The best defence is attack! If you focus on growing in holiness, you will leave behind sin and vice in the process. Just like getting rid of a demon and not replacing it, seven more will come! Mat 12:42-45. It is too hard to just deal with getting rid of the vices the whole time. It is better to grow in virtue and there won’t be any room for the vices! You’ll be too busy!
"The queen of the South will arise at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. Then he says, `I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation." [Matt 12:42-45]
Conversion - turning from sin, breaking with world, crucifying flesh turning to Christ.
Redemption: Being set free from sin, death and Satan for eternal life, fullness of life in Christ.
A NEW CREATION
God’s aim - to shape us by work of Spirit within into image of Jesus, his Son.
To form within us godly qualities through imitating Jesus - taking up his heart attitudes. Putting on the mind of Christ and Modelling ourselves on Jesus and not on the world.
Rom 12:1-2
To become a new creation. Created in image and likeness of God Old Self -> disharmony, disfigurement, no longer like God yet, inherent goodness in our heart. Deeply wounded by Old Self - our mind, will, imagination, memory, senses all affected and don’t function as they were intended. Need to be fully redeemed, mended, repaired, and recreated.
God is about a rebuilding process. As this happens we become more like Jesus who is perfect image of God. God forms his character in us!! Eph 4:23-24.
THE WAY TO GROW
Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ.<22> Catechesis for the "newness of life"<23> in him should be:
- a catechesis of the Holy Spirit, the interior Master of life according to Christ, a gentle guest and friend who inspires, guides, corrects and strengthens this life;
- a catechesis of grace, for it is by grace that we are saved and again it is by grace that our works can bear fruit for eternal life;
- a catechesis of the beatitudes, for the way of Christ is summed up in the beatitudes, the only path that leads to the eternal beatitude for which the human heart longs;
- a catechesis of sin and forgiveness, for unless man acknowledges that he is a sinner he cannot know the truth about himself, which is a condition for acting justly; and without the offer of forgiveness he would not be able to bear this truth;
- a catechesis of the human virtues which causes one to grasp the beauty and attraction of right dispositions towards goodness;
- a catechesis of the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity, generously inspired by the example of the saints;
- a catechesis of the twofold commandment of charity set forth in the Decalogue;
- an ecclesial catechesis, for it is through the manifold exchanges of " spiritual goods" in the "communion of saints" that Christian life can grow, develop and be communicated. (CCC 1697)
"The first and last point of reference of this catechesis will always be Jesus Christ himself, who is "the way, and the truth, and the life." It is by looking to him in faith that Christ's faithful can hope that he himself fulfils his promises in them, and that, by loving him with the same love with which he has loved them, they may perform works in keeping with their dignity:
I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head, and that you are one of his members. He belongs to you as the head belongs to its members; all that is his is yours: his spirit, his heart, his body and soul and all his faculties. You must make use of all these as of your own, to serve, praise, love and glorify God. You belong to him, as members belong to their head. And so he longs for you to use all that is in you, as if it were his own, for the service and glory of the Father.
For to me, to live is Christ." (CCC 1698)
"The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptised sanctifying grace, the grace of justification :
- enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him and to love him through the theological virtues ;
- giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit ;
- allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues" (CCC 1266).
THE VIRTUES
Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good.
"Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
A virtue is an 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. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.
The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God." (CCC 1803).
I. THE HUMAN VIRTUES
Human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery and joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good. (CCC 1804)
The moral virtues 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 cardinal virtues
"Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labours are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice and courage." These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture." (CCC 1805)
"Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; "the prudent man looks where he is going."<65> "Keep sane and sober for your prayers."<66> Prudence is "right reason in action," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle.<67> It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum [the charioteer of the virtues]; it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgement of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgement. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid." (CCC 1806)
"Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbour. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbour. "You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbour." "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." (CCC 1807)
"Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defence of a just cause. "The LORD is my strength and my song." "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (CCC 1808)
"Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honourable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good, and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart." Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites." In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world.
To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence)." (CCC 1809).
The virtues and grace
"Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace. With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them." (CCC 1810)
"It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance. Christ's gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues. Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil." (CCC 1811).
II. THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES
"The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature:<76> for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive and object." (CCC 1812)
"The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. 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. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity." (CCC 1813).
- FAITH
"Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God."<78> For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work[s] through charity."" (CCC 1814)
"The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it.<80> But "faith apart from works is dead":<81> when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body." (CCC 1815)
"The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it and spread it: "All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks."<82> Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: "So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." (CCC 1816).
- HOPE
"Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." "The Holy Spirit... he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life." (CCC 1817)
"The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity." (CCC 1818)
"Christian hope takes up and fulfils the hope of the chosen people which has its origin and model in the hope of Abraham, who was blessed abundantly by the promises of God fulfilled in Isaac, and who was purified by the test of the sacrifice. "Hoping against hope, he believed, and thus became the father of many nations." (CCC 1819)
"Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes. The beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the "hope that does not disappoint." Hope is the "sure and steadfast anchor of the soul... that enters... where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf." Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation: "Let us... put on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." It affords us joy even under trial: "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation." Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire." (CCC 1820)
"We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved." She longs to be united with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven:
Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end." (CCC 1821).
- CHARITY
"Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God." (CCC 1822)
"Jesus makes charity the new commandment. By loving his own "to the end," he makes manifest the Father's love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love." And again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (CCC 1823)
"Fruit of the Spirit and fullness of the Law, charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ: "Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love." (CCC 1824)
"Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies." The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbour of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.
The Apostle Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: "charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (CCC 1825)
"If I... have not charity," says the Apostle, "I am nothing." Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I... have not charity, I gain nothing."<103> Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity ." (CCC 1826)
"The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything together in perfect harmony";<105> it is the form of the virtues ; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love." (CCC 1827)
"The practice of the moral life animated by charity gives to the Christian the spiritual freedom of the children of God. He no longer stands before God as a slave, in servile fear, or as a mercenary looking for wages, but as a son responding to the love of him who "first loved us":
If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages,... we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands... we are in the position of children. (St. Basil, Reg. fus. tract., prol. 3: PG 31, 896 B.) (CCC 1828)
"The fruits of charity are joy, peace and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion:
Love is itself the fulfilment of all our works. There is the goal; that it is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest. (St. Augustine, In ep. Jo. 10, 4: PL 35, 2057.) (CCC 1829).
III. THE GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
"The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. (CCC 1830)
"The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.
Let your good spirit lead me on a level path. (Ps 143:10)
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God... If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. (Rom 8:14, 17.)" (CCC 1831)
"The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity." (Gal 5:22-23 (VULG.).)" (CCC 1832) .
THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT - RECOGNISING GROWTH
Growing in the fruits of the Spirit
Gal 5 - fruits of Spirit are attitudes of the heart, qualities of a person, habits of the heart that are evident for all to see. Set in likeness of Jesus. (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, self-control.)
Fruit of God’s action in the heart!
“ Sound tree cannot bear bad fruit nor a rotten tree bear good fruit.”
When the heart is truly centred on Jesus and upon his kingdom, when it is truly surrendered to the Lord and yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit, then these fruits begin to emerge.
FINAL REMARKS
Don’t develop by our efforts to force it to happen in a natural way (ordered vs grunting )
There is a certain ease! Yet we have to cooperate and make an effort.
Can’t just happen by a good character development program! (Duntroon -army) Need Holy Spirit’s work within. Yet we must strive for holiness in every way we can.
Need to pray for growth in virtue.
(Ask!)
e.g. pray for humility - opportunities will present themselves - choose to grow or not! Usually through “humiliation”
pray for patience - person comes into life - big opportunities to cooperate with grace of God to develop habit of heart. (Lord sends people!)
Also need to actually make opportunities to grow in virtue. Not to be passive. External actions shape motives, attitudes. Want to be come a particular way, begin to act like it.
(e.g. want to be a servant, get into service. Don’t just pray an armchair want to be compassionate to poor, actually embrace the poor (? Etc.)- grace of God works in heart when engaged in action)
Do not wait until I have perfect purity of motive - will never do anything!
We always have impure motives!
TYPES OF STRUGGLES
Can expect in the Lord that what was a difficult struggle last year need not be so hard this year!
Struggle is good in Christian life, a sign of Holy Spirit “Dead people don’t struggle”!
Yet, do not fall in love with a particular struggle and doom yourself to stay with it!
(e.g. cling to anger, wrath - right to express it whenever he wants and dump it says its his struggle, but it is going nowhere!
Christian life - towards perfection - growth in virtue - development in gentleness, meekness, Go through the struggle towards greater ease in exercise of virtue.
E.g. person with negative needs. This is my struggle! How I am! No! How you have chosen to be!
Actually move in the opposite spirit, claim victory of Jesus. Develop habitual state of joy. Joyful habit of heart. Can “rejoice always” as Paul said. It is possible for that to happen in a new creature.
STEP FOUR - WORKING ON ACHIEVABLE GOALS
It is not enough to resist and just live a good life. We must aim to grow or we will stagnate.
With this brush stroke of all the types of Virtues it is important to be aware, but we don’t usually aim to grow in such general terms. We need to identify specific challenges before us, eg getting on with my brother.
Teresa of Liseaux had a challenge in dealing with another sister’s false teeth. During prayer this sister would play with them in her mouth and they would chatter. This drove her up the wall. So she worked on accepting it and thinking of it as a prayer to Jesus. Through persistence and trying to be kind to this sister eventually she considered it as a symphony! This was a difficult, but achievable goal. She could have focussed on the moral virtue of fortitude, and used her faith to strengthen her charity by calling on the gifts of patience, kindness and self control. But I’m sure it was simply working on her feelings and trying to give it to God at the time as well as actively trying to be nice to the sister at other times.
If we haven’t dealt with serious sin in our life, then it is simply working on our prayer life and overcoming these temptations. If our focus is just dealing with serious sin, then by countering them with simple virtues will be sufficient, eg prayer, hard work , a balanced life, good reading and Christian company.
We should work on no more than 2 hard ‘virtues’ at a time, while maintaining our already developed habits/virtues. A hard virtue is one which is not regular in our life and we find a challenge. They should be simple things, achievable goals.
HOMEWORK - IDENTIFYING GOALS
First identify all the Christian habits you have.
For each of the Virtues rate yourself from one to ten.
Identify what you have been working on over the past year.
Rate your efforts
Reflect on what you have learnt and identify areas which need growth.
Identify one or two acts/habits that you need to do. Eg calling that relation you have difficulty with, keeping your room/house tidy, doing chores and helping others, Being always ready to help others and leave your tasks, etc…
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