The Life of Virtue

As I was praying earlier this week, God led me to reflect on the difference between great expectations and great faithfulness.  More specifically, God led me to pray about the discrepancies between my expectations and His, between my faithfulness and His. I set high expectations for myself and, in general, I am faithful to the commitments that I make.  Yet, I have been reminded many times, in many ways, by many people, that I should not measure my expectations by my own thoughts and feelings.  I should let God's expectations be the measure of the commitments I make and the actions I take. God is always faithful to helping His people meet His expectations.  He knows that we are weak and frail, and that we expect a lot from ourselves.  During these last weeks of Lent (and beyond), it is good for us to spend time pondering what God expects of us, and reminding ourselves that He is far more faithful than we are.  Let's transform our expectations and our ...

The scriptures tell us that the Lord is "rich in mercy" (Eph. 2:4).  This is quite true, simply because of who God is.  Still, it is possible to thwart God from extending as much mercy as He desires.  That is why Lent makes and excellent opportunity to begin, or to redouble, efforts to turn and transform.  Without a doubt, God will lavish His mercy upon us for forty days and beyond if we try to turn our hearts, minds, and voices toward Him. The Mass readings for the Third Week of Lent make this point abundantly clear.  From the moment of the Collect for Sunday Mass , anyone who listens or reads learns quickly that we must assume a posture of lowliness and humility in order for the Lord to lift us up.  Yet, because of our sinfulness, we continually refuse to assume such attitudes, and thus we cut ourselves off from mercy. There are several readings throughout the week in which we glimpse poor examples of hearts, minds, and voices turned toward the Lord. ...

In the second reading for the Second Sunday of Lent , the faithful are presented with a passage from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians.  Not long after the beginning of that passage, we hear that many people in the world "conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18).  Throughout the lectionary readings for the remainder of the week, the characteristics of such enemies are laid out quite clearly.  It is no coincidence, though, that the sure and steadfast mercy of God is presented right alongside the traits of enemies.  The Lord and His Church are intent on revealing the fact that mercy is available to all.  Otherwise, our end would be destruction (cf. Phil. 3:19). Throughout the week, the Gospel passages present Jesus' undeniable statements about whom He considers enemies of the Cross, enemies of mercy.  In Matthew 23 , we read and hear that the enemies are those who take a Pharisaical approach to religion, the ones who "tie up hea...

The Collect for today's Mass, Monday during the First Week of Lent, asks God: "instruct our minds by heavenly teaching, that we may benefit from the works of Lent."  What, we may ask, are the works of Lent that can benefit us so greatly?  It is no coincidence that the Church provides the answer specifically through the lectionary readings for this week.  From Sunday through Saturday, there are six identifiable works by which we can be converted and grow in holiness during this noble season. The first is found in the second reading from yesterday's Mass (the First Sunday of Lent).  St. Paul writes to the ancient Roman Church, and to us, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  The very first work of Lent is an act of faith, which includes inward belief and outward expression.  During some particularly difficult years, this is the only work that I have been able to c...

Somewhere just beyond the middle (section 17, to be exact) of Misericordiae Vultus , the Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis recommends that it is appropriate to meditate on the pages of Sacred Scripture during Lent in order to "help us rediscover the merciful face of the Father."  It seems very appropriate to dive deeply into God's mercy during this season of mercy.  This is the first article in a series of reflections on God's mercy as revealed on the Sacred Page, specifically in the lectionary readings during Lent. The first days of Lent, before the first Sunday, provide clear signposts to the three-fold path by which disciples of the Lord can receive God's mercy, and by which they can be a part of extending His mercy to others.  Look no further than the Gospel passage selected for Ash Wednesday.  During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches His listeners how to take up fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (the three pillars of tradition...

Is there any other time in our lives when six weeks feels like, well, six weeks?  I am in conversations regularly with people who speak about how time passes so quickly.  School years and basketball seasons seem to come and go in the blink of an eye, and we wonder where the time went.  Yet, just over halfway into this blessed liturgical season, Lent seems to be moving at the pace of molasses pouring from a jar.  Perhaps I am not alone in my question: do we really have three more weeks to go? Lent seems so long for two reasons.  The first is completely objective: Lent is, in fact, the longest season of denial and suffering during the Church's year.  No other season requires sustained fasting from worldly pleasures like Lent.  Lent is not for spiritual whimps, like me.  It is for spiritual warriors who are willing to fight to express their devotion to God The second reason follows directly from the first.  I am, in large part, unwilling ...

The post headings have skipped from day six to day eight.  Yep, I missed day seven because there was just too much to think about at home, including preparation for a year-long adult faith formation seminar that I'm teaching.  Rather than refuse more time with the family (which happens more than it should), I forsook the daily Lenten blog post.  Interestingly enough, that provides a perfect segue into my reflection on today's virtue. The virtue of justice, says the wisdom of the Catholic Church, "consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor."  Justice is about stewarding the resources that God has bestowed (whether meager or in abundance) in the right way, at the right time, to the right person, so that right relationship will be maintained.  Those resources, whether time, dollars, children, the environment, or human bodies, are not ours.  It is, however, our responsibility to use them for the betterment of humanity.  ...

Each and every day requires decisions from every human person.  In fact, each and every moment of every day requires decisions.  For example, my entire day has consisted in making decisions that have delayed this blog post until almost bedtime.  It is this daily series of decisions, however, by which priorities are revealed.  If a another person were to watch me for a few days in a row, they would probably come to the conclusion that my priorities are coffee, food, creating new piles of books and paper that form a maze through my office and house, and so on. The virtue of prudence assists us with governing life according to priorities.  Prudence is "the charioteer of the virtues," as St. Thomas Aquinas called it.  Cultivating prudence allows us to know and choose the good that ought to be achieved, and to avoid the evil actions and circumstances that prevent said achievement.  ( See paragraph 1806 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for a m...

Life hands us lemons.  If it's not one thing, it's another.  These are but two common phrases among many others that express one's frustrations with the circumstances of life.  There is no doubt that everyone who is typing and reading this post has experienced such frustration, maybe even today.  We must never forget, however, that our Lord has given these circumstances to us in order to bring us to perfection in holiness.  The virtue of gratitude allows us to receive those difficulties as gifts, even if they aren't pleasurable. Gratitude causes us to give thanks to God Almighty while He grants conditions that help us to work out our salvation.  As in all virtues, Jesus Christ is the perfect exemplar.  We receive audible verification of this fact when we hear the priest say during the Eucharistic prayer at Mass, "At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion, he took bread and, giving thanks , broke it, and gave it to his discipl...

The word "religion" is often used in reference to a set of beliefs and worship practices that makes up one part of a broader culture.  At least that's how it's come to be used in the modern world, and it is often used in pejorative sense.  Yet, until the modern age, religion (read "the cult") has been the central and pervading element of culture.  Religion is so integral to culture, not because it is simply a set of beliefs and worship practices that a human being attaches to who she is, but because it is a virtue that allows her to express her full created glory. The virtue of religion is the first virtue related to the cardinal virtue of justice.  Religion is the virtue by which a person is disposed to give to God what is due to His Holy Name.  Thus, the person may remain in right relationship with God.  God is the Creator of humanity and, as such, deserves worship, praise, and happy obedience of lifestyle because of His gift to us.  The good news ...

There is a pattern developing.  The first days of Lent have inspired posts on virtues that are taboo in the culture around us, even in some Catholic circles.  This time, it's humility. While teaching a class of high school freshmen about the virtues, I mentioned that humility is a great good, a virtue that Catholics and Christians must cultivate.  A young man inquired as to how I could make such a claim because humility is shunned in most settings of our lives: education, climbing the corporate ladder, sports, and so on.  Because our culture equates humility with humiliation, it is obvious why it is avoided at any cost.  We must move beyond such a gross misunderstanding and examine the real nature of this foundational virtue. Let us simply look at Christ to gain clarity about humility.  Our Lord says, "learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart" (Matthew 11:29, NAB).  Christ certainly was never humiliated.  Rather he always laid down his...

The ensuing post has been inspired by the first half of Pope Francis's Lenten Message , which focuses on Christ's poverty.  I know: the first two days of these Lenten reflections are dealing with the virtues that are no fun...no fun at all.  Yet, if our goal during Lent is to be more like Christ, we must come to understand what it means to fast and become poor like Him. Poverty is the virtue by which  material possessions and selfish pride are cleared away so that Christ can enter any situation, and so that we can be brought to salvation by His grace.  The Holy Father remarks that "there is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ."  Our Heavenly Father never fails to meet any of our needs, including material needs, if we are willing to relinquish control to Him.  Further, without attachment to created goods and our own egos, human beings are much freer to enter into deep and meaningful relationships,...

You already know that today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Beginning today, Christians (and maybe even some seekers of no particular faith) will excise from their lives one or multiple things that they think keep them from growing in intimacy with God; and some may go so far as to add a practice or two that they think will facilitate such intimacy with the Divine.  Over the past few days, I have been thinking about how I might grow closer to God during this Lenten season.  I even wondered if my own process of growth during these forty days might benefit others in some way.  The reader and I must remember, however, that I may not be any further down the path to holiness than she is. Here's how my thought process proceeds.  “The goal of a virtuous life,” said St. Gregory of Nyssa, “is to become like God.”  I need to be more like God, deeper in relationship with Him, so I should cultivate virtue.  Forty days of focusing on specific virtue...