Lately, the daily news is full of images of burning and looting in our cities. Prior to that, it was becoming difficult to express our thoughts on anything controversial (and it seems like everything is controversial) because it opens us up to vile name-calling and sometimes threats. Sometimes the destruction in our cities seems like an extension of how we have been treating each other.
There is a remedy for all of this. Become a virtuous person.
We want to grow in virtue because the more I grow in virtue the more I’m going to grow in my ability to love. -Dr. Edward Sri
These words were spoken in Session 4 of the Beloved marriage videos, The Total Gift of Self. Elsewhere in the video, Sri states, “Because to the extent I’m lacking in virtue, to that extent I’m not really free to love my spouse.”
Those words, of course, apply to all relationships. You could delete his last two words and just as truly say “Because to the extent I’m lacking in virtue, to that extent I’m not really free to love.” It seems especially relevant to consider this in our divided world. What we see in the looting and burning going on around us, and in our divisiveness, is definitely not love.
First, let me take a minute to define “love.” Thomas Aquinas defined it as willing the good of the other. Love is not an emotion; rather, it is an act of the will. In other words, it is possible for us all to love.
Next, it is important to understand Edward Sri’s use of the word “virtue”. Like love, people use the word virtue in a variety of ways. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1803) defines it this way:
A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts but to give the best of himself.
This is what Dr. Sri is talking about. Understand that virtue is not just a lack of doing what is evil. To refrain from looting, burning, and name-calling does not make us virtuous. The CCC (1804) says “The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good.”
Virtue helps us to serve God and live with Him one day in heaven. In addition, it can also improve our lives here on earth. In the Luke E. Hart series on Catholic Christianity, Peter Kreeft puts it this way:
Personal virtue is the key to improving the world, finding happiness, and helping other people to be good and happy too; yet
the ultimate end of virtue is even greater than these great goals:“‘the goal of a virtuous life is to become like God'”. (CCC 1803)
How, then, do we grow in virtue? First, you need to understand what gets in the way in your relationship with God or others. To do that, it can be helpful to think about virtue in categories.
The cardinal virtues are foundational virtues. According to the Catechism (1804), they are “acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love.” The four cardinal virtues are temperance, fortitude, justice, and prudence.
Temperance helps us to master our instincts. We are not designed to live like animals. We can and should govern our instincts and fears and our desires for pleasure. For example, food and drink are good, but neither is good in excess. Sobriety and chastity are two virtues that fall into this category. If you are reading this and thinking about moderation and balance, you are on the right track.
Fortitude is often called courage. In Seeking First the Kingdom, Father John Bartunek says:
If we learn to govern the fear that pain and suffering inspire, so that this never impedes us from doing what is right and necessary according to God’s purpose for our lives, we develop the cardinal virtue of fortitude or courage, whose sister values include patience and perseverance.
In other words, fortitude helps us to do what is right no matter how scary or unpleasant it might be. For example, martyrs display fortitude.
Justice is the will to treat God and all people with the dignity they deserve. In other words, it gives to each what is due. Certain qualities help us to achieve justice. Examples of these are piety, honesty, and obedience. The Catechism (1807) reminds us that “The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor.”
The virtue of prudence pertains to discerning proper actions. Father John Hardin, in Modern Catholic Dictionary, says prudence “is the intellectual virtue whereby a human being recognizes in any matter at hand what is good and what is evil.” In other words, it helps us do what is right and avoid what is wrong.
In addition, prudence is the virtue that directs all other virtues. Dr. Sri tells us it is “well-ordered reason applied to action so that we not only know the right thing to do but also how and when to do it.”
Theological virtues relate directly to God. CCC 1813 says:
They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life.
These theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity. With faith, we believe in God and all He has revealed to us. With hope, we recognize that God is our fulfillment. We trust in the promises of God and desire His kingdom and eternal life with Him. Peter Kreeft tells us:
Hope is the strongest source of fortitude. If you trust God’s promises of the incomparable happiness of Heaven, you can give up
any earthly good or endure any earthly deprivation for that.
Through charity “we love God above all things for his own sake and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (CCC 1822). People equate charity with love, and it is, but you would be wrong to think of it as just an emotion. Remember Jesus commanded us to love even our enemies. In other words, the virtue of charity is an act of will. Like the other theological virtues, it is a gift from God, but we must choose to accept these gifts.
I once spoke to a priest about the virtue I feel I am most lacking in. He advised me to practice it.
He was right. Like anything we want to be good at, the way to grow in virtue is repetition. However, you don’t need to tackle all of the virtues at once. Instead, discern your weaknesses and break it down into small steps. For example, do you tend to be selfish? Start by seeking out the needs and desires of a loved one. Are you critical of others? Actively seek out the good in people.
Fortunately, virtues tend to work together. Growth in one leads to growth in another.
As we become more virtuous, doing the right thing becomes second nature as virtue frees us to truly love. In short, virtue is the remedy for our times and all times.
