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MAY 17, 2007 Virtues: Habits for Good

“She lived as though the truth were true;” this is how Dorothy Day was once described by someone who admired the way she put into practice what she taught and believed. Deeply moved by Jesus’ words (Mt 25:40), “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” she fed the hungry and assisted the poor in a heroically loving fashion. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Dorothy developed a perfected ability to place her gifts of journalism, practicality and charity at the service of the least ones of America. Dorothy Day became a woman of virtue. “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, #1803). “It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself… he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.” Virtue builds integrity of life and strength of character. It helps us to live what St. Paul exhorts (Phil 4:8- 9), “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen.” Over the past several months in my column in The Catholic Sun, I have written about the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes, which are vital components of Christian living. To complement these reflections on our moral life as followers of Christ, it seems worthwhile, over the next few months, to look also at the question of virtue, most especially the Theological Virtues and the Cardinal Virtues. Virtues help us to move beyond the knowledge of what is good to a daily practice of doing it. With the help of the Holy Spirit and repeated efforts of our own, we can keep the Commandments and live the Beatitudes. The Christian moral life is about more than the keeping of the Commandments, it is about becoming holy and virtuous as well. Christ seeks not only that we do good, but that we become good. The virtues help us to escape a narrow moral legalism and minimalism which does not transform the mind and heart as Christ desires. Cardinal Virtues Among the various human virtues, the cardinal virtues play a pivotal role in our attitudes and actions. Other human virtues derive from the cardinal virtues, such as loyalty, compassion and hospitality. There are also greater ones, namely the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. The “cardinal” virtues get their name from the Latin word “cardo” that means “hinge.” All other human virtues hinge on these, i.e. they derive from them. Without them, our lives would come unhinged and we would no longer live according to the truth. Human virtues are extolled in various places in the Sacred Scriptures. The Book of Wisdom in the Old Testament speaks of the four cardinal virtues (8:7), “…moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude.” In classical Christian treatises of moral theology, the cardinal virtues are usually listed as follows: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. Not without good reason are they listed in this order with prudence first, for as St. Thomas Aquinas says, “All virtue is necessarily prudent.”

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Living at a time when virtuous living is frequently mocked, it is not surprising that many of our contemporaries misunderstand prudence, thinking of it as a small-minded, timid, overly-cautious attitude. Nothing could be further from the truth; prudence actually guides the other virtues, including fortitude, temperance and justice. We shall look more closely at prudence in the next edition of The Catholic Sun. For now, it is important to recall that to understand any of the virtues correctly we shall need to shed misunderstandings that are widely popular today. Theological Virtues “The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues… They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object… They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as His children and of meriting eternal life” (CCC #1812f). St. Paul frequently talks about the theological virtues in his Epistles in the New Testament. To the Galatians, he writes (5:6), “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” To the Christians of Thessalonica, he writes (1 Thess 5:8), “…let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation.” To the Corinthians, the Apostle writes (1 Cor 13:13), “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Without a doubt there is a close connection between the theological virtues and the cardinal virtues. After all, how could you be a person of strong faith, sincere love and persevering hope if you were foolish, unjust, cowardly and undisciplined? The cardinal virtues are not sufficient in themselves: justice cannot come to perfection without charity, and courage will fail without hope. Even more importantly, only with the grace of God can we do what is right and live with integrity the faith that we profess. There is necessary interconnection between the cardinal and the theological virtues. Overcoming individualism It takes ongoing education and constant effort to live a life of virtue. In an individualistic society like ours, such repeated striving and personal discipline appear to be a waste of time. “What’s in this for me?” many ask. “How will this help me to get ahead of others?” Such questions expose a lack of appreciation of community and a failure to understand the other-centered nature of love. But, for those who have tasted the hollowness of the “me-generation” and know the lack of meaning that results from selfishness, virtuous living becomes a deeply desired goal. It alone can form noble character and ensure reliability in conduct. The virtues are indispensable for moral integrity and joy of life. Over the next few months, we shall consider each of the cardinal virtues and the theological virtues. I hope that this will help us all to understand better the interior principles of human action and to answer more swiftly the Lord’s call to holiness.

For further reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1803-1845 Joseph Pieper, “The Four Cardinal Virtues”

Copyright 2007 The Catholic Sun.