The Life of Virtue

[The following is an article that was written by my wife for her school's quarterly newsletter. I think she's done a fabulous job of piercing through the many layers of our faith, and that she's presented some great insights for prayer. I know, I'm biased!] From the week of Thanksgiving until Christmas, I tend to become absorbed in the trends of our modern culture. I get caught up in the excitement of finding the best deals on gifts, thinking of goodies I would like to have, and so on. As Christmas draws nearer, I begin to realize that I have spent lots of time and attention providing for my own desires, and not enough time preparing my soul for the coming of Christ. For example, I recently noticed that I was thinking about clothes while I was supposed to be focused on the Prayers of the Faithful during Mass! So I must ask myself, “If the Second Coming were to take place on Black Friday, would Jesus find me to be a truly righteous person whom He would gladly...

St. John of the Cross is not often though of as "a practical, thorough and safe spiritual guide." [1] However, one biographer says so and this author agrees. The reality is that people of all ages and vocations have the ability to grow into union with God through this saint's direction. Specifically, it is the virtue of humility, the centerpiece of St. John's mysticism, that makes him an able director for any person who seeks to climb God's Holy Mountain. According to the saint, a person must be free from all attachments, naked in spirit (cf. Mt. 5:3), before he or she can reach intimate union with God. A single poem by St. John captures this radical teaching, often called the "nada" doctrine. To reach satisfaction in all, desire its possession in nothing. To come to the knowledge of all, desire the knowledge of nothing. To come to possess all, desire the possession of nothing. To arrive at being all, desire to be nothing. To come to ...

Yesterday was a great day! I spent the day teaching "The Virtues" to freshmen at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School. Throughout the day, I was filled with God's grace and the zeal of the Holy Spirit because I know that such a topic is vitally important. The virtues are the foundation of our moral life in Christ. Without these holy habits, we are unable to bear fruit in our own lives. Further, exhibiting virtue is the best way to evangelize and win people for Christ, for Truth! Because of the true statements above, teenagers, as well as those who teach youth, need to hear this message. It is essential to their growth in holiness, and to our ability to reclaim control of a deteriorating secular culture. Developing, or redeveloping, a sense of virtue will place individuals and our culture back on the path to true moral freedom. If any of you are interested in hearing more about this message, or bringing it to a specific group of people, please don't hesitate to...

Earlier this week, I received this email from a young lady in my youth ministry: Derek, I was flipping through my Bible for the first time in a while today and I choose to read a random passage. My random choice landed on Ezekiel 7. I read the whole chapter and was horrified after I finished. Does this passage really mean what is says or does it have a symbolic purpose? The following is the best answer that I could muster. I welcome any other input. You’re right! The seventh chapter of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel is scary, but only if we fail to examine it within its correct context. In fact, the fear that arises in us is put to rest by the final chapters of the book and by the rest of Sacred Scripture. To begin, let’s accept that being “horrified,” in this case, may have been a good thing. No sane person wishes for herself, her friends, or her enemies, to experience the fate of Israel in Ezekiel 7 . Being “horrified” means that a person knows good things from bad things and that s...

The St. John Lateran Basilica has been dedicated to Our Lord's honor and memory for 1685 years. It is, without a doubt, one of the oldest legal Christian worship structures in the Western world. Further, it is among the most revered by the faithful because it is the arch-basilica of the Latin Rite Catholic Church; it is the Holy Father's cathedral for his post as Bishop of Rome. Each year on November 9, the Latin Rite Church celebrates the dedication of this cathedral with its own liturgical feast. In the liturgy of the day, faithful Catholics receive a fuller understanding of the Church as a living, breathing organism; a body that is life-giving rather than simply and institution marked by brick and mortar. Scripture readings are combined with prayers in order to produce an image of the New Jerusalem, the City of God, being built of "living stones" (i.e., "chosen people"). It is a powerful experience, for several reasons, to approach and enter this basilic...

Last night, the citizens of the state of Maine repealed a state law that would have allowed homosexual couples to "get married" within that state. News reports have popped up across the media throughout the morning, and they can be found on any news website (Associated Press report available here ; other reports here and here ). Common pieces of information will be available from nearly every source, but it is also important to recognize that correcting misconceptions will be necessary. This article is specifically meant to examine this scenario from a new viewpoint: the Catholic perspective. The first misnomer that must be corrected is the idea that marriage is an "institution." Marriage, according to Catholic teaching, is a covenant, which is much different than an institution. An institution is a thing that is erected for some particular end. A university is an institution erected for the "end" of educating students and granting academic diplomas...

Yesterday marked the Solemnity of All Saints, the celebration during the liturgical year that points the Church Militant toward the example of the Church Triumphant. Yes, the holy men and women of ages past are held up as models for those of us who are still here on earth and working out our own salvation "with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). Yet, the value of the solemnity is not only in examining the faithful witness provided by generations past, because the liturgical celebration itself bears lessons and brings clarity to our lives. In a special way, the lectionary readings for this solemnity paint a very clear picture of the path toward Eternity as well as a foreshadowing of our eternal destiny. Let us begin, then, with the Responsorial Psalm, which recognizes that humanity is seeking a fulfilling reward; is seeking to "ascend the mountain of the Lord;" continually "seeks the face of the God of Jacob" (Ps. 3-6). Every human soul is created with ...