THE SOURCES                                      THE FRUITS

BASIC VIRTUES

    St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most learned scholars and greatest teachers of the Church, tells us that there are seven basic virtues. In other words, there are lust seven good habits that we need in order to insure for ourselves happiness on this earth and in heaven. These seven virtues we already know. They are the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity, and the four cardinal, moral virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

    The word theological means “pertaining to God.” When used in connection with virtue, it means that the virtue is associated with God and our relations to Him. Cardinal is derived from a Latin word meaning ‘hinge.” It is an appropriate term by which to identify the four great moral virtues, for they are, in truth, like hinges on which our whole moral life hangs. Prudence enables us to choose the means necessary to attain salvation. Justice helps us to respect the rights of others. Fortitude strengthens us to do our duty despite difficulty. Temperance regulates our enjoyment of pleasure and our use of the goods of this world. All the other moral virtues can be grouped under the cardinal virtues. For example: obedience and loyalty are forms of justice; humility,meekness, and purity are forms of temperance; and courage and perseverance and patience are different forms of fortitude.

    Faith—the master guide. Faith  in its widest sense means to accept as true something we do not know or do not understand simply because somone tells us it is true.  There are two kinds of faith: natural and supernatural.  If we believe something because of the word of a human being, we have natural faith.  Natural faith is absolutely necessary to society. Unless we had confidence in the word of trustworthy persons, and they in us, there could be no progress or peaceful living together.  Supernatural faith, however is superior to natural faith. From one point of view supernatural faith is an act of the intellect under the dominion of the will, by which, with the help of grace, we assent with complete certainty to the truths God has revealed.  From another point of view it is a supernatural habit, enabling these supernatural acts

    In this latter sense we can define supernatural faith as a theological virtue, a free gift of God, consisting in an infused sopernatural habit or permanent capacity for believing, by which man is disposed toaccept as true everything God has revealed solely because of the authority and truthfullness of God who reveals it.  Let us explain the main words of this definition.

    Faith means “belief.” We accept and believe the truths God has revealed, on His word, even though we cannot fully understand many of these truths; and even though reason cannot show their possibility. Theological means “pertaining to God.” The theological virtues, of which faith is one, are those which are directly concerned with God and our relations with Him.

    A free gift of God. The word gift means “something bestowed freely,” out of love. We cannot merit it. We can prepare the way of faith, both for ourselves or for others. But nothing we could ever do would make it necessary for God to give it to us. As a matter of fact, we know people to whom He has not given the gift of faith—pagans.

    Infused means “poured in” or “imparted.” The virtue of faith is infused or poured into the soul at Baptism.

    Supernatural means “completely above the natural ability or capacity of man”; springing from the power of divine grace and entirely above and beyond all natural powers.

    A virtue is a habit which enables and inclines us to perform good acts.

GOOD HABITS—THE VIRTUES

   Two roads to heaven: law and love. There are two roads to heaven: the road of law—the low road of the command- ments, and the road of love—the high road of Christian perfection. The basic principle given by God to guide those traveling the road of law: Do good and avoid evil. We have also said that to be meritorious in the eyes of God, this doing of good and avoiding of evil must be on a supernatural level. We must investigate the more detailed applications of this basic rule. But before we do, let us look at the principle that leads us to God on the upper road of perfection, and then let us express it in practical rules.

    Christ’s statement of the law of love. This basic rule, firstgiven in the Old Testament, has been renewed by Christ Himself who stated it thus:
    "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
            with thy whole heart,
            and with thy whole soul,
            and with thy whole mind
    Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
            Matt. 22, 37 and 39. (Cf. Deiit. 6, 5 and Lev. 19, 18)

    Synopsis of the rules for a Christian life. We can expand the meaning of this basic rule into seven statements that will give us an outline of a Christian life. We may word it as follows: If we really love God and all His creatures for His sake, we will observe these rules:

    1. We will accept and firmly believe all that God has revealed and every thing that the Holy Catholic Church           teaches, whether in doctrine or in morality.
    2. We will have great confidence in God, great trust in His goodness, complete reliance on His fidelity to His           promises, and a firm hope that we will reach the happiness we seek.
    3. We will have a deep, abiding, supernatural love of God and of everything He loves.
    4. We will intelligently, prudently, and humbly plan and live our lives, realizing who God is, who and what we are,           and who our neighbors are.
    5. We will be absolutely just, fair, and honest with everyone—God, our selves, and our neighbor. We will give to           all men what is rightfully theirs, adding, out of love, what they need to glorify God and save their souls.
    6. We will be courageous and persevering in good, never giving up and never giving in when we know we are           right.
    7. We will control our bodies, our senses, our appetites and tendencies, guiding them by faith and reason, and           training them to habitual moderation.

    This is a brief synopsis of the best rules to follow to reach eternal happiness. It is at the same time a synopsis of the rules for a happy and peaceful life here on earth, both for the individual and for the social group. It gives us a blueprint of how a real Catholic serves God. If we practice these rules perfectly we shall not need to worry about obeying laws, for we shall be living a life of Christian perfection far above the level of mere obedience to law. Even if we do not practice them perfectly, they will still be a support, helping us to keep the moral law of God.

    One who has read the seven rules attentively will realize that they are positive, not negative, and that they are only a call to the practice of the seven basic virtues, and to the avoidance of the seven basic vices and of the sins that cause these vices to develop in the soul. Let us take a closer look at these virtues and these vices, and at sin itself. After that we can begin studying God’s synopsis of the laws which guide those who take the lower road.

The seven basic virtues

    The basic virtues or good moral habits by which our whole moral life should be regulated are indicated on the chart, The Basic Virtues. With them are listed other virtues closely related to them, and the various ways in which these related virtues manifest themselves. Notice that some of the “little virtues” are found under several headings. This is due to the close connection between the virtues.
 

THE BASIC VIRTUES

Theological virtues

FAITH disposes the intellect to assent to what God has revealed.
The FOUNDATION of the supernatural life.
1. It is a light which enlightens our mind to know God.
2. It is a source of conviction which strengthens the will to choose God.
3. It is a source of comfort for the heart which believes in God.
4. It supplies the supernatural foundation which renders works meri-
torious.

HOPE disposes the will to acts by which we trust God’s promises
of heaven and the means of grace.
The SUSTAINING FORCE of the supernatural life.
1. It lifts the heart to God by detaching it from earthly goods.
2. It imparts efficacy to our prayers.
3. It gives to the soul certainty of success in the quest of happiness.

CHARITY enables us to love God above all things, and to love
others because of God.
The PERFECTION of the supernatural life.
1. It unites the soul to God.
2. It comprises all the virtues.
3. “Charity never fails.” 1 Cor. 13, 8.

Moral virtues
PRUDENCE helps us rightly counsel, iudge, and command in view
of what is advantageous to our soul.
The COMPANION of all the virtues. It is needed:
1. To direct our thoughts. intentions, affections, desires, choices.
2. To prevent extremes in the practice of virtue which must always ob-
serve the “golden mean.” Allied to it are:
 

JUSTICE makes the giving of what is due to others easy and
consistent. Allied to it are:

FORTITUDE strengthens the will to undergo difficulties in the
pursuit or defense of good. Allied to it are:

TEMPERANCE moderates the attractions of sense pleasure accord-
ing to sound reason. Allied to it are:

    While examining and discussing the chart, bear in mind what has already been learned, namely—
    1. A single good act does not constitute a virtue. A virtue presupposes a habit of performing the same virtuous act.
    2. Virtues are natural or supernatural depending upon the source from which they spring and the motive which prompts them.
    3. Virtues as well as virtuous acts are meritorious only when they are supernatural.
    4. Natural virtues can lead to natural, temporal happiness only. But supernatural virtues lead to supernatural and eternal happiness.
    The secret of success in life, however, is not so much what we know as what we do. We must be “doers of the word, and not hearers only,” deceiving ourselves. (Jas. 1, 22.) A high mark on the religion test means nothing unless it is accompanied by a high mark in the Book of Life for the faithful practice of these virtues. Let us, therefore, learn these virtues well; let us also find out the ones we need the most. But above all, let us strive to develop them in our souls.

BAD HABITS—THE VICES

If we are to give God the honor and glory which are due Him and thus attain the happiness we seek, we must practice the seven basic virtues. This means that, with the grace of God, we must so regulate our human tendencies as to keep them in accord with reason and faith. If we fail to control these tendencies, habits will develop which will make it easier to do evil than to do good. Then we will be truly enslaved. The chief of these bad habits are the basic vices usually called the capital sins.

    The seven basic vices

The capital sins The seven capital sins are vices rather than sins; that is, they are habits rather than isolated acts. They are the bad habits which are formed when the basic tendencies in human nature are neglected or misused. For example, eating is a good and necessary act, but habitually to eat to excess is to misuse this tendency implanted in us by God, and is the vice of gluttony. When fully developed the vices give us facility or ease in performing acts which are morally bad.

PRIDE

Pride is excessive love of self. It is the capital-capital sin. All sins are sins of pride, or to say it another way, pride is at the bottom of all sin. “For pride is the beginning of all sin.” Ecclus. 10, 15. When we are proud we prefer our desires to the rights of God, to the rights of our neighbor and even to our own best interests. When we are proud we seek our own excellence in- ordinately. Some people are proud of their beauty, their talents, their mental ability, their education. Others are proud of their possessions—clothes, property, jewelry. Some proud persons consider themselves better than others and sometimes even despise others. Basically, pride is an attempt to make ourselves greater than everyone else, including God. ft is a grasping for power. We saw what it did to the angels and to our first parents, so we realize its deadly results.

    From pride spring many other sins, namely, false ambition, vanity, disobedience, boasting, snobbishness, and hypocrisy.

    Ambition is not always sinful. The ambition to do well in one’s studies or in one’s profession is most praiseworthy when it is joined with the idea of employing God’s gifts to increase His glory. We should always strive to do good work, remembering that what is worth doing is worth doing well. Christian selfrespect, also, is a virtue rather than a vice. To be clean and wellgroomed is not vanity but a virtue, if it avoids all excess.

    The virtue of humility is the opposite of pride. Humility leads one to have a just opinion of one’s self and to give all credit for gifts and success to God. The humble man realizes that, compared with God, he is nothing and that, without God, he can do nothing. The humble man relies on the strength and grace of God and thus without fear sets out to do the task given to him. When he has done well he thanks God for having made use of him as an instrument of His glory.

COVETOUSNESS

    Covetousness, or avarice, is an excessive love of and desire for worldly goods and possessions. Many sins are brought about by avarice. Among them are: hard heartedness to the poor, lying, cheating, and numerous other sins. Not only is covetousness to be suppressed, but the other extreme of wilful waste and extravagance must also be avoided. Being thrifty and economical is not the same as being avaricious. We need a certain amount of money in order to live in this world, and people who try to save and economize and live in Christian frugality are tc be praised.

    Excessive attachment to created things is wrong and harmful. The virtue of liberality is the opposite of such covetousness or avarice. This virtue inclines a person to give freely of his time, money, or talents to worthy purposes.

LUST

    Lust is an abominable vice consisting in an inordinate liking for, seeking or indulgence in, pleasures of the flesh. Among the sins and vices which spring from lust are: excessive indulgence in pleasure, aversion to prayer, loss of faith. Lust often ruins health, both mental and physical, and sends more young people to hell than perhaps any other vice.

    Opposed to lust is the beautiful virtue of chastity. Chastity subdues the inclinations and desires of the flesh and makes them obey reason and faith. Other virtues related to chastity are modesty and purity.

    In order to keep one’s self pure, one must be constantly on guard. The best way to overcome temptations against purity is to receive the sacraments often and to pray to Christ and His Blessed Mother for the strength to resist any temptations of this nature. The best way to avoid temptations against purity is to set a guard of modesty over our senses—over what we see and read, over what we say and do.

    It has been said that there is a carefully planned campaign to mislead Christian youth and to destroy their modesty and their purity. Are our Catholic youth opposing or assisting this nefarious campaign?

ANGER

    St. Thomas Aquinas defines anger as a disordered desire of vengeance. The sin of anger is opposed to justice and charity. It is very often the result of uncontrolled selfishness and leads to quarreling, hatred, cursing, fighting, and even murder.

    One who has a passionate temper causes himself a great deal of unhappiness and is also a source of misery for those around him. "A mild answer breaketh wrath: but a harsh word stirreth up fury.” Prov. 15, 1.

    The opposite virtues are meekness, mildness, and patience. The meek or mild are those who are gracious in all their dealings with their neighbor and who bear sufferings without complaint. Our Lord Himself says: ‘Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” Matt. 11, 29. Meekness is by no means a synonym for spinelessness.

GLUTTONY

Gluttony is an inordinate liking for, or an inordinate use of, food and drink. One who eats or drinks to excess is guilty of gluttony. Gluttony is ordinarily a venial sin. But if a person wilfully, that is, knowingly deprives himself of the use of reason by drinking to excess, he commits a grievous sin.

    The evils of drunkenness are many. The drunkard is punished in this world and in the next. Drunkenness ruins the body and is often the cause of a person losing his soul. The drunkard deprives his family of a decent living and makes himself an outcast in the eyes of society.

    It is very praiseworthy for boys and girls to take the pledge to abstain from alcoholic liquor either for life or until they are twentyfive years of age. Besides being a fine means of practicing mortification and selfcontrol, it is an exceptional test of courage and perseverance. Do you have enough backbone to take it?

    Moderation and temperance are opposed to gluttony. If we practice the virtue of temperance we will use food and drink sensibly. “For the kingdom of God does not consist in food and drink, but in justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”Rom. 14, 17.

ENVY

    Envy is the chagrin, mortification, discontent, or uneasiness arising from the knowledge of another’s excellence or good fortune, accompanied with some degree of hatred and a desire to possess equal advantages. A person is envious when another’s success or prosperity saddens him and he considers this an evil to himself. Likewise, a person is envious when he is joyful at the misfortune of another.

    Envy leads to hatred, rash judgment, calumny, detraction, and other sins. It is essentially selfishness and pride. An envious person gloats in destroying the success and the happiness of others. A generous-hearted person is pleased when another succeeds. It is the small, mean person who refuses to rejoice when his neighbor delights in some joy or pleasure.

    Brotherly love is the virtue opposed to envy. One proves his love for his neighbor by praying for him, by rendering him out- ward acts of kindness, by helping him in his needs—especially by the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

SLOTH

    Sloth, as a capital sin, is a special kind of laziness. It involves a distaste for spiritual things or an unwillingness to strive for them because of the labor required. It is a sin against the love we owe God.

    A person sins by sloth when he habitually neglects his duties, spiritual and religious, through laziness. The person who puts off going to confession because he says he is too busy, or too tired, is generally committing the sin of sloth. The person who neglects to study his religion properly, simply because he is too lazy, also commits the sin of sloth.

    Not a few sins can be attributed to sloth. Included among them would be religious indifference, hatred of priests and the Church, carelessness and disinterest in our work and prayer. This vice hinders man’s accomplishments instead of increasing them as God intended. Many men do not overcome this tendency and very often poverty, both physical and spiritual, is the result. Slothful people become shiftless and improvident in body and soul. They become a burden to others, instead of being useful to themselves or to society. The spiritual effects of sloth resulting from the neglect of religious duties are, of course, even worse than the physical effects.

    Diligence is a virtue opposed to physical sloth. It is the devoted care given to any task. Success generally comes to those who are industrious. Young people who aim at success must learn that it can be won only by painstaking care and hard work. Christian charity, however, is the main virtue whose practice overcomes both spiritual and physical sloth.

THE PREDOMINANT FAULT

    Our predominant fault finds its source in one of these capital sins. It is the vice or sin we are most attracted to and most often commit. If we examine our conscience we shall discover the root of the evil. Then let us strive to conquer this predominant fault, and every morning ask God and Our Blessed Mother to help us. In the evening before retiring, let us examine our conscience to see whether we have failed, and if we have, let us make a good act of contrition and renew our resolution. If we follow this practice every day, gradually we will be able to root out our faults, one by one.