ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE RELEASE
Monday 4 February 2013
Words Archbishop Denis Hart
Kairos Voume 24, Issue 1
THE end of the old year and the start of the new is always refreshing as we return to our daily routines after the summer break. As we make resolutions for the new year, we resolve that this year will be different because this year we are going to behave differently.
But in order to behave differently, we need to break old bad habits and form new good ones. The ancients believed that a person who lived a good life did so because of the inner virtues—or ‘strengths’—of their character. To be a good person required formation in virtue.
A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends towards the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions (St Gregory of Nyssa, Catechism §1803).
For instance, a person who has the virtue of fortitude does not need to be told to be courageous—they will naturally be courageous. The person who has the virtue of faith will not need to be told that they should trust God—they will naturally trust him in all circumstances.
However, the way to acquire virtue is to practise virtue. If you make a new year’s resolution, the only way you will keep it is by practising it until it becomes a new habit. In the same way, the path to virtue is to imitate virtue until it becomes your true nature.
In 2013, we continue the Year of Faith begun by Pope Benedict XVI last October with the Synod on the New Evangelisation. If we look at the virtues in relation to our vocation to be evangelists—a vocation that belongs to every baptised person according to their station in life—we must start with the so-called ‘Theological Virtues’: faith, hope and love. These virtues are not acquired simply by effort (although we can learn to practise them); they are the gift of the Holy Spirit in the sanctifying grace of Baptism (cf Catechism §1266).
We cannot proclaim what we have not personally known. So the first and primary virtue is faith. Faith, like hope and love, is a relational virtue: we learn to have faith in the very act of trusting another person. So it is with our faith in God; we learn to have faith in him by trusting him. Instead of fear, we believe that God will provide for us, that he will keep his promises, and that he will not let us down. We call the whole of our religion ‘the Faith’, because we have believed the witness of the Apostles and their successors concerning the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The virtue of faith teaches us the virtue of hope. ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,’ says the writer to the Hebrews (11:1). The Gospel we want to share with others is Good News for a world which is hungry for hope. The new life which we have personally come to know in Jesus is not for us only but for all people. Many are living lives of quiet desperation because they do not know that God’s grace has the power to change lives and open up new paths for their future.
The virtues of faith and hope make it possible to live the greatest virtue of all: love (cf 1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is a virtue that cannot be shown in words alone, which is why St Francis was able to say: ‘Preach the Gospel; use words if necessary.’ By our love, others will find our faith and hope credible. Early Church Father Tertullian records that the pagans would say: ‘See how these Christians love one another!’ The person who lives in love lives without fear because ‘perfect love casts out fear’ (1 John 4:18).
Thus St Peter wrote in his First Letter: ‘Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15). In this Year of Faith, we will find ourselves faced with opportunities for sharing the Good News with others. But besides the Theological Virtues, we will need the other virtues, which the ancient philosophers called the ‘Cardinal Virtues’ (Latin for ‘hinge’ because the good life depends upon them): fortitude, prudence, justice and temperance.
To be a person of faith in today’s world is to invite ridicule and even persecution. This knowledge often hinders us in being effective witnesses to the Good News among our family and friends and work colleagues. We are afraid that we will say the wrong thing or be ridiculed for what we say. Here especially we need the love which ‘casts out fear’. We need to resolve to practise the virtue of fortitude (or courage) if we are to be witnesses to the Lord. We have the example of the martyrs, both ancient and modern, to encourage us, and the words of Jesus: ‘Do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say’ (Luke 12:11-12).
Recall also that St Peter said that we should witness ‘with gentleness and respect.’ We should practise the virtue of prudence, which teaches us that there is a time to speak and a time to keep silent (Ecclesiastes 3:7). If the opportunity to speak is given to us, the virtue of prudence will teach us to use a few well-chosen words rather than many, or to show our love in action, which will sometimes speak much louder than words.
Justice is also a virtue; and by acting justly in our relationships with others, we will give strong witness to the Lord of Justice in whom we believe and hope. Finally, our whole way of life, including the way in which we use created goods (the virtue of temperance), will show where our true faith, hope and love lie.
As we look back on the year past, we may be amazed at the many unlooked-for opportunities which God offered to us that we might do some good in the world. And if we are honest, we may be dismayed by the number of times we squandered those opportunities. If 2013 is to be any different, we will need to resolve to grow in the virtues that we need in order to be effective ministers of the New Evangelisation.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
Monday 4 February 2013Words Archbishop Denis Hart
Kairos Voume 24, Issue 1
THE end of the old year and the start of the new is always refreshing as we return to our daily routines after the summer break. As we make resolutions for the new year, we resolve that this year will be different because this year we are going to behave differently.
But in order to behave differently, we need to break old bad habits and form new good ones. The ancients believed that a person who lived a good life did so because of the inner virtues—or ‘strengths’—of their character. To be a good person required formation in virtue.
A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends towards the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions (St Gregory of Nyssa, Catechism §1803).
For instance, a person who has the virtue of fortitude does not need to be told to be courageous—they will naturally be courageous. The person who has the virtue of faith will not need to be told that they should trust God—they will naturally trust him in all circumstances.
However, the way to acquire virtue is to practise virtue. If you make a new year’s resolution, the only way you will keep it is by practising it until it becomes a new habit. In the same way, the path to virtue is to imitate virtue until it becomes your true nature.
In 2013, we continue the Year of Faith begun by Pope Benedict XVI last October with the Synod on the New Evangelisation. If we look at the virtues in relation to our vocation to be evangelists—a vocation that belongs to every baptised person according to their station in life—we must start with the so-called ‘Theological Virtues’: faith, hope and love. These virtues are not acquired simply by effort (although we can learn to practise them); they are the gift of the Holy Spirit in the sanctifying grace of Baptism (cf Catechism §1266).
We cannot proclaim what we have not personally known. So the first and primary virtue is faith. Faith, like hope and love, is a relational virtue: we learn to have faith in the very act of trusting another person. So it is with our faith in God; we learn to have faith in him by trusting him. Instead of fear, we believe that God will provide for us, that he will keep his promises, and that he will not let us down. We call the whole of our religion ‘the Faith’, because we have believed the witness of the Apostles and their successors concerning the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The virtue of faith teaches us the virtue of hope. ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,’ says the writer to the Hebrews (11:1). The Gospel we want to share with others is Good News for a world which is hungry for hope. The new life which we have personally come to know in Jesus is not for us only but for all people. Many are living lives of quiet desperation because they do not know that God’s grace has the power to change lives and open up new paths for their future.
The virtues of faith and hope make it possible to live the greatest virtue of all: love (cf 1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is a virtue that cannot be shown in words alone, which is why St Francis was able to say: ‘Preach the Gospel; use words if necessary.’ By our love, others will find our faith and hope credible. Early Church Father Tertullian records that the pagans would say: ‘See how these Christians love one another!’ The person who lives in love lives without fear because ‘perfect love casts out fear’ (1 John 4:18).
Thus St Peter wrote in his First Letter: ‘Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15). In this Year of Faith, we will find ourselves faced with opportunities for sharing the Good News with others. But besides the Theological Virtues, we will need the other virtues, which the ancient philosophers called the ‘Cardinal Virtues’ (Latin for ‘hinge’ because the good life depends upon them): fortitude, prudence, justice and temperance.
To be a person of faith in today’s world is to invite ridicule and even persecution. This knowledge often hinders us in being effective witnesses to the Good News among our family and friends and work colleagues. We are afraid that we will say the wrong thing or be ridiculed for what we say. Here especially we need the love which ‘casts out fear’. We need to resolve to practise the virtue of fortitude (or courage) if we are to be witnesses to the Lord. We have the example of the martyrs, both ancient and modern, to encourage us, and the words of Jesus: ‘Do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say’ (Luke 12:11-12).
Recall also that St Peter said that we should witness ‘with gentleness and respect.’ We should practise the virtue of prudence, which teaches us that there is a time to speak and a time to keep silent (Ecclesiastes 3:7). If the opportunity to speak is given to us, the virtue of prudence will teach us to use a few well-chosen words rather than many, or to show our love in action, which will sometimes speak much louder than words.
Justice is also a virtue; and by acting justly in our relationships with others, we will give strong witness to the Lord of Justice in whom we believe and hope. Finally, our whole way of life, including the way in which we use created goods (the virtue of temperance), will show where our true faith, hope and love lie.
As we look back on the year past, we may be amazed at the many unlooked-for opportunities which God offered to us that we might do some good in the world. And if we are honest, we may be dismayed by the number of times we squandered those opportunities. If 2013 is to be any different, we will need to resolve to grow in the virtues that we need in order to be effective ministers of the New Evangelisation.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
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