Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
– 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Choosing sin separates us from God’s Kingdom. We’re all sinners, so we can’t get to Heaven on our own.
But tomorrow, we celebrate that we don’t have to. God was born of the virgin Mary as the Word Made Flesh so that we may inherit eternal life. Repent and rejoice, for Jesus came to guide you home! The greatest holiday (and holy day) of the year is Easter, the celebration of Christ defeating death, but He first must be born of the flesh and live of the flesh to die of the flesh. Tomorrow, we celebrate His decision to love us so fully that He decided to descend from Heaven to save us. If we choose Him, He sanctifies us that we may join Him for all eternity. Praise God for His unending love!
Let them judge you, but remain virtuous. Let them criticize you, but remain wise. Let them misunderstand you, but remain kind. Let them hate you, but remain exceptional.
– Matshona Dhliwayo, Tweet
Reflection
It’s remarkable how the weeks have fallen: readings and homilies have been in line with the virtue of the week, various events and discussions seem to have highlighted the virtue of the week, and I’ve been most tempted by the sin of the week. That includes last week: I’ve been particularly distracted and fainéant recently (maybe even otiose), and my motivation seemed to deplete much more quickly than normal. Odd, given various excitements, but even my music (not to mention the site I needed to do contracted work) hasn’t been cooperative recently.
Regardless of various setbacks interestingly aligned with the current content, the content still made it up in a timely manner. I hope it was helpful; I also hope you’ll add your insight to the topics we’ve discussed as I want to learn more. A week to learn about a deadly sin and how to defeat it doesn’t seem like nearly enough time!
How do you handle moral inquiries as they arise? Where do you turn if you can’t see the path Jesus set? What are your tips on living virtuously? How do you keep your focus on Jesus so you can walk on water?
Summary
Over the last seven weeks, we discussed the deadly sins and their corresponding virtues, the root language, and what they mean. We then took a day to bring the ideas together and talk about how virtue conquers a particular sin. It’s my hope that another point came across clearly: Jesus loves you and wants you to be with Him, so He gave you virtues as guideposts to help guide you to Him.
What sins are your greatest struggle? Which virtues have you mastered? Are there any sins you simply aren’t tempted by? How has our discussion prompted you to think about various events and decisions in life? Let us know in the comments!
Further Investigation
- Randy Traeger wrote a book about many virtues entitled Building Character: One Virtue at a Time. He goes beyond the theological and cardinal virtues (those are rather buried) to include those dependent therefrom (such as enthusiasm, courage, and thankfulness). His later work, Voices of Virtue, is a collection of short stories offering lessons about living virtuously.
- Why God Moves You is another amazing video by Father Mike Schmitz also available as a podcast.
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