0
0
Illustration: Stained glass window (detail) in Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, Annacloy Road, Teconnaught/Annacloy, County Down, Northern Ireland,
Pope Francis Catechesis on The Theological Virtues
Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians 1:3-5
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Catechesis. Vices and virtues. 16. The Life of Grace According to the Spirit
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In recent weeks we have been reflecting on the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. These are the four cardinal virtues. As we have pointed out on several occasions, these four virtues are part of a very ancient wisdom, that even predates Christianity.
Even before Christ, honesty was preached as a civic duty, wisdom as a rule of action, courage as a fundamental ingredient for a life that tends towards the good, temperance as a necessary measure to avoid being overwhelmed by excesses. This ancient patrimony, the patrimony of humanity, has not been replaced by Christianity, but has been brought to the fore, valued, purified and integrated into the faith.
In the heart of every man and woman, therefore, there is the capacity to seek the good.
The Holy Spirit is given so that those who receive him can clearly distinguish good from evil, have the strength to adhere to good while fleeing from the evil and, thus, achieve full self-realization.
But on the journey that we are all on towards the fullness of life, that belongs to the destiny of every human being – the destiny of every human being is fullness, to be full of life .
The Christian enjoys a special hope from the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus.
It is achieved through the gift of three other virtues, purely Christian, which are often mentioned together in the writings of the New Testament. These fundamental attitudes, that characterize the life of the Christian, are three virtues that we will now speak of together: faith, hope and charity.
Christian writers soon called them “theological” virtues, in that they are received and lived in relationship with God, in order to distinguish them from the other four called “cardinal” virtues, in that they constitute the “hinge” of a good life.
These three are received in Baptism and come from the Holy Spirit. Both the theologians and the cardinals have been juxtaposed in so many systematic reflections, have thus composed a wonderful septenary (7 virtues), which is often contrasted with the list of the seven deadly sins.
This is how the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the action of the theological virtues: “They found, animate and characterize the moral action of the Christian. They inform and animate all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to enable them to act as his children and merit eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of mankind” (n. 1813).
While the cardinal virtues run the risk of producing men and women who are heroic in their good deeds, but who are, on the whole, alone and isolated, the great gift of the theological virtues is the existence lived in the Holy Spirit. The Christian is never alone. He does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment, but because, as a humble disciple, he walks behind the Master Jesus. He goes on in the way. The Christian has the theological virtues that are the great antidote to self-sufficiency. How often do certain morally irreproachable men and women run the risk of becoming, in the eyes of those who know them, presumptuous and arrogant! It is a danger against which the Gospel warns us well, where Jesus admonishes the disciples: “When you have done everything you were told, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done what we should have done” (Lk 17:10).
Pride is a poison, a powerful poison: one drop of it is enough to spoil an entire life of good works. A person may have done a mountain of good works, he may have received recognition and praise, but if he has done all this only for himself, to glorify himself, can he still be called a virtuous person? No!
Good is not only an end, but also a way. Goodness needs a lot of discretion, a lot of kindness..
Above all, the good must free itself from that sometimes too ponderous presence that is our ego.
When our “I” is at the center of everything, everything is ruined.
If every action we take in life is done only for ourselves, is this motivation really so important?
The poor “ego” takes possession and so pride is born.
To correct all these situations which are sometimes painful, the theological virtues are of great help. Especially in times of fall, because even those who have good moral intentions sometimes fall.
ll. We all fall in life because we are all sinners.
In the same way, those who practise virtue daily sometimes make mistakes – we all make mistakes in life – the intelligence is not always clear, the will is not always firm, the passions are not always governed, courage does not always overcome fear.
ut if we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit – the inner Master – he revives in us the theological virtues: then, if we have lost trust, God reopens us to faith – with the power of the Spirit, if we have lost trust, God reopens us to faith; if we are discouraged, God awakens hope in us; and if our hearts are hardened, God softens them with his love. Thank you.
