The Life of Virtue

A young, indie-pop band called Ocean Park Standoff has recently released a hit single entitled “Good News.”  With catchy beats and lyrics, the song draws in its listeners from the opening notes.  Still, there is a greater value to this song than its potential to climb music charts. About the motivation for writing the song, one of the band members remarks, "It was about our daily lives and breakups and work issues and the fact that everything coming at us from the outside world was like, 'It's only getting worse!' because that's what sells."  Indeed, the human heart cries out for good news in the midst of the mundane and in the midst of suffering.  The answer, however, does not lie in what we can do for ourselves, in the power or positive thinking.  This song should remind all of us that we need more than that.  This song is a cry for a deeper relationship with the Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Many of the lyrics point the listener in ...

Advent is a great time for a retreat.  Many folks, however, aren’t able to steal away for three whole days at a time.  So these four weekly reflections, made available on each Sunday of Advent, are meant to be a miniature retreat for readers.  This four-part retreat (yes, even on paper or on the screen) is intended to help readers awaken, or reawaken, faith in Jesus Christ.  In the midst of this “Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” it is right to stop for a few moments and remember exactly why we have a reason for Wonder. The readings for the first Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year may seem odd to some.  Isn’t Advent supposed to lead to Christmas, the season when we worship the baby in the manger scene?  Why, then, do we hear admonitions against “the works of darkness,” and Jesus speaking to His disciples of the last days?  This is supposed to be a season filled with joy and hope and visions of sugar plums and all that, right? The simpl...

When we look around at the world, the culture, and human beings, there is little room for doubt that something needs to be fixed.  Our daily experience proves to us that relationships and the rhythm of life are fractured and broken.  Yet, we fool ourselves if we think that we can create the solution to the problem.  More efficient and effective legal justice, along with more technichal and governmental oversight, will probably only serve to illuminate more and deeper troubles. Something else is needed to save individuals, social groups, and the collective culture from its clear and present woes.  And, that something must come from outside of the same individuals, groups, and culture.  That something must come from the Divine Source of all created life.  That something is mercy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides a simple definition of mercy: "the loving kindness, compassion, or forbearance shown to one who offends" (Glossary of the 2nd Editi...

"For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator."  So states the fifth verse of the thirteenth chapter of the book of Wisdom in the Old Testament.  The author of this sentence, and the sentences that precede it in the chapter, wants to remind his audience that the grandeur of natural creation is supposed to elicit thoughts and awareness of the One who has created.  That grandeur, however, ought not to be deified.  How much better is the Lord, he exclaims, "the author of beauty" ( Wisdom 13:3 )! Blowing Rock, NC Photo Credit: Wife Family and I were blessed to experience this for ourselves during the past weekend.  We took a day-long pilgrimage to a nearby mountain range to gaze upon ancient and rugged peaks, see autumn foliage that is perhaps unparalleled on earth, and share each other's company.  There is no doubt in my mind that we were successful on all three accounts.  And, there is ...

As I've been reading, teaching, and praying over the past few days, a basic theme of God's revelation has come into my consciousness again and again.  This significant part of God's plan for humanity has always been true, it has never been negated, and I can recite it as a truth in the same way that I might recite multiplication tables.  I am quite sure, however, that God has brought this reality into my line of sight more frequently recently because He knows that I have yet to perfect it as He intends for me.  The simple truth is that love of God is inseparable from love of neighbor.  Neither of these is attained fully without the other. It is always true that love of God leads directly to love of neighbor; it leads in no other direction.  Two passages of Sacred Scripture have reiterated this to me in recent days.  The first of these is from the book of Deuteronomy.  As the Israelites wander in the desert, nearing the end of their forty-year communa...

I have recently been blessed to experience beautiful weather along with magnificent sunrises and sunset.  Such moments of aesthetic appeal call to my mind other instances of natural beauty that I have been blessed to see.  I am reminded of a return flight from Australia during which I viewed the most captivating burnt orange aura encircling the earth as the sun set over the earth's horizon.  I also recall many late summer evenings when everything around seemed to radiate in an extraordinary way.  The sunrise that I witnessed this morning was no different.  In every case, these glimpses of beauty have brought me to ponder God more deeply. Romano Guardini is the author of a book whose final pages capture this reality as well.   The Living God concludes with a reflection on the "gentle and powerful beauty [that] reigns over all."  This is the reason that natural events (sunrises, sunsets, schools of fish swimming, etc.) and natural forms (mountain...

In recent weeks, I have been conversing with young adults who are wrapping up their semester studies.  Despite the various institutions they attend and the various majors they have chosen, one common theme has shone itself through these conversations.  In the weeks leading up to final projects and exams, these students are quite tense and full of stress as they realize that they may not have learned all the necessary material in order to pass the test(s) and course(s).  They begin to wonder if they have procrastinated a bit longer than they should have, which elicits extra anxiety.  One young man even said to me, "I've learned how to re-learn an entire semester's material in a single afternoon so that I can pass the exam."  As I listen to these young people talk, I recall my own studies.  I freely admit that I did plenty of procrastinating and last-minute cramming during my college career.  Therefore, I know that procrastination and last-minute crammin...

The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Easter presents Jesus as a shepherd whose voice is recognized by His sheep.  During the ensuing days, Monday and Tuesday , the Church has read and heard subsequent passages from that tenth chapter of John's gospel.  By these Scriptures, and by the readings from Acts of the Apostles and the Psalms, Christians gain a deeper understanding of the purpose and the dynamics of the Shepherd-sheep relationship.  These three days of liturgical proclamation help one to realize that she must listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, which echoes in the voice of the Church, for guidance toward her appointed end. Early in John 10, Jesus portrays Himself as the one true voice among the voices of strangers that sheep do not recognize.  Just a few verses later, the Lord announces that He is the source of salvation and abundant life in peaceful pastures.   His role as the supreme and divine pastor stands in stark contras...

Human beings are unions of body and soul.  As such, the spiritual portion of a person can be affected by the material portion, and vice versa.  There are many realities in this world that cause damage to persons' bodies and souls.  Reckless anger, over-eating and over-drinking, unchaste sexual activity, violent media, and spiritual laziness all make the list, but they certainly do not exhaust it.  Any of these actions, whether primarily "of the spirit" (i.e., the intellect or memory) or "of the flesh" can adversely affect a person's body and soul.  The natural and passionate desires that humans have must be mitigated if we are to live robust and joyful lives. This is why temperance is a great good for humanity.  Temperance is the virtue that assists a person in maintaining moderation and balance in the use and consumption of created goods; and it helps to keep in check the first instincts of our appetites and desires (see CCC 1809 ).  By temperance...