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 ...

We are still on our miniature Advent retreat via these weekly reflections.  The scripture passages for the Second Week of Advent remind us that something great is about to happen.  In Sunday’s readings, we anticipate the Messiah who has been endowed with the great Spirit of God (Is. 11); and we hear John the Baptist exclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2)!  Remember last week’s readings: we are supposed to be preparing for the coming of the kingdom.  This week we are told that the moment has come.  The time is now.  We must be ready! One of the most important themes of this second week is captured by Isaiah, on Tuesday.  The prophet exclaims, “In the desert, prepare the way of the Lord! … Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…” (Is. 40)!  We learn that God wants to reveal His face to us, and He wants to make the spiritual deserts of our lives arid again.  The purpose of Advent, then, is to make our hearts...

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...

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...

The rich Christian tradition provides that there are three expressions of prayer: vocal, meditative, and contemplative.  Among the spiritual masters, it is clear that the last of these is the very highest form of prayer that a person can attain.  Yet, too few people attain the heights of contemplation.  It is natural to wonder why so many miss out, if contemplative prayer is so great; and it is appropriate to venture a solution for the dilemma. When conversations turn to the subject of prayer, common reactions include, "I don't really like to pray because I don't know how" or "I get distracted too easily."  Both objections pose real problems, but neither is sufficient for neglecting to develop a prayer life.  In fact, once a person understands the way that God intends contemplative prayer to proceed, those two objections that were previously obstacles become sources of deeper prayer. The first obstacle, lack of knowing how to pray, is easily surmounted. ...

"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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Last week, a popular news site posted a story entitled "Why this millennial quit his 6-figure job and gave away most of his possessions."   The young man about whom the story was written admitted that his "six-figure salary, impressive [job] title, and big house full of stuffed closets" didn't fulfill his deepest longings.  In fact, he noticed that his obsessive work habits and a vicious cycle of consumerism had destroyed his life and relationships, even his marriage.  Thus, he turned to "minimalism,"which he defines as "a lifestyle dedicated to clearing the clutter in your life and making room for the things that are truly important to you." This fellow is clearly on to something, except it isn't his original idea.  The thing that this young man calls minimalism, the Church has called detachment for centuries; and it's the reality that Jesus called poverty of spirit, which He listed as the first Beatitude (Matthew 5:3).  Indeed, fo...