The Seven Virtues

(Also called the Seven Contrary Virtues or Seven Heavenly Virtues)

The concept of the seven capital virtues has been an aspect of Catholic Faith for several centuries, having gained recognition and popularity in the middle ages. This list of seven virtues is a set of virtues which are to counter the temptation to succumb to the seven capital sins. For this reason, they are sometimes also called the seven contrary virtues; they represent the opposite of the seven sins.

The list of seven capital virtues stems from the subject matter of an epic poem written by an early Christian poet, Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, at the end of the 4th century. The poem, Psychomachia (meaning Battle of Souls), is an allegory which describes seven virtues defeating seven vices.

The seven contrary or capital virtues are as follows:

Humility – Humility is the virtue that counters pride. As pride leads to other sin, true humility clears a path for holiness. Pride is a sin based on undue and inappropriate appreciation of one’s self worth. Conversely, the virtue of humility is about modest behavior, selflessness and the giving of respect.

Liberality – Liberality, or generosity, is the virtue that is counter to greed – the sin of immoderate desire for earthly things. The virtue of liberality is focused not merely on the appropriate concern regarding one’s earthly things, but furthermore on generosity and a willingness to give, freely and without request for commendation.

Chastity – Chastity is the counter-virtue to the sin of lust. Chastity embraces moral wholesomeness and purity, and in both thought and action treats God’s gift of sexuality with due reverence and respect.

Meekness – Meekness, or patience, is the virtue that counters the sin of unjust anger, also called wrath or rage. Where the sin of wrath is about quick temper and unnecessary vengeance, the virtue of meekness focuses on patiently seeking appropriate resolution to conflicts, and on the ability to forgive and show mercy.

Temperance – The virtue of temperance or abstinence counters the sin of gluttony. To be gluttonous is to over-indulge. On the opposite hand, the virtue of temperance is centered on self-control and moderation.

Kindness – Kindness, or brotherly love or love for one’s neighbor, is the virtue which counters the sin of envy. Envy, in contradiction to God’s law of love, is manifest in a person’s sorrow and distress over the good fortune of another person. Conversely, kindness and brotherly love is manifest in the unprejudiced, compassionate and charitable concern for others.

Diligence – Diligence, or persistence, is the virtue which acts as a counter to the sin of sloth. Sloth, as a capital sin, refers to laziness in matters of Faith. Diligence in matters of the spiritual combat laziness and this virtue is manifest in appropriately zealous attitudes toward living and sharing the Faith.

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Catechism of the Catholic Church
1832 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."
 

Various Bible translations translate the Greek version of Galatians 5:22-23, and list nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Some versions of St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Bible include three additional words: “patientia”, “modestia”, and “castitas”. As one can see by comparing the Bible versions of the fruits with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the three “extra” words become in English: “goodness”, ”modesty”, and “chastity” – and so the Catholic Church recognizes this tradition of including these in the list of twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit.

"Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God "Father" and to share in Christ's grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory." St. Basil, De Spiritu Sancto 

Fruits # 5 & 6: Kindness & Goodness: Are these synonyms? Why or why not?

Goodness - (Latin: bonitas)

    The state or quality of being good -     Moral excellence; virtue; - Kindly feeling, kindness, generosity -     The best part of anything; Essence; Strength; -  General character recognized in quality or conduct.

Popular English Bibles (e.g. NIV, NASB, NLT) translate the single Greek word chrestotes into two English words: kindness and goodness. "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power".[2 Thes 1:11] "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth".[Eph 5:9]

Fruit # 7: Generosity - Catechism of the Catholic Church - paragraph 

2407 In economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the virtue of temperance, so as to moderate attachment to this world's goods; the practice of the virtue of justice, to preserve our neighbor's rights and render him what is his due; and the practice of solidarity, in accordance with the golden rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lord, who "though he was rich, yet for your sake . . . became poor so that by his poverty, you might become rich." [2 Cor 8:9]

Fruit # 8: Gentleness - (Latin: mansuetudo) (Greek: praotes)

Gentleness is the music that soothes the wild beast in us, the face into which we look that calms us, the hand that we hold that lets us walk without fear, that calls us not to flee, but to dance. 

Fruit # 9: Faithfulness - (Latin: fides)

Faithfulness is committing oneself to something or someone, for instance, to God, to one's spouse. Being faithful requires personal resolve not to wander away from commitments or promises. It's not always easy to be faithful. It takes trust in God. "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth".[Isaiah 25:1] "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith".[Eph 3:16-17]

Fruit #10: Modesty - Catechism of the Catholic Church - paragraph(s)

2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.

2522 Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships; it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.

2523 There is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for example, against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain advertisements, or against the solicitations of certain media that go too far in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing ideologies.

2524 The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity proper to man. It is born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject. Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.

Fruit #11: Self Control - (Latin: continentia)  The Greek word used in Galatians 5:23 is "egkrateia", which means having command or "mastery over" (krat- as in "autocrat"), or possession of, "one's own behavior."

 "...make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love."[2 Pet 1:5-7]

Fruit #12: Chastity - Catechism of the Catholic Church - paragraph(s)

2337 Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman.

The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift. 

2341 The virtue of chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses with reason.

2345 Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort.¹³² The Holy Spirit enables one whom the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ.

Questions for Reflection

1) Why do you think that it is significant that Jesus uses the action verb Agapao to describe the kind of love that the Holy Spirit wants to develop inside of you?

2) Why do you think God tells you that His joy is what acts as your strength during trying times? Can you think of a time when His joy kept you strong?

3) Why do you think so many Christians today struggle with receiving and maintaining God's peace?  Do you feel that you have a problem maintaining your peace?

4) Have you ever had to wait on a promise from God's Word to manifest itself in your life?  What did you learn from the experience?

5) Does it shock you to know that God believes developing patient endurance will make you "fully developed" spiritually?  Why or why not?

6) Do you feel that many Christians take kindness and mercy for granted?  Have you ever done this yourself?

7) What do you think qualifies a person as being "good" in God's eyes?

8) Have you ever thought that you did not have enough faith for something?  How does it feel to know that developing faith is something the Holy Spirit has been sent to help you with?

9) Have you ever fallen into the world's trap of feeling like you have to take care of number one?  How can you safeguard yourself from feeling this way, even when you are wronged by those around you?

10) Are there any of the 9 Fruits of the Spirit that you thought would be difficult to develop?  What role do you think developing self-control can play in helping you to develop the others you had been lacking?

11) What do you think are the best ways to develop the 9 Fruits of the Spirit in your own life?

Chages in the Sacred Liturgy

For the next (3) Sundays (11/6, 11/13, 11/20) we will be learning about & discussing the liturgical changes that begin with Advent on 11/27/11.

Following are several links to various websites & publications which may be of some use to you in preparing for this.

Embracing Change in the Liturgy - http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/Embracing_Change_in_the_Liturgy.pdf

Guide to Unfamiliar Words in the Mass -  http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/Words_in_the_Roman_Missal.pdf

Ten Questions on the Roman Missal - http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/Ten_Questions_on_the_Roman_Missal.pdf

The Order of Mass - http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/order-of-mass.pdf

Reminders: 

Daylight Savings Time - 11/6

Thanksgiving - 11/24

Start of Advent - 11/27

The Fifth Commandment - Don't Kill

Below is some light reading material on the whole "Do Not Kill" rule from the Catechism & associated reading.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church – Section 2, Chapter 2, Article 5, Section 1

ARTICLE 5 - THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT

Enter at 2258 by clicking on the following link: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a5.htm#2258

Pay special attention to paragraph 2267

After reading cross reference paragraph 2306 under section III. SAFEGUARDING PEACE

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."68

2306 Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death.104

68 Evangelium Vitae - Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life
His Holiness Pope John Paul IIMarch 25, 1995

Paragraph 56. This is the context in which to place the problem of the death penalty. On this matter there is a growing tendency, both in the Church and in civil society, to demand that it be applied in a very limited way or even that it be abolished completely. The problem must be viewed in the context of a system of penal justice ever more in line with human dignity and thus, in the end, with God's plan for man and society. The primary purpose of the punishment which society inflicts is "to redress the disorder caused by the offence".[46] Public authority must redress the violation of personal and social rights by imposing on the offender an adequate punishment for the crime, as a condition for the offender to regain the exercise of his or her freedom. In this way authority also fulfills the purpose of defending public order and ensuring people's safety, while at the same time offering the offender an incentive and help to change his or her behaviour and be rehabilitated.[47]

It is clear that, for these purposes to be achieved, the nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.

In any event, the principle set forth in the new Catechism of the Catholic Church remains valid: "If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority must limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person".[48]

104 Cf. GS 78 § 5. PASTORAL CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD

GAUDIUM ET SPES

PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS, POPE PAUL VI ON DECEMBER 7, 1965

Section 78 Paragraph 5:

Motivated by this same spirit, we cannot fail to praise those who renounce the use of violence in the vindication of their rights and who resort to methods of defense which are otherwise available to weaker parties too, provided this can be done without injury to the rights and duties of others or of the community itself.

Reading material for Sunday 9/18

Psalm 65, a psalm of thanksgiving

For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.

To you we owe our hymn of praise,  O God on Zion;

To you our vows must be fulfilled,you who hear our prayers.

To you all flesh must come with its burden of wicked deeds.

We are overcome by our sins; only you can pardon them.

Blessed the one whom you will choose and bring to dwell in your courts.

May we be filled with the good things of your house, your holy temple!

You answer us with awesome deeds of justice, O God our savior,

The hope of all the ends of the earth and of those far off across the sea.

You are robed in power, you set up the mountains by your might.

You still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.

Distant peoples stand in awe of your marvels;

the places of morning and evening you make resound with joy.

You visit the earth and water it, make it abundantly fertile.

God’s stream is filled with water; you supply their grain.

Thus do you prepare it: you drench its plowed furrows, and level its ridges.

With showers you keep it soft, blessing its young sprouts.

You adorn the year with your bounty; your paths drip with fruitful rain.

The meadows of the wilderness also drip; the hills are robed with joy.

The pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys blanketed with grain; they cheer and sing for joy.

Possible resources:

The introduction to The Book of Psalms - http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Psalms&ch=

The reading - http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Psalms&ch=65

Papal General Audience given by Pope John Paul II in 2002 - http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_20020306_en.html

Psalm 65 St. Augustine: Exposition on the Book of Psalms - http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf108.ii.LXV.html

Additional links recommended by the Sunday crew

Patrick Madrid’s Websitewww.patrickmadrid.com

Catholic Radio Indy - www.catholicradioindy.org

Pray As You Go - www.pray-as-you-go.org

Zenit, The World Seen From Rome - www.zenit.org

EWTN - www.ewtn.com

Dynamic Catholic - www.dynamiccatholic.com

Fish Eaters – www.fisheaters.com

Catholic Answers - www.catholic.com

Internet Resources for Catholics - 9/11/11

Parallel Gospels - www.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis

Scripture from Scratch - americancatholic.org/Newsletters/SFS/Archive.asp

Center for Liturgy - http://liturgy.slu.edu

Theology Library - www.shc.edu/theolibrary/revelation.htm

The Vatican - http://www.vatican.va/

Catechism - http://old.usccb.org/catechism/

Divine Office - http://divineoffice.org/