Posts Tagged ‘virtue’
Growing in the Theological Virtues and Our Hope for Heaven
The theological virtues are necessary for spiritual growth. The theological virtue of hope is very important because trust is the first part of any relationship. While the theological virtue of hope means trust in any promise that God makes us, it is primarily trusting in God’s promise of Heaven. There are three conditions needed to…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Hope Means Learning to Trust
Spiritual growth means growth in the theological virtues. Theological virtues are directly related to our relationship with God. God leads us to a relationship with him based on the way that human relationships work. Sure, he could just “zap” us in to intimacy with Him. But he chooses to approach us in ways that are…
Read MoreSupernatural Moral Virtues: Fortitude
We saw how spiritual growth will require us to grow in the moral virtues, including the virtue of fortitude to tackle evil in the world. We also saw how the virtue of fortitude can help our spiritual growth by giving us the courage we need to look into our hearts and to change our lives.…
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 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…
Read More6 Areas of Your Life Damaged By Being Too Busy
My life is still too busy, but I have found the concepts of Overload and Margin to be not only useful but nearly transforming in my life. Reading Dr. Richard Swenson’s book was a true awakening for me. “Oh, that’s my problem!” Like many, I assumed that my life was out of my control.…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues: So What is True Human Love Anyway?
OK, so what is true human love? Which Greek idea of love best fits the human heart? Many would say Philios, which isn’t a bad answer. After all, the Greeks called Philios the highest form of human love, right? Others would say that after Jesus, Agape is the best fit for the human heart. That’s…
Read More