Notes about the Nature of Things

For those who have read my previous articles, you might recall that here in Italy I began learning to drive for the second time since my American license isn’t recognized by the Italian government. By the grace of God (since there is truly no other possible explanation, given the way the system works), I passed the written or theoretical portion of the exam.

The driving school provided a rather gruff driver and slightly damaged vehicle for us so that our little band of five teenagers and one priest could head together to the office of “The Ministry of Infrastructures and Transportations” for our written test. It was a successful day for the school: the whole of our merry gang passed the test and was now duly authorized to threaten the safety of Italian streets, highways, and intersections. Six more certified learners, all set to wreak havoc on the Italian peninsula.

Assumptions, Assumptions

With the test behind me, I assumed I could just show up to take the practical driving test; however, as often happens, assumptions are proven wrong. Indeed, not only did my passing score condemn me to an hour of driving practice every week, but it also sentenced me to practice with the same gruff driver and in that same slightly damaged vehicle, complete with magnetic signs proclaiming “Driving School,” so as not to speak the more obvious, yet more ominous, reality: “Danger!”

Fortunately, the instructor and I get along just fine: once he realized that I in fact know how to drive, he calmed down and now even seems to enjoy our drives through the country. Indeed, most of the time he chain-smokes or talks on the phone and only indicates where to turn, when to shift gears, and the occasional odd rules that appear to be somewhat official. For instance, in a round-about (or traffic circle), the car should be in second gear. Whether that is a practical notion or a legal requirement, I don’t know; all I know is that I get a very loud and frantic Italian discourse if I attempt to enter the circle in anything but second gear.

The Need for Rules

These rules certainly have some intention behind them, some goal to be accomplished. We could say the same thing of all other rules. For instance, in the United States, alcoholic beverages must have printed on their container the admonition, “Please drink responsibly.” The rule, of course, is a reminder that many things are illegal when you’ve had something to drink.

The rule in Italy, also printed on bottles, is somewhat different: “O bevi o guidi” – “Either you drink or you drive.” Many Italians reply, tongue-in-cheek, “But of course you either drink or drive! It’s hard to do both things at once! If you drink at the same time you drive, you won’t enjoy either one!”

This is certainly not the intention of the rule: it is meant to prevent drunk driving or any number of things that should not be done while intoxicated. The rule doesn’t say that all drinking is bad, nor does it say that all driving is bad. What it does say is that there is a time and a place, a way and a manner of doing things that is correct, and many other ways that are wrong.

The Problem Is Excess

Indeed, when the Catechism talks about the use of alcohol, it sets the discussion in the context of “Respect for the Dignity of Persons.” There, in paragraph 2290, we are told that “the virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and other’s safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.” The problem is with the excess: it could be too much for a person’s body, or too much for what they need to do in the following hours (e.g., a parent who needs to take their children to school or help them with their homework), or too much in a given situation (e.g., if a person drinks too much, they’ll likely fall into some sin).

The issue is not with the thing itself, but rather with how it is used. There needs to be a balance. For instance, here in Italy it is common to find stores that sell ethanol (ethyl alcohol) at 96% or 98% purity for a relatively low cost. When I first saw such a thing, I was slightly scandalized: after all, in my experience in the United States, a beverage at 192 or 196 proof was the domain of a sub-section of college students with whom I would not care to be involved. However, in Italy there is a long tradition of making alcohol beverages at home: limoncello, nocino, mirto (beverages made from lemons, unripe green walnuts, and myrtle berries, respectively). The list goes on, and so pure alcohol is for sale. The alcohol itself is a good thing, or at least indifferent; it’s the use that is made of it that changes.

What is true for alcohol is also true for many other things. Video games, social media, movies, hobbies, and the like are generally good or indifferent in themselves (of course, there are exceptions, like games or movies that are so utterly morally offensive that to play or to watch them is to sin). However, what use do we make of them? Do they consume too much of our time or our attention? Especially when we should be doing or focusing on something else?

The Gift of Marriage

Saint John Paul II reminds us that even our bodies are like this. When Adam is alone with all the animals and plants, the author of Genesis says, “none proved to be a helper suited to the man” (Genesis 2:20). So what does God do? God gives Adam a gift: He gives him Eve. Likewise, we could say that Adam is God’s gift to Eve; they’re meant for each other, as a gift, a helper, a friend. They are suited for each other in a way that no other part of creation is. They say dogs are man’s best friend, but a dog is a far cry from being a suitable partner for a human.

Right after the creation of Eve, the Bible continues with two interesting lines: first, we’re told, “that is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body” (Genesis 2:24). The two of them become one body, or one flesh: the union that comes about when a man and a woman come together is profound and beautiful. It is a moment that transforms the participants and is the gateway through which new lives begin. Just as God, who is completely content and fulfilled in Himself, desired to show His love through the creation of the universe, in a similar way couples show their love through their participation in God’s work of creation.

Second, the Genesis account tells us that “the man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25). It’s not that the body is something bad or wicked. It is not something to be embarrassed about or rejected. Rather, it’s God’s gift to us, the means by which we interact with the world and with each other.

However, just as after sin Adam and Eve covered themselves, in our fallen world, the body is often a source of scandal, temptation, and shame. The body is still a gift; indeed, argues John Paul II, it is such a profound and personal gift that it cannot be given to just anyone. This is why we cover ourselves: to protect the gift that we are.

Human Dignity and Excess

The Catechism text applies here, and in two ways: first, respect for the bodies of others entails respect for the dignity of the person. In today’s world, with the abundance of all sorts of images, videos, and the like, what is destroyed is the dignity of the person. Rather than see a human person as “somebody,” a real, living, loving human being, we come to see them as just “some body”: an object for entertainment or enjoyment.

Second, for Saint Thomas Aquinas, the virtue of chastity falls under the cardinal virtue of temperance, since both concern the right ordering of pleasures, the avoidance of every kind of excess. Again, it’s not that these things are inherently wrong: on the contrary, in the right situation and the right circumstances, they can be good things, even excellent things.

Particularly here, using the right thing in the wrong way, is the wrong thing; the right thing at the wrong time is also the wrong thing. The right thing is the right thing only if it’s at the right time and in the right way.

A gift ceases to be so special if it’s given to multiple people, or if it’s given to just everyone. On the contrary, a gift is the most special when it is given to someone who appreciates it, who cherishes it, and who makes a similar gift in return, without reservations and without holding back. This is the nature of a gift, and the nature of so many things God has given us.