Posts by Arrowood
Supernatural Temperance and the Joy of Steak
Spiritual growth includes becoming fully human, and that is why we need the virtue of natural temperance. Natural temperance is the virtue of balancing our desires for created goods according to our needs. As a natural virtue, temperance exercises our free will over our physical desires. It, therefore, leads to greater freedom and helps us…
Read MoreSpiritual Growth in the Documents on Ecumenism from Vatican II
I am putting Orientalium Ecclesiarum, Unitatis Redintegratio and Nostra Aetate together to talk about ecumenism. Orientalium Ecclesiarum discusses the Eastern Churches who are in a state of schism with the Roman Catholic Church, but who have valid apostolic succession and valid sacraments. Unitatis Redintegratio is the main document on ecumenism, discussing our relationship with non-Catholic…
Read More4 Myths About the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude
Fortitude, the cardinal virtue of moral courage, is an important but largely neglected part of spiritual growth. We often assume that some people are born with fortitude and other people are not. Or we assume that courage is only necessary for specific, limited circumstances. So let’s begin our exploration of fortitude by busting a few…
Read MoreThe Virtue of Prudence: Choosing the Greatest Good
What does it mean to nurture the moral virtue of prudence? A big part of it is to carefully consider and intentionally move toward the best possible good. Prudence is the cardinal virtue of identifying authentic human good and making a plan to attain it. There are three stages of prudence: Step 1: Examining your…
Read MoreThe Cardinal Virtue of Temperance: Finding Your Sweet Spot
Part of spiritual growth is to live a fully human life by adopting a life of virtue. That means that we are more than animals. Animals are driven by instinct and desire. Their main purpose in life is to preserve their physical life and to continue their species. Now, there is no doubt that human…
Read MoreSpiritual Growth and Evangelization in the Second Vatican Council
Spiritual growth includes becoming active in the mission of Christ and his Church. Evangelization is an important part of that mission. In fact, Jesus’ last command, “Go and preach the good news to all the earth” is called the “Great Commission.” In the documents Ad Gentes and Inter Marifica, the Second Vatican Council makes it…
Read MoreHow to Form a Good Moral Conscience
The virtue of Prudence is the cardinal virtue of identifying authentic human good and making a plan to attain it. Among other things, this virtue helps us to develop our moral conscience. A big part of growing as a Christian is embracing the goodness that God has planned for us. In order to embrace this…
Read MorePrudence and the Examined Life in Spiritual Growth
Spiritual growth means filling your life with the goodness that God has planned for you. The virtue of prudence is the cardinal virtue of identifying authentic human good and making a plan to attain it. There are three stages of prudence: Examining your own life, growing in the wisdom of what is right and wrong,…
Read MoreSupernatural Prudence: Discerning God’s Will
While natural prudence is focused on attaining authentic good so that we can live the truly good life that God has planned for us, supernatural prudence is focused on knowing the good of God Himself. Natural virtue is aided by grace, but supernatural virtue is complete cooperation with grace. There is a strong connection between…
Read MorePhysical Health & Moral Virtue
Most Catholics do not associate physical health and moral virtue. This is a large part of the virtue of Temperance. I think part of the reason we don’t make this connection is that it has been commandeered by New Age movements such as Yoga. A very large part is also that we don’t make the…
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