Word to the Wise
Monday, June 2, 2008 - Monday in the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time
[2 Peter 1:2-7 and Mark 12:1-12]Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.
"Virtue" is a word that seems to be making a comeback, at least in certain professional ethics circles. One would hope that this comeback is occurring on a broader level as well! In the more academic realms, the "comeback" arises from concern about the extreme individualism that has become such an overwhelming force in American cultural, political and moral life. The same could be said of religious life as well! In any case, there has been a return to some classic texts such as Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" and St. Thomas Aquinas' SUMMA THEOLOGICA, (which takes much of its inspiration from Aristotle's approach). In essence, a virtue is a disposition to act in a consistent way. The "constellation of virtues" in a person blend in such a way that we refer to the "character" of that person. The "character" of a person is the way in which we know them best. If we say that a person lacks "character" we may be saying that they are dishonest or lack integrity or are like a chameleon whose color or shape changes according to circumstances. "Virtue ethicists" are interested in forming character so that a society can live in peace. This is not possible if it is "every man/woman for him/herself!" The words quoted from the Second Letter of Peter above were nothing new in the society of the time. But they offer us a handy list (like one of those framed cross stitch "samplers") of a way to form character and live according to the teachings of Christ. In St. Thomas Aquinas, the "moral virtues" of Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude would serve the same purpose. The constant drumbeat of political and commercial scandal, not to mention moral failures, in public life reminds us of the lack of "character" that voters fail to notice in some candidates! But the candidates are a good reminder to us of our own lack of character. Returning to the view of virtue that is instilled by parental example and teaching may indeed make it possible for our society to turn away from its extreme individualism and toward the way of love. AMEN
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