The Life of Virtue

Chapter 17 of Acts of the Apostles refers to the men "who have turned the world upside down..." (v. 6).  Upon reviewing the details of this chapter, a reader is able to understand some of the most important and enduring characteristics of men who turn the world on its head.  Examining the details of the chapter and the characteristics of such a man brings the reader to one simple conclusion.  The man who turns the world upside down is none other than the man of virtue. In order to create shift of focus and momentum, it is first necessary to know the current direction of focus and momentum.  Acts 17 reveals this point when it notes that St. Paul met with Jews, Epicureans, and Stoics in first-century Athens.  The Apostle was familiar with the variant ideas of his day, and he was able to speak to each of them in some detail.  Because of his extraordinary erudition, Paul managed to win converts from among the Jews and Gentiles in that community.  Yet, h...

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  This celebration commemorates the day when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was dedicated in the Temple at Jerusalem according to the Law of Moses.  On the fortieth day after birth, each first-born Jewish male was presented for service to the Lord.  It makes sense that Jesus was presented and consecrated in this way since He was both the first-born of Mary and the Eternal Son of God.  This moment  enables the Temple to become Jesus' natural and comfortable habitat, and it  marks the first step in allowing the Him to increase "in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Rembrandt, Simeon's Song of Praise (1631) Although we are not still bound by the Law of Moses, it is good and right for Christian parents to follow the same process for our children and our families.  If parents desire that the place of worship, the Church, becomes a natural and...

Several great spiritual masters (including St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis de Sales) direct disciples of Jesus to begin their daily prayer exercises with adoration of God.  This direction is simple enough to obey and implement after a certain amount of practice.  It seems, however, that disciples easily forget to adore the Lord once a set of difficult circumstances arises, or if they simply do not feel like following the instruction on any given day. This has been the case in my life during recent days.  Extended travel, fatigue, and rowdy, ornery children have unsettled the usual routine.  On my own first assessment, adoration seems quite impossible.  So does joy, which is supposed to be a wonderful fruit of a robust spiritual life.  In the eyes of a witness, the demeanor that I carry during such periods very well might seem contradictory to the adoration and joy to which I call others through my work and writing.  That's right, ministers and...

Yesterday, I encountered a few situations that have caused me to think about the place of patience in family life.  As I pondered over the ensuing twenty-four hours, I have come to understand that two other things are also integral to family life.  Interestingly enough, they both start with the letter 'p': perseverance and penance.  Yes, brothers and sisters, family life is made wholesome, peaceful, and joyful by the virtues of patience and perseverance, and by frequent participation in the Sacrament of Penance. Let us begin with patience, which is a foundational virtue for anyone who desires to grow in holiness, and especially for families.  Patience is the great antidote to the sorrows that would enter our lives.  Daily experience shows us that we do not always live up to expectations, our own or others'.  There are two possible reactions when we recognize that we've stumbled and fallen short of our goal and/or potential.  On one hand, we might ...

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 ...

I found myself deeply identifying with the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, from Sunday's Gospel reading .  Too often, I have been wooed by the concerns and frustrations of this world.  Constantly I am tempted to enter the modern-day "Jericho" of pride, envy, greed, anger, or lust. The solution?  To call out as Bartimaeus did, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me" (Mk. 10:48, RSV)!  I must recognize that I am powerless against the forces of this world that cause spiritual blindness in me.  I must remember that He is the source of my existence, and cause of my flourishing.  Without His mercy and blessings, I would certainly find myself in a constant cycle of sin, devolving to spiritual destruction. Alas, that doesn't have to be.  Like Bartimaeus, I have the opportunity to throw off the mantle of sinful oppression that the enemy would have me wear (cf. Mk. 10:50).  Instead of being weighed down and hindered by those deadly sins, I can have the free...