Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XXVIII.

A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XXVIII.

Last updated on: August 25, 2011 at 10:19 am by Henry Karlson

A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XXVIII. 2011-08-25T10:19:01-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Introduction and Part II

“The body sees by means of the eyes, and the soul by means of the intellect.”[1] Without eyes the body is without sight, and so cannot enjoy the “shining sun on earth and ocean.”[2] Similarly, the soul without an undefiled, pure intellect living in holiness is “blind.”[3] Such a soul has no apprehension of God, and so cannot enjoy Gods “incorruptibility” or “eternal blessings.”[4]

“Ignorance of God is obtuseness and stupidity of soul. For ignorance gives birth to evil, while from knowledge of God comes that goodness which saves the soul. If you are anxious to cut off your desires through watchfulness and knowledge of God, then your intellect will be concentrated upon the virtues. But if, drunk through ignorance of God, you try to fulfill your evil desires for self-indulgence, you will perish like a beast because you disregard the evils that will befall you after death.”[5]

During our lives, we should pursue a life of virtue. Part of that pursuit is to be active in the world, doing what is necessary for the improvement of the world. We cannot be quietist and do nothing. Avoiding action when action is necessary is sinful. It is the easy way out, leading to an illusion of holiness. There is no proper spiritual foundation here, just the masquerade of virtue. It is spiritual neglect. “What is negligence (pramāda)? Its nature is that of laxity in being incapable of guarding against defilement and cultivating purity. Its activity is that of obstructing vigilance and acting as the support of increasing evil and injuring the good.”[6] Such quietude, because one is not tested or tried, does not develop the virtuous habit necessary to protect oneself from temptation. There is no purification nor virtue, but only the avoidance of the moral act altogether.

Ignorance of what one is to do is, in itself, not a legitimate excuse.[7] We can and should prepare ourselves so that we will not be confused when we find ourselves challenged by a serious moral dilemma. Central to this is an openness to God and a desire to please God in all that one does. Having our focus be on God will help regulate everything else in our lives. Even when we cannot see the presence of God in our life, we must reach out to God in love and faith. We must allow such love and faith to slowly purify our soul so that it can become enlightened by the grace of God. Then we can see and appreciate the presence of God, and note he has always been there beside us: God is always at work in our lives, even when we do not sense him.

The answer to a moral dilemma might not be easy, and, indeed, there might not be any perfectly pure resolution which we can discern, but if we live in the light of charity, in the light of love, we will do what is prudent with the hope and belief that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8b RSV). We might err, but if the error is based upon love, we have reason to believe that God’s grace will supply what we lack. If our error is based upon anything less than love, if it based upon some selfish desire which we will not achieve if the good is to be done, then the culpability any error is upon us and must be repented. How willful our ignorance is if we unwittingly do wrong and the intention behind our act lies at the forefront of any judgment and possible suffering or punishment that will comes from what we do.

We are not always confronted with difficult moral questions in our daily lives. We are often given the time to develop our spiritual condition, and we must take that time and make the best of it. Those who are free to contemplate the moral and spiritual condition have more responsibility to do so than those who do not have the time necessary for such reflections. They are to reflect upon moral choices and possibilities, not just for themselves, but for others, so they can become filled with wisdom and help those who do not have the time or ability to contemplate the virtues. Spiritual direction is an important task, but of course, those who seek for such direction must be humble and ready to accept the wisdom offered to them if they want to benefit from it. Even then, it does not take away their responsibility to engage what they have been told, to try to understand it and act upon it to the best of their ability. There is always the need for one to interiorize the wisdom receives, to make it one’s own. When such wisdom is ignored, when God is ignored, such a person is likely to be directed by the whims of desire; great evil comes out of such foolishness.

We are blessed with free will. However fallen our mode of willing is, and however weak it is through the habits of sin, we have enough power within to work upon and focus on the virtues, to contemplate them and bring them to the forefront of our mind so that we can create virtuous habits, habits which are necessary for our salvation. This does not remove God’s place in the spiritual life. All that needs to be done is not to be done by us. We must recognize the primary subject in history and in the promotion of the good will always be God. When we talk about the intellect and its ability to see God, we must remember that the spiritual senses attributed to the intellect are analogous to the bodily senses. When we were infants, we developed our ability to use the bodily senses; even if we did not properly understand what they reported to us, we experienced the material world through them. Similarly, in our spiritual development, our spiritual senses can and do develop. We can and do slowly understand what data they provide – as long as we work with them and let them grow into maturity. But God knows our spiritual condition and so, in and through the incarnation, we find the spiritual senses are confirmed by the bodily senses:

It is with both body and soul that the living human being experiences the world, and, consequently, also God. As Barth and Siewerth stress, man is not an isolated ‘soul’ which must work its way to reality by inferring it from phenomena. Man always find himself within the real, and the most real reality is the Thou – his fellow-man and the god who created him and who is calling him. Both are present together; and even if, as a child of Adam, man is always fleeing from this encounter with God, fleeing into abstractions of the spirit and into the spiritlessness of dulled senses, man cannot escape his hounding God who from the outset has tracked him down and brought him to a halt.[8]

God encounters us in many ways. How we respond to him, that is, if we turn toward God and say yes to him, or if we turn away and say no to him, will have an effect upon us. If we seek after all the inordinate, transitory pleasures of the world, we will not see God, because we have turned our back on him. If we, however, say yes to him and focus our mind on him, then we will begin to see, both in the physical world and in the interior world of our soul, the work of God in our lives. By seeing where God is at work, we see God’s presence in our lives. We must be open to God, we must concentrate on finding God, and pursue God with love, if we want to see and understand where God is in our lives. When we see where he is at, we can move in closer and closer to him, until at last, we will see and possess that goodness which brings us into union with him.

The contents of these two paragraphs are similar to, and continue, the themes we have already addressed. There is, to be sure, a kind of reversal here, where one comes to know God in order to know oneself, but the interdependent relationship of the two does not exclude either side of the picture. The desire to promote a life of virtue so that the intellect can come to know God is what we would expect from Anthony.

[1] “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life,” 347 (#118).

[2] “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life,” 347 (#118).

[3] “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life,” 347 (#118).

[4] “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life,” 347 (#118).

[5] “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life,” 347 (#119).

[6] Hsüan–tsang, “Demonstration of Consciousness-Only” in Three Texts on Consciousness Only. trans. Francis H. Cook (Berkley, CA: Numata Cener for Buddhist Translation and Research, 1999), 203.

[7] Clearly, we must not reject the possibility of invincible ignorance. Nonetheless, we must remember, even those invincibly ignorant should pursue, to the best of their ability, the path of wisdom and understanding. Their culpability might be lessened, but anyone who turns completely away from moral reflection and considers it meaningless will he held culpable of their ill-will.

[8] Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics. Volume I: Seeing the Form. trans. Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis. ed. Joesph Fessio, S.J. and John Riches (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1982), 406.

Previous Post

August 23, 2011

The Fire This Time

Next Post

August 25, 2011 Another case of Chaput-in-mouth disease

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2019 A Consistent Ethic of Life Aaron Weldon Abortion absurdity Abuse Scandal Academics Adoption Advent Africa agreement/disagreement with Church teaching Alexander Schmemann Alexham Alterity America Amnesty International Anarchism angels Anglicanism Animals Annual Statistics Anthony Anxietas Apocalyptic Apophatic Appalachia Aquinas Art Atheism Atonement Augustine Authority Baptism Beauty Bible biblical criticism biblical scholarship Bioethics Bishops Black Catholics Black Theology Blackadder Blogs Books Breastfeeding Brett Salkeld Buddhism Bush administration Byzantine Catholic Calvinism Canada Canon Law Capital Punishment Capitalism Caryll Houselander Catholic Blog Awards Catholic Blogging Catholic League Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Worker Movement Catholicity CFL Charity Children Chris West Christ and Culture Christian Democracy Christian Unity Christmas Christology Church Church Doctrine Church History Climate Change Cohabitation Colbert Collegiality Communion Communism Comparative Theology Competition Conferences conscience conscience rights Consequentialism Consistent Life Ethics Consumerism Contraception Contrition Conversion Converts Coptic COVID-19 Creation Critical Thinking Cross Cuba Culture Culture of Death Culture of Life Darfur David Cruz-Uribe David Wheeler-Reed Death Death Penalty Democracy Demons Desert Fathers Devil Dialogue dignity Disability Disarmament discernment Discipleship discrimination Dissent Distributism Division Doctrine Domestic Church Dorothy Day Double Effect Doubt Down syndrome Driving Early Church Easter Eastern Churches Ecclesiology Economics Economy Ecumenism Education El Salvador Election Election 2020 Ellul Embryonic Stem Cell Research Empire Energy Enlighenment Environmentalism Ephraim Radner Episcopal Church epistemology Equality Eschatology Ethics Eucharist Europe Euthanasia Evangelization Evil Evolution Excommunication F.X. Durrwell Facism Facts Fair Trade Faith Family Fashion Feddie Feminism Feminist theology Fertility Fetal Rights Fiction Film Finances First Things flags Folk Religion Food Foreign Affairs Forgiveness Frank Sheed Free Speech Freedom gay & lesbian persons Genocide George W. Bush George Weigel Gerald L. Campbell Girard/Mimetic Theory Global Warming Globalization Gnosticism Good Friday Grace Gratitude Greed Grey Cup 2009 Guadalupe Guest Post Guest Posts Gun Control Gustave Martelet Habitat for Humanity Hans Urs von Balthasar Harry Potter Hate Speech Health Health Care Healthcare Heather King Hebrew Bible Henri de Lubac Henry Karlson Herbert McCabe Heresy HHS Mandate Controversy History Holidays Holiness Holy Spirit Homiletics Homily Homosexuality Hope Hospitality How Far Can We Go? How Far Can We Go? Human Person Human Rights Humanae Vitae Humility Humor Hunger Hunting Identity Idolatry Ignacio Ellacuría Imagination Immigration In Memoriam Income Inequality Inculturation Indigenous People Individualism Inklings Intellect Interdependence Internet Interpretation Interviews Introduction Iraq War Islam Israel Jain James Alison James Martin Jazz Jesus Christ Jews Joe Biden Joe Hargrave Johann Baptist Metz John Allen John Henry Newman John Paul II John the Baptist John XXIII Jonathan Josef Pieper Joseph (the husband of Mary) Joseph Bernardin Joseph Ratzinger Josh Brumfield Journals Joy Judgment Just War Justice Kari Lundgren Karl Rahner Katerina Ivanovna Kenya Keynes Kingdom of God Kyle R. Cupp Labor Language Latin America Law Leanne Ogasawara Legion of Christ Leisure Lent Liberalism Liberation Theology Libertarianism Libya Lies Life life & dignity & responsibility of the human person Literature Little Way Liturgical music Liturgical Year Liturgy Living Simply Living Wage Local Church Lombard Lord of the Rings Louis Dupre Love M.Z. Magic Magisterium Mark DeFrancisis Mark Gordon Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masculinity Matt Talbot Matthew Fish Matthew Levering McCain Media Memorial Day Mennonites Mental Illness mercy Michael Iafrate Middle East militarism Miroslav Volf Mitt Romney Modesty Moral Theology Morality Mormonism Morning's Minion Mother Teresa Music Muslims Natalie Nate Wildermuth Nationalism Native Americans Nature Nazis Neuhaus New Evangelization New York City News NFP nihilism Nonviolence Not Abortion Nova's Ordo Nuclear weapons Nuns Obama Occult Old Age Opus Dei Ordination ordination of women original sin Orthodoxy Oscar Romero Other Voices Pacifism Palestine Palin Papacy Papal Peace Messages Papal Social Encyclicals Particular Affections Partisanship Patriotism Paul Paul Ryan Paul VI Peace Pentimento persecution Personalism Phantastes Philosophy PKD Planned Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Policraticus Politcal Apathy Politics Poll Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope Leo XIV Population Postcolonialsim Poverty Power Prayer Preaching Predictions Predictions for 2012 President Barack Obama priestly formation & discernment Pro-Life Progress Prophetic Witness Proportionalism Public Diplomacy Public Policy Question Quotes Rachel Maddow Racism Radical Catholic Mom Radical Catholicism Raymund Schwager Real Catholic TV Real Presence Reconciliation Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange Religion religious freedom Responsibility Ressourcement Resurrection Rick Garnett Ridiculous Crap You Never Thought You'd See Robert Barron Roe v. Wade Roman Curia Rome Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation History Sam Harris Sam Rocha Same-sex Marriage Saskatchewan Roughriders Satire School of the Americas Science Scripture Seamless Garment Second Vatican Council Seeing Sex sexual violence Sexuality Sia Sin social justice Social Security Socialism Society of Jesus Sofia Loves Wisdom Solidarity Sophia soteriology Soutenus Spirituality Sports St. Dismas St. Joseph Stanley Hauerwas Statistics Stimulus Suffering Sunday Reflections Supernatural Supreme Court Symbolism Syria Taxing Technology Terrorism The State The Tea Party The Trump Administration Theological Anthropology Theology Theotokos Thomas Merton Throwaway Culture Tim Muldoon Tim Riley Tim Tebow Time Titian Tolkien Torture Toys Trade Traditionalism Transgender Transportation Transubstantiation Trinity Truth TV U.S. Affairs Uncategorized Unions unity among people who disagree US Catholicism USCCB Usury Utilitarianism Utopia Valentine's Day Vatican Vatican II Veterans Vicarious Suffering Video Violence Virgin Mary Vocations Voluntary Associations Voluntary Poverty Voting Vox Nova vox nova blog war War and Peace War Strategy Wealth Weirdness Welfare state Women Women Priests Work Woundedness Youth

Select a Month June 2026 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 November 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In the parable of the talents, what is rewarded?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Sincerity Riches Faithfulness Patience