Tag: <span>Virtue</span>

June 1, 2021May 27, 2021

Better Than Good

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

In today’s readings, we see two just men beset by trials and tribulations.

We see a very human and relatable scene in the first reading; one we could imagine playing out in our own time, perhaps in our own homes. Poor Tobit, plagued by blindness for two years after having experienced the misfortune of taking some bird droppings in the eyes, is in an understandably bad mood–which perhaps leads him to see things in a dark light, so to speak. As such, when he hears the bleating of a goat brought in by his wife, one given to her as a bonus above her wages, he immediately suspects her of theft.

This suspicion, as one might well imagine, does not sit well with his hard-working (and no doubt exhausted) wife, who herself emits an exaggeratedly negative judgement and accuses poor Tobit of having a poor character all along, despite the charitable works he had performed when he could see.

Tobit was a good, just man. But like many just men, he was not immune to exhibiting weakness when the going got disconcertingly tough.

Then, we have Jesus in the gospel of today. Over and over again the Pharisees came after Him, and they wanted nothing short of killing Him, as Jesus Himself knew and openly pointed out (cf. Jn. 7:19). His life was continually in danger. They were continually trying to trap Him with His own words. It was enough to drive anyone mad–a little like having bird droppings in your eye.

But Jesus, the supreme Lord and Master, was more than a good, just man. He was God Himself, our indomitable Savior, and with supreme calm He fielded their questions and answered in such a way as both to lay bare their intentions, and express an important moral lesson to the listeners.

This sort of fortitude is not normal, even for good, just people. It does not come from human shrewdness or willpower. It is superhuman. This sort of spiritual stamina comes only from the Holy Spirit.

So it is that we see example after example among the saints of unbelievable virtue and fortitude–such as that of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who after unspeakable stresses and sufferings in a Nazi concentration camp, offered his own life without hesitation to save a fellow inmate.

Two of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are Wisdom and Fortitude. What the Holy Spirit can bring about in souls through these two gifts, along with the other five, is literally boundless. Observe it in the life of Christ; observe it in the lives of the saints.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus that you know you cannot be what He wants you to be through your own effort to be good. Ask Him to fill you bountifully with the Holy Spirit, until it is no longer you, but Christ who lives in you.

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February 1, 2021January 21, 2021

Superheroes

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

We often think of the heroes of the Old Testament as semi-enlightened; we may think of them as stumbling and fumbling their way along, faithful at times and other times not, deprived still of the grace of Christ until He came.

And indeed, there are examples of missteps and infidelity among our heroes. King David committed a horrible double atrocity in the form of adultery and murder, before repenting deeply. And for his missteps, Moses was deprived personal entry into the Promised Land.

But the author of this morning’s reading from the letter to the Hebrews reminds us of how great and faithful, in fact, the heroes of the Old Testament really were. They endured unimaginable hardships, including gory execution, the details of which the author does not scruple to exclude. They recognized the one true God, and they were faithful to Him because He deserved their fidelity. Consider, for example, the execution, one by one, of seven brothers and their mother in 2 Maccabees (cf. 2 Mac. 7).

All of this, as the author points out, without the benefit of the grace won by Christ, and without understanding of the plan of salvation.

We Christians still undergo hardships of various sorts today, from the ordinary sufferings of everyday life, to outright persecution in some parts of the world. And, the martyrs are without doubt the heroes of our Church. Still, these had the paradigm of Christ’s crucifixion after which to model themselves.

The degree to which we as Christians are “spoiled” by ready, immediate access to the wellspring of grace is symbolized by the events of today’s gospel. The man possessed by a legion of demons, whom no one to that point had been able to subdue, much less exorcise, was rescued in a matter of moments by the overwhelming gift of the saving power of Jesus.

We have what the great heroes of the Old Testament would have longed to see: We have Jesus, whenever we need Him. We have an understanding of the narrative of salvation. No matter how constant that access, how everyday the gifts become, this immense bounty is not and never will be commonplace.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Contemplate the power of Jesus in the scene of exorcism in today’s gospel. Aware of what a privilege it is to have easy access to the grace won by Christ, boldly ask Him to pour it abundantly, without holding back, into your insecure, wounded, vulnerable, needy heart.

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November 10, 2020October 24, 2020

Ordinary People

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Catholic spiritual theology teaches us that we can attain, even in this life, profound and exalted union with God, as an initial experience of the union with Him that will come to true and final fulfillment in eternity.

This may lead us to a notion that we are to be something notably spectacular as we walk the earth, constantly impressing with our heroic virtue and aura of amazingness.

We can forget that all glory in the end belongs to and comes from God, and that our role is wonderfully humble and simple.

In the first reading, St. Paul doesn’t speak of impressive acts of heroic virtue or stretch goals of saintly action. He talks about basic self-control, dignity, temperance, balance.

Similarly, in the today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us to take the path, not of the heroic knight, to be awarded riches and lands for his glorious and storied exploits in service of the king, but rather the humble servant who has a simple job to do and simply does it.

It is the great paradox of the Gospel that if we want to attain to glory and an exalted, transforming relationship with God, all we need to do is live our daily life in great simplicity, for others, with a commitment to daily prayer and sacramental life. For “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk. 14:11)

No one exemplifies this dynamic better than Mary, the simple girl of Nazareth, the “handmaid of the Lord” who spent her life in the most ordinary and unremarkable way, but has been greatly glorified in Heaven due to her absolute daily gift of self to God.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Examine your aspirations in dialogue with Jesus. Ask Him if you are not overly anxious to sense that you are doing something impressive with your life. Ask Him if the daily gift of your simple vocation is enough for Him to do great things. Ask Him for the gift of an ordinary life of service in humility, joyfully recognizing at the same time that all His eternal glory is His unmerited gift to you.

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