Consequent Ideas

I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!”
He said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:9-10, 14

Today, the faithful celebrate all the Saints and saints who have gone before us, both known and unknown. We dedicate today to those who have already attained heaven. Practices vary throughout the world, some cultures decorating the graves of loved ones and others eating soul cakes or flying giant colorful kites at festivals. Something we share across cultures is the Mass. All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics. I attended a beautiful Mass this morning in the local chapel (what a wonderful way to start the day!), know of friends attending the noontime Mass, and still others planning to attend tonight.

Why is today a big deal?

The Saints and saints (whether canonized or not) provide guidance for us as we amble through our lives. Some of them were selected to play crucial roles for Holy Mother Church historically; all of them are actively cheering us on to join them. Before they crossed to the other side of the veil to join Christ in heaven, they lived their faith, helping the rest of us do the same, both in this life and in the next.

This doesn’t mean they were perfect; they were human, too. We needn’t look beyond our most well-known Saints Peter and Paul to know that. Peter denied Jesus thrice before the cock crowed on the first Good Friday and Paul was the Pharisee Saul who martyred Christians before his come-to-Jesus moment. The same Saints we ask for help struggled in life, falling into sin themselves.

This makes them excellent intercessors for our prayers: they struggled and fell, too, so they can empathize with us even in our unholiest of moments. If we ever feel too lowly to speak to Jesus, we can reach out to someone who fell and got back up. It’s kind of like offending one friend, then asking another for advice on how to right the situation. “What do I say? What do I do? When and how do I do it?” Even when we know all the answers, we sometimes want to run to a third party before making amends.

So, to answer the question, today is a big deal because the saints and Saints show us that getting to heaven is possible despite our sins. We struggle, yes; that is our role as saints militant – Catholics striving for heaven. More than this, today reminds us that those who have made it before us are available to act as intercessors; remember to ask them for help when you need it, because helping us in our Earthly struggle is part of their job description: saints help fellow saints.

I am going to Jerusalem with aid for the saints.

Romans 15:25

One of my favorites is Mother Teresa. Many know about her wonderful works to the poor, underserved communities. I find her most inspiring because of her repeated decision to continue serving the impoverished while enduring serious doubts about God. Her profound and repeated encounter with the dark night of the soul did not keep her from pressing on for the sake of those Jesus wanted her to reach on His behalf. Mother Teresa was a witness to Christ even when she felt nothingness, showing us – showing me – that conquering this struggle is possible.

Also among my favorites is Saint Michael: when I’m struggling with something, it’s the first rote prayer that comes to mind, so I cling to his sword in my battles to follow Christ. He often leads me to a song reminding me of who I am to God, reminding me that Jesus wants to hear from me directly, too. “My heart rejoices; with my song, I praise my God.”

How do you celebrate All Saints Day? Do you have a favorite Saint (or saint) that you pray to for help? (Perhaps a patron Saint?) Is there someone special you remember on All Saints Day? Whether it’s a simple, “Please help me through the day, Peppep,” or asking for the Virgin Mother’s guidance in a rosary, leave a comment; I’d love to hear about your favorite Saints and saints, what you talk with them about, and how you celebrate today.

Take this opportunity to reach out to a saint you feel called to connect with. This may be the start, or resurgence, of a beautiful relationship.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 28:7

Music to Celebrate All Saints Day

• For All the Saints (Sine Nomine) – recording from Te Deum 2015 in Grand Rapids, MI
• Many and Great – Ricky Manalo, CSP – recording provided by Oregon Catholic Press
• Blessed Are They – David Haas
• Sing with All the Saints in Glory (Hymn to Joy) – performed by Dawn Slike
• The Summons (Kelvingrove) – performed by Robert Kochis
• Here I Am, Lord – Dan Schutte

A List of Yet More Options to Check Out

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

Yesterday, we forged a working definition for sin: intentionally doing wrong, whether it be against the laws of man or the laws of God. Today, we look to ways to avoid sin with virtues – working definition to follow.

Overview

Just as we’ve all sinned at some point – it’s part of being human – so, too, we’ve all been tempted with sin yet abstained from it. Well done! Life is conquered one step at a time!

Some of us may ask, How did I not fall into the trap? How did I not sin there, especially since I committed the same grievance other times? How did I manage to cling to what is right when it was so difficult and when doing wrong was so easy?

Virtue: behaviour showing high moral standards; a quality considered morally good or desirable
Etymology: from the Latin virtus, meaning valour, merit, and moral perfection

Oxford dictionary

Okay, so virtue is good and morally desirable behavior, but what exactly is good and morally desirable behavior?

Try to simply find a list of virtues; it seems most sources disagree on what exactly makes the cut. Part of this is because there are lead virtues and subordinate virtues – ones that can be characterized within an umbrella virtue but may be crucial enough in a specific place and time to get a particular call out.

Here’s an example: honesty. Honesty is an amazing virtue, one I hold in high regard, but it’s not among the theological or cardinal virtues by name. I hypothesize that honesty fits under the umbrella for combating pride with humility and justice. Why does it get its own name, its own shout-out, its own title? Because language is important. Language highlights the terms we have need for. Just as the Scots have 421 words for snow (my favorite: feefle) because the weather has been so important to their livelihoods, we all use words that are important to us – or make words up to fit the missing meaning.

But wait a second – theological and cardinal virtues? In combatting sin, we use both theological and cardinal virtues. Let’s take a quick look at this. (There are several ways these are discussed; I’m taking that I believe to be the generally accepted Catholic route, but feel free to point out if I’ve gone astray.)

I found additional information recently, so I’m amending a previous post. (I’ll tag it so it’s not “ghost” edited; I’m learning, so I’d rather admit my mistakes lest I accidentally lead another astray.) As an update to our chart from the other day…

Updated Chart of Sins and Virtues

Sin	Principal Virtue	Theological or Cardinal Virtue
Avaritia: avarice, greed	Liberalitas: generosity, charity	Love (Theological)
Invidia: envy, jealousy	Humanitas: kindness, gratitude	Hope (Theological)
Ira: wrath, anger	Patientia: patience, compassion	Faith (Theological)
Luxuria: lust, impurity	Castitas: chastity, purity	Prudence (Cardinal)
Superbia: pride, arrogance	Humilitas: humility, modesty	Justice (Cardinal)
Gula: gluttony, voracity	Temperantia: temperance, moderation	Temperance (Cardinal)
Acedia: sloth, laziness	Industria: diligence, fervor	Fortitude (Cardinal)

Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love

Faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

This may be the most recognized Bible verse. It often appears in weddings, on billboards, and on home decor.

These three are the lighthouses we can reach for even when we’re lost amidst the worst of storms. Remember a time when you felt trapped, like your world was ending; what got you out of it? Maybe someone swooped in and saved you, but unless you had a way of mentally getting out of that trap, you wouldn’t have truly escaped. What helped you get out? What helped you move on? Having no idea what circumstance you’re thinking of, my bet is on one of these three: faith, hope, and/or love.

The theological virtues are some of the most powerful weapons against evil in all of its forms; they’re also some of the most direct conduits we have to God. (Ranking higher: Jesus on speed dial, the Holy Eucharist, and the celebration of the Mass.)

Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude

If any one loves righteousness, her labors are virtues;
for she teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage;
nothing in life is more profitable for men than these.

Wisdom 8:7

These virtues are both the seeds and harvest of moral goodness, helping us to conduct ourselves in a moral manner. They seem like habits: when we start, it may be difficult, but once established, that we do it makes it easier to do the next time. Example: starting a workout routine can be difficult, but if you get up every morning at 5 am and go for a run every day for a month, it’s much more difficult to not get up for your morning run than it was before. Maybe it takes a day or two to settle in, but you get restless and feel the urge to just go for that run. It goes the same for habits of virtue: if you consistently look before you leap, it can be incredibly difficult to suddenly not.

The cardinal virtues are called by a number of names in the Bible, and sometimes they are referred to with other virtues within their umbrella. Put simply, prudence is right reason in action, justice results in habitual right thinking and uprightness of conduct, temperance provides balance in our lives, and fortitude ensures firmness in difficulty and constancy in the pursuit of good. The cardinal virtues are called as such because they are particularly important, hence part of our study.

We will go deeper into these seven virtues in the weeks to come. Let me know what you think thus far, and stay tuned!

Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

2 Peter 1:5-7

Further Reading…

Virtue and Vice Lists in the Bible

Catholic Resources has a wonderful article compiling biblical and catechetic information about the major sins and virtues. This is very short, and quite information dense. I suggest printing the article to your computer (as a .pdf) because the background on the website and the tiny font size make it very hard to read. (Print it at regular size so the chart at the top is visible, then use your .pdf reader to zoom in for the small font.)

Short Workbook on Virtue

The Institute in Basic Life Principles offers a .pdf workbook online including explanations, examples, and Bible references (chapter and verse). There’s also a coloring page, a craft, a doodle maze, and music with a backstory – perfect for engaging a young or young-at-heart audience.

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist,
and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

Isaiah 11:1-5

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:22-24

Some of the fruits of the Spirit are among the above-listed virtues, but not all are included, and some are not on the list. This piqued my interest, but I didn’t want to overload this post, so … more later.

Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24

This can be a sorrowful topic, so I’m starting it off with a spoiler alert:

Jesus won on the cross. He came to love you and to die for you, and He did just that and then rose from the dead for you to show you the way to eternal life.

Whelp, now that the wonderful spoiler is out there, let’s dig in.

Overview

As a Catholic, my lay-person view of sin is that it is essentially a wrong committed. Theologians may debate the interpretation of Matthew 5:28, what it means to sin in your heart, and the legalese definition of sin; I’m not there yet, so I’m not going to take anyone else there. Here is what I understand: sin is intentionally acting against the will of God.

Secular and don’t like that definition? Well, here’s a more grey offering: sin is intentionally doing something wrong. Despite the relativism we face in the world today, there are acts that we inherently understand to be wrong. Maybe you feel guilty after, maybe you were really excited to get someone back but then didn’t feel so hot after retribution, or maybe you just have a feeling of unease after doing something. This is gray because I can only offer symptoms: there isn’t much of a proper secular definition of wrongdoing; we explore this further below, but in the end, we only have a gut check.

We’ve all done something wrong; it’s part of being human, so don’t beat yourself up over it. Part of becoming our best selves is to learn from our mistakes and grow. Sins are moral errors in judgment: choosing the easy over the right, the pleasure over the pain, the impulse over eternity. Some of these errors in judgment we will make recurringly, and some we will cross the line once and refuse to cross it again.

Back to the topic: what is sin? Here are our working definitions:
– Theist: sin is intentionally acting against the will of God.
– Secular: sin is intentionally doing wrong.

While these are the definitions I am going to use for this series, it requires a little further explanation. Given that we have two definitions, parsing them will require taking both forks in the road.

Theistic: Intentionally Acting Against the Will of God

Sin: an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law

Oxford dictionary

Simple enough: to sin is to breach divine law. Here’s a slight problem, though: what is divine law? Again, I’m among the laity, not a theologian or a theology scholar, so (without going down the rabbit hole), I can only interpret this through the lens I have: the lens of the lay. (I’ll look things up when they pique my interest, but I’m not chasing the rabbit if I realize I’ve started after it.)

In plain English, to sin is to break a rule set by God – that’s what this definition says. It seems a pretty fair and accurate assessment based on what I knew coming to the table. However, if I care what rules God is laying down, I should probably check God’s definition, too, right?

Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:17

This verse points out that there is right and wrong, and God wants us to do what is right. Overall, we know what is right or wrong. We don’t need someone to tell us it’s wrong to attack the neighbor’s pet dog with a fork, even if that same dog won’t stop barking at the orchid we placed on the porch yesterday. There are times when we need to figure things out, even getting help to interpret the proper direction.

This verse also declares the intentionality part of our working definition: “Whoever knows… for him it is a sin.” If we don’t understand something is wrong, it isn’t sin. This is necessarily on the honor system; whether or not I comprehend is not something someone else could know.

Part and parcel to intentionality: sin is between the sinner and the Savior. While we can (and should) help and guide others away from treacherous ways, we can’t truly understand another’s comprehension without divine intervention. Any admonishment must be done out of love – to urge a friend for their own eternal sake – and not selfish or any other reasons.

A quick rewind before marching on: if sin is breaking a rule set by God, that means God pre-selected a certain “right” because sin is not adhering to the “right.” In un-gibberish, God chose what is right for us. Logically, that means if we chose to do right, we’re not just choosing God’s path, we’re choosing God.

Secular: Intentionally Doing Wrong

Sin: an act regarded as a serious or regrettable fault, offence, or omission

Oxford dictionary

Oooch, look at the end of that definition again. This adds a bite to the apple, doesn’t it? Or, rather, it clarifies something: the act may be affirmative or it may be omissive – something done or not done.

Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

1 John 3:4

Not that the secular reader is interested in a Bible verse, but this one is pretty useful for following the train of thought. This is of particular interest because it gives a cut-and-dry approach to the term in ways comprehensible to the secular mind. (I will assume that you, dear reader, are interested in the perspectives of others, including those in a relationship with a greater power which you may not believe exists – at least as much as you would like to know why someone might think differently than you do.)

In effect, sin is breaking the law. There are presumptions to be made (that the law is just, for example, and imposed by a legitimate governing body). Unless laws are wrong (unjust, invalid, or against more core laws), they should be followed – even if they seem arbitrary. (The rants I’ve heard about the outdated scientific inquiries and historical bias of speed limit laws bears a mention.) Rules, regulations, and policies overseen and enforced by a legitimate overseer, whether a government, business one engages with, or religious group one participates in, count as laws in this context.

TL;DR (Recap)

Sin is an intentionally wrong act. We know that the act is wrong because it is against a proper law set by a legitimate person (or Person or persons) in charge of setting the laws.

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:34-36

What’s Next?

Now that we know what sin is, we can investigate how to overcome temptations to sin with virtue!

Preface

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

– Matthew 7:3

I know we’re excited, but, before we dig in, I preface these posts with this reminder: we all fall short of the glory of God. That statement can either condemn you for never being worthy or set you free because God loves you just the way you are. Let it liberate you. Let it liberate you from your own self-condemnation, but also let it liberate you of the urge to condemn others. We’re all in the same boat; would you rather yell at the sailor next to you or bail the water spouting in from the leak at your foot?

I urge you to take these thoughts to prayer. If the Spirit moves you, comment here, ask me something, or talk it over with a trusted friend or spiritual director. I’m interested to hear (or read) what you have to say, and I’m hoping this series will inspire a little introspection and hope. Why hope? (I’m glad you asked, dear reader!) Because knowing there is a treatment for a disease is reason for hope, and we have treatments and a cure waiting for us if we so choose to accept them. Blessed be God forever!

Introduction: Sins, Virtues, and the Investigative Game Plan

Are you interested in the fight between good and evil in the world today? The concept we’re exploring first: sins and virtues. Between now (All Hallows week) and Christmas, we’re going to delve into the seven deadly sins and the virtues that triumph over them.

Have you heard of the seven deadly sins? Pope Gregory wrote about them in the year 590 (AD). The seven deadly sins are lust, gluttony, sloth, pride, wrath, envy, and greed. There are also seven theological virtues, each one protecting against the temptation from one of the seven deadly sins. In the order of the above-referenced list, the seven theological virtues are chastity, temperance, diligence, humility, patience, kindness, and charity.

The seven virtues may also reference the seven cardinal virtues. The cardinal virtues somewhat parallel the theological virtues: prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice, faith, hope, and love. Below, find a chart of the seven deadly sins, the theological virtues which protect against them, and the parallel cardinal virtue.

Sin	Theological Virtue	Cardinal Virtue
Lust	Chastity	Prudence
Gluttony	Temperance	Temperance
Sloth	Diligence	Fortitude
Pride	Humility	Justice
Wrath	Patience	Faith
Envy	Kindness	Hope
Greed	Charity	Love

Have I whet your appetite? I’m thrilled to jump into this. The deadly sins? Interesting. The heroic virtues? Count me in! This is going to be awesome, and I have hope that you will enjoy the adventure with me.