly) of prudence that was oriented toward what is sinful or evil, we should instead refer to it properly as craftiness or cunning.

Finally, although prudence can exist as a natural virtue, the Christian tradition usually speaks of it in a way that is also charged by supernatural grace and informed by the Wisdom of God.

Prudence is fundamental enough that we may and ought to speak of it as having parts, which St. Thomas calls quasi-integral parts. This is because none of the parts replaces prudence as a whole or alone describes it; rather, together all the parts make prudence what it is. St. Thomas enumerates eight of these parts in the Summa (II, IIae 49):

Memory – In the context of prudence, this refers to the recollection of what has been discovered, through experience, to be true in the majority of cases.
Understanding – Rather than the kind of understanding we attribute to the intellect’s ability to synthesize or comprehend, in the context of prudence this refers to a kind of grasp or right estimation of situations and what should be done.
Docility – This refers to the ability and willingness to be taught, especially by our elders and those with greater experience. None of us can personally know and experience all possible scenarios and matters for decision. Stubbornly opinionated people are almost never prudent because they are not open to being taught or to considering that their experience and prudential judgment can be assisted and augmented by teaching from others.
Shrewdness – This is the ability to estimate rapidly what is suitable and proper in a given circumstance. While docility looks to considering the experiences of others, shrewdness is an aptitude for acquiring a right estimation of what is to be done. Shrewdness here is not understood in its pejorative sense, wherein it refers to cunning or craftiness, but rather as it refers to the gift of being able to come quickly to a proper estimation of the good.
Reason – In the context of prudence, reason means not so much logical analysis as the right use of our mind, wherein we properly equip it and then use its faculties in a way that is adept yet humble. Because prudence involves accepting counsel and then sizing up a particular situation, it is necessary that one be able to reason well. Prudence belongs to the intellect and so reason both serves and is a part of prudence.
Foresight – This is the ability to see something distant, particularly to envision how future contingencies (or consequences) bear upon what should be done now.
Circumspection – This refers to the ability to compare the proposed course of action in the current situation and consider how other things and people would be affected.
Caution – Falsehood is often found along with truth, and evil is mixed with good; sober care (caution) must be exercised in order to grasp the true and good while avoiding the evil. In addition, prudence requires caution to avoid the potential evil of doing nothing.

Thus we have reflected a bit on prudence, one of the four cardinal virtues. Continue to ask God for a healthy prudence, for frequently we err not in determining what is good but on the best way to accomplish that good. Prudence opens doors and keeps us on course toward that which is truly good. While at times prudence points to bold action, at others it counsels steady perseverance so that we attain the good without setting loose that which is inordinate or evil. Indeed, Lord save us from being “do-gooders” who lack prudence and may thereby set loose more evil than we seek to end!