Mary's Birthday

Birth of Mary

 

     I. "Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?" (Cant. vi. 9). The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin was indeed like the dawn, caused by the sun, and announcing the approach of day. Mary appeared, the early reflection, by her grace and sinlessness, of the first beams of the Sun of justice. That dawn was eagerly looked for during the long night of the old dispensation, continually promised and prefigured. Our Lady is compared to the moon, fair and beautiful, a subordinate luminary, with no light of its own, but shining with a reflected brightness. She is also "the woman clothed with the sun" (Apoc. xii. 1), bright with the sun's brightness, with the glory of Jesus Christ, because she is the image of His virtues, and has her dignity from Him. She is terrible to the hosts of hell, as being the only one over whom they had never prevailed, and as the Mother of their Conqueror. As in every other case, the splendour of this work of God was shrouded in humility. Except the parents of Mary perhaps, none knew the greatness of this child of promise. The day which gave joy to the unseen world passed without notice in the sphere where it occurred. She herself did not suspect, till the angel announced it, the designs that God had for her. Consider how God regarded the day of Mary's birth; consider what it was to God the Son who was to be born of her; consider its importance to the world and to you.

     II. The day of birth is not usually celebrated by Religion. It is, for the most part, the coming of a child of Adam into an inheritance of sin and sorrow; it is the first stage of a course which will be marked by offences against God, and perhaps may end in eternal loss. The birthday on which the Church congratulates her saints, is the day on which they cast off "the body of this death" and commence their life in heaven. With the Scripture she says, better is "the day of death than the day of one s birth" (Eccles. vii. 2). Not till that day can it be declared by God that His work is wholly good. With Jesus it was different: the day of His birth is a day of universal joy. Of this fulness of His some have received. The blessedness of His sinless divine birth over flowed upon two others who were connected with Him ; and the Church celebrates, besides Christmas Day, the nativities of the Precursor and of the Mother of Jesus. You do not share in that rare privilege; but you have received the grace of a spiritual nativity in Baptism, and it lies with you to make yourself worthy of the further birth to eternal life on the day of your death.

     III. Birth is accounted noble when it has been preceded by a line of distinguished ancestors. The Blessed Virgin was of the most noble and splendid descent known to history. She was of the chosen nation, of the royal tribe of Judah, of the house and family of David. Through Abraham, Noah and the patriarchs, the line is carried back unbroken to the first parents, who proceeded from the hand of God. But not for this is the Nativity of Mary honourable. She conferred on her ancestors more glory than she received from them. Their chief title of nobility was that a daughter of their line was to be Mother of the Redeemer of the world. On this account it was that Providence segregated the Jewish nation from all others, and guarded so carefully the direct line of descent, and saved its origin from being lost in the universal obscurity. Our Lady not only ennobled her own family and nation, but all her sex and all humanity. Her influence gave to women, under the Jewish and Christian dispensations, a position of dignity such as was unknown elsewhere; and that position declines wherever the religious honour due to Christ's Mother is neglected. Unite yourself with those who "all blessed her with one voice saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honour of our people" (Judith xv. 10).

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The Consideration of Virtue

THE SEMINARIANS

     I. The operation of the intelligence must precede that of the will. We must carefully study principles and methods before we proceed to practical applications. In every branch of activity men need to be educated beforehand as to its laws in all their details. Serious consideration must be systematic and not at haphazard. A superficial acquaintance with formulas is not sufficient; it is necessary to impress the mind, and stir up interest and enthusiasm. Such is the case with the education of the soul to virtue. We should know what exactly is the nature of virtue, the means of practising it, the obstacles which stand in its way, the vices opposed to it; and we should be acquainted with the great model of all virtue in the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the lives of His followers who have made the divine Ideal the measure of ordinary lives. "Blessed is he that understandeth." Without such careful training of the mind we shall run the risk of mistaking our course, of overlooking some important virtue, of carefully cultivating a weed instead of a flower, and a vice instead of the divine reality. In any case our efforts will be indefinite, unpractical, and without result. Take care that you do not lead a random life, drifting hither and thither without any definite aim, forgetting your deficiencies, neglecting systematic self-conquest, taking ignorance as an all-sufficient guide. Investigate the whole field of virtue, consider your own needs, and proceed systematically, as in learning a business or educating a child.

     II. It is necessary, secondly, to consider carefully our own dispositions, opportunities and duties. "Know thyself" was a maxim of the ancient sages. We should scrutinize our habits and actions, ascertain our predominant vice, as well the predominant gift which should be the chief instrument of labour in God's service, and penetrate through the veil of self-deception which hides us from our own eyes, and makes us seem so different to ourselves from what we seem to others. We must consider the special circumstances of our particular state of life with its peculiar duties; we must see what virtues befit us, and be guided in their attainment by divine and human prudence. A thing that is good is not on that account good for all states of life: each state has its own perfection, which is not the same for others. We may fall into serious error while practicing actual virtue, and may do more harm by aspiring too high in proportion to our grace than by falling below our vocation. How difficult is this way, where you have to beware of perils not only from your bad intentions but even from your good ones! Watch and pray; examine your conscience frequently, and with severity and absolute sincerity. Beseech God to pour forth His light and illumine the hidden recesses of your soul.

     III. We must not rely exclusively on our own resources, but avail ourselves of the accumulated wisdom of holy men, as embodied in spiritual literature, and in those who have been called by God to the direction of souls. We must devote much care to the selection of both the living and the literary guide; and having done our best and solicited the divine assistance, we should esteem their teaching as the word of God. Spiritual reading and systematic meditation are of absolute necessity in order to keep our minds stored with divine truths, and show us our shortcomings, and teach us what virtues we ought to aspire to, and how we ought to carry them out. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the great reservoir of moral and spiritual knowledge. Our Lord is the model of every virtue, and the example for every class and condition of human life. His words and works should be our meditation by day and night. Avail yourself of every opportunity of studying virtue the example and conversation of others, meditation, reading, and the guidance of your spiritual director.

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The Progress of Virtue

Fletcher Abner

 

     I. The beginnings of the infused habits of the moral and theological virtues are not from our own strivings but from God. They come to us with the infusion of sanctifying grace. This grace is bestowed on us by God through the Sacraments; or, in default of the Sacraments, it is given to us by God's free bounty in response to our turning towards Him with acts of charity and repentance of our sins. We then receive the faculty of eliciting actions of every kind on the supernatural level. Our souls are enriched with new endowments, viz. the powers and facilities for all the virtues; and this makes them beautiful in the sight of God as presenting more fully the image of His perfections. The acquired habits of virtue are established in our souls as we gain the knowledge of them, become familiarized with them, learn to esteem and desire them, and finally put them into frequent practice. The infused and acquired habits must be united. We must not be contented with the mere potentiality of exercising faith or justice on the supernatural plane; we must bring that potentiality into effect as occasion offers, and repeat the actions of faith or justice, exercising our natural faculties until they are moulded to the forms of virtue as by a second nature. The infused habit, or supernatural potentiality, must take shape in the acquired habit of action, to bring forth fruit and prove its vitality. Without that infusion from God, the habit of action, of belief or of justice, e.g., is only of the natural order and is dead as regards the higher life.

     II. The habits of virtues, both the infused and the acquired, are capable of being developed in us; and it is an important part of our duty on earth to advance from virtue to virtue until we see the God of Gods in Sion. The progress in each kind of habit corresponds to the process by which it was originated. The infused habits of virtue are bestowed by God in union with sanctifying grace, and they vary with it. Every prayer or other act of virtue beautifies the soul with a new accession of sanctifying grace; and in equal measure that principle acts in greater intensity within us which gives the supernatural quality to our good deeds, and originates Faith, Hope, Charity and the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The habit of action, or the acquired facility of deeds of virtue, is increased by the continual repetition of those acts, until we arrive at the practice of the most difficult virtues, and until those things which to the natural man are impossible become the common-places of our lives. The habit of action is our daily currency, the infused supernatural habit is our capital; the constant overturn of habitual acts increases the permanent habit which stands behind them and gives them their supernatural value. Pray God that you may always advance on this double line.

     III. If we do not advance we fall back. Our habits of virtue are under a liability to diminution and entire destruction. The infused habits of virtue are radically destroyed by the loss of sanctifying grace through the commission of one mortal sin. The acquired habit of action does not however perish. Our belief, for instance, in divine mysteries may be as firmly rooted in us as before the act of sin, but it is no longer living supernatural faith, it is simply the momentum which still survives in our natural faculties from the accumulated acts of faith that went before. In course of time however the absence of sanctifying grace and the infused supernatural habit tells upon the acquired habits of action. Graces of action are diminished, and good actions themselves first lose their supernatural quality, and then perhaps the natural facility for their repetition; they first become spiritually dead, and then die out as actions, from disuse and from repeated falls into the sins that are opposed to them. Beware of any weakening of either class of habits; and do not trust to the sufficiency of one alone if the other be deficient.

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The Motives of Virtue

Kathy and Colleen

 

     I. The practice of virtue generally is most desirable on account of its intrinsic advantages. 

 

1. For its utility. Everything good is profitable in its effects. A life of virtue leads men to the possession of the Supreme Good, i.e. God, and eternal happiness. It secures them the favour and protection of God, antidotes to almost all evils, a peaceable life and a holy death. Virtue is absolutely necessary for the existence and prosperity of the social system; without it a community cannot devise good laws or administer them profitably, or secure to each his rights. "All good things came to me with her, and innumerable riches through her hands" (Wisd. vii. 11). 

 

2. It promotes happiness. The pleasures of a virtuous life are the highest, for their purity, their loftiness, their wholesomeness, their permanence: nothing equals the happiness of a good conscience. 

 

3. Virtue is honourable. Although the following of Christ brings persecution and calumny, it is nevertheless true that "Thy friends, O Lord, are made exceedingly honourable" (Ps. cxxxviii. 17). Virtue, though it be neglected and even persecuted, yet always commands respect. Nought else possesses such advantages. The utilities, the pleasures, the honours that are sought for without regard to virtue are transient, deceptive, unreal, injurious rather than beneficial, they never satisfy expectations, but lead to bitter disappointment and failure. Never allow yourself to be led from the path of rectitude by any promise of advantage however alluring. It is always a bad bargain to sell Christ and one s conscience for thirty pieces of silver.

     II. While we are permitted to take account of these advantages, we must not dwell exclusively on the present benefits that accompany virtue. This would be making creatures and self the object of our actions. God should always be our final object, and more especially in those actions which He inspires, and which of their own nature lead us towards Him. The thought of God is the highest and the most efficient of all motives. Nothing less than this will suffice us in the long and arduous struggle after holiness. There are many who restrain themselves and do good actions for the resultant benefits, for the sake of comfort, health, or esteem, out of human respect, or on account of prevailing fashion, or for fear of consequences. Such virtue is highly esteemed in the world; but it is simply the appearance of virtue, it is a more refined form of selfishness, it is a beating of the air, and leaves no results of merit and eternal reward behind. You must endeavour not only to do the actions which God has imposed on you as the law of your well-being, but you should do them for the sake of God, for the advancement of His glory, and because they are His will. Do not turn them into a service of fashion, of the world, of self. "I am not troubled following Thee for my pastor; and I have not desired the day of man, Thou knowest" (Jer. xvii. 16).

     III. Even in those actions which are perfectly good in themselves, and which belong to the direct service of God or our neighbour, there is always danger that self may intrude and become at least their partial motive. "Why have we fasted, and Thou hast not regarded? . . . Behold, in the day of your fast your own will is found" (Isa. Iviii. 3). The application of some unexpected test often shows that even in acts of religion, of self-sacrifice, of benevolence to others, we have sought self in reality and not God. Actions started with high aims often descend gradually from that elevation, and return towards the earth instead of mounting to the throne of God. It is necessary to keep a careful watch on the good we do, and analyze our motives occasionally, lest it turn out that we have been following our own will instead of God's, or that our zeal has been a mere ebullition of natural energy, or that vanity and obstinacy have been our sustaining force rather than grace. In all acts of virtue renounce mentally all the pleasure and profit thence arising, and offer all to God.

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Infused Habits in Particular

Mrs. Pasquale Trani

 

     I. Mankind are moved to action and guided in it by reason, which proceeds by the way of knowledge and judgment; also by faith which furnishes a totally new knowledge and illumination; and thirdly, by the Holy Ghost, who further inspires good thoughts, and affords direction and strength to carry them into effect. The movements of the Holy Spirit act immediately on the two master faculties, the intelligence and the will. God adapts these faculties so that they may correspond to the influence from without; and He confers on them spiritual aids, which are distinguished in Holy Scripture and in our estimation according to the different operations of our minds when so inspired. The Prophet enumerates seven species of infused grace which are attributed to the Holy Ghost as His gifts. These are "the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness, and . . . the spirit of the fear of the Lord" (Isa. xi. 2, 3). They are the peculiar endowments of the Messias; and, on account of our participation in Him and in His Spirit, these same gifts become part of our inheritance also. These represent the graces which guide the intellect both as speculative and as practical, and they aid the will as to the accomplishment of its duties courage under difficulties, and resistance to temptation. Such are some of the favours accorded to the faithful soul; they are manifested especially in the saints, but also in every one who maintains himself in the grace of God.

     II. There is another class of virtues which are rather general conditions under which all the more specialized virtues must be exercised if they are to be perfect. These are the Cardinal virtues, on which all the others turn; they stand first in order of the moral virtues on account of their universal application, and they follow immediately after the theological virtues. They are mentioned in Holy Scripture. Wisdom, it says, "teaches Temperance, and Prudence, and Justice, and Fortitude, which are such things as that men can have nothing more profitable in life" (Wisd. viii. 7). They are necessary virtues of the natural order as well, and at times may be developed in an eminent degree; but for their full and general efficiency, even in the natural order, they need to be supplemented by supernatural considerations, and supported by a supernatural influx from God. Still more do they require this when they deal with that series of objects which concern our salvation. In this regard the prudence and the justice of this world are not merely insufficient but generally misleading; for different measures and different principles have to be applied in the two spheres. Hence the impossibility of the carnal mind understanding the things of the Spirit. You have received from God something more than all the world can give.

     III. Those who have accepted the spiritual call of God are brought into immediate relations with Him of knowledge, trust and expectation, and union of love. To render them capable of this, God infuses into them the highest set of predisposing qualities, the habits of the Theological Virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity. The other virtues are concerned with the means of reaching God, these are concerned with the apprehension of God Himself. The material on which the other infused virtues are employed is found in the natural order; the object of these is known to us by revelation only, it is the body of recondite truths connected with the supreme uncreated Being. The Theological Virtues, therefore, are the means by which human .faculties are raised to their highest expression, and employed on the noblest object. By them we know of truths that are beyond human discovery ; we are enabled to aspire to happiness and glory beyond all in this world; and the faculty of love is exalted into adhesion to, and enjoyment of transcendent and infinite life. The effects of these will abide when all else has passed away. Ask God for an abundance of these great gifts.

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Acquired and Infused Habits of Virtue

Danbury, Connecticut

 

     I. Man begins his course devoid of all virtues, and unable for a long time to act consciously and responsibly. The soul is a blank canvas which is to receive its character at a later date from habits of different kinds and the actions accompanying them, from the virtues and vices and the acts of virtue and of vice. There is a preliminary distinction of virtues into intellectual and moral, corresponding to the two master-faculties of our nature, the intelligence and the will. They have regard respectively to the cognisance of truth, or to the guidance of our affections and external actions. The intellectual virtues are rather of an abstract kind, the moral are practical; yet these two are closely connected in many ways. Reasoning, whether true or false, precedes the action and conduces to forming its determinate moral character. The moral sense, such as it is, good or perverted, often influences the apprehensions and judgments of the intellect. Purely intellectual vices free from moral culpability are yet an evil tree, which will bring forth evil fruit in the long run. Ignorance, prejudice, speculative error, defects of prudence, of sagacity, of science, have injurious and very far-reaching effects on the moral life. Ideas are very different from actions, and are not always in correspondence with them; they seem to be intangible and confined to the speculative sphere, but ultimately they work themselves out into practical results. Do not underrate the importance of intellectual virtues, of full knowledge, unbiased decisions, honest facing of difficulties, readiness to acknowledge mistakes, fairness towards opponents, confidence in truth that it can do no harm.

     II. Habits of virtue considered as to their origin are divided into acquired and infused, An acquired habit is the facility which comes from repeated actions whether in the natural or the supernatural order. Such habits come to us in different ways, either as the acquirements of our own efforts, or by natural character, by the example of others, by education or the influence of opinion. Acquired habits of natural virtue do not depend on grace or even on faith. They are good in themselves, useful to the progress of the individual and of the world, and they will not fail to have their reward in the lower sphere of nature. St. Augustine however teaches that they are almost invariably imperfect, or even corrupted by some admixture of evil. The qualities esteemed as high virtues by the carnal-minded are very often nothing more than brilliant or daring vices. Do not despise natural virtues. The natural is the basis of the supernatural. Supernatural virtue, though it has substantial integrity, is yet seriously disfigured if accompanied by any notable deficiency in the natural virtues. Grace will help you to acquire the natural virtues and make them perfect by the addition of the supernatural element.

     III. The infused or supernatural habits of virtue are communicated to us by God with sanctifying grace. They lead us to act upon the principles revealed to the reason by faith, and to seek in our actions a supernatural object, viz. God and eternal life. The predisposition or habit of these virtues includes special impulses of aid from God in practising them. Our natural propensities are not extinguished or even weakened by the infusion of these virtues, difficulties and temptations are not taken out of our way, the service of God is not made easy; but we receive the power of doing our actions on the supernatural level, with the assistance of supernatural graces of action, and the prospect of a supernatural reward. It is your duty to use the potential facilities which God thus gives you and to develop them by constant practice into actual facilities, and to acquire the custom of doing good in such a way that it will become a habit or second nature.

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The Nature of Virtue

Grace Kelly's Wedding

 

     I. The soul of man is drawn in different directions by impulses of different kinds; every faculty has its tendency to employ itself in action, and every action may be exercised on good and beneficial objects, or perversely and injuriously. These impulses are often contradictory, and in their earlier action generally transient and occasional; but under a combination of causes they tend to acquire a degree of fixity and consistency among themselves. They then become a permanent principle of movement in the soul, always ready to enter into a state of activity; they form a predisposition to a certain course of action, which grows gradually more easy of repetition, and at last becomes spontaneous, or even indeliberate, and sometimes overcomes the will when this has become weakened by continually yielding. These predispositions, however they are formed, are known in theological language as "habits" of the soul. Some of these habits come to us in the course of nature, they proceed from causes antecedent to our birth, as an inheritance from unknown ancestors, and are said to be part of our natural character. At other times they are implanted in the course of education or are formed by our own deliberate efforts. Sometimes they spring up easily and rapidly, or they may be the result of persevering labour. Frequent exercise strengthens them; neglect causes them to grow weaker and even die out. It is necessary to remember that every habit, like every impulse, is not necessarily good. "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits if they be of God" (1 John iv. 1). Be careful of this. Habits form your character, and become an important factor in your salvation or eternal loss.

     II. Virtue belongs to the category of habits of the soul. It is a permanent predisposition leading men to act in a way that is harmonious with the law of their nature, and therefore productive of good. The good of any being is that which corresponds to the true and legitimate demands of its nature as moulded by the hand of God, which helps it to work out its highest development and attain the end of its existence. Virtue in its general sense is a very wide term. It embraces all that is of the perfection of the rational nature. It is a quality resident in the intelligence and will of man, leading him to seek out and adhere to truth and goodness in all their forms, and to subdue all those impulses of the inferior departments of his being which fight against its higher law. Cultivate your soul like a garden full of plants entrusted to you by God. Leave nothing to accident and chance, but watch over every impulse, and either check or foster it as it accords with or departs from the standard of human perfection derived from God's perfection.

     III. Virtue according to its etymology signifies force. It does not consist in a lowered vitality, nor in exemption from temptation, nor in any deficiency in the lower elements of human nature, nor in a colourless tranquillity of life. It is the source of the positive energies of good, which must oppose and ultimately prevail over the negative energies of evil. A virtuous life is a life of continual activity and struggle; it must always be a matter of difficulty, and it requires great strength, courage, self-sacrifice and perseverance, beyond all the daring enterprises of natural energy. To lead an easy life without effort or conflict is always to lead an ignoble life, and generally a degraded one. "The life of man upon earth is a warfare" (Job vii. 1). Virtue that has not been tried by difficulties and temptations may be pleasant, but it is wanting in merit and in resemblance to the virtues of Jesus Christ. Remember that glory is not for sluggards: "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away" (Matt. xi. 12). Let your virtue be militant and patient.

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Perseverance in Grace

 Maintaing a Roadside Shrine, Quebec, 1942

 

     I. As long as we live we can never be certain of retaining God's grace and persevering to the end. We always remain in a state of half light in this world, not only as to God and divine truths, which we do not fully comprehend, but also as to ourselves and our justice. "There are just men and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God; and yet no man knoweth whether he be worthy of love or hatred; but all things are kept uncertain for the time to come" (Eccle. ix. 1, 2). If we are in obscurity as to our present state, still less can we have any certainty as to what the future will bring forth, except by special revelation such as was vouchsafed to the thief on the cross. No one dare say: "My heart is clean, I am pure from sin" (Prov. xx. 9). David recognized that a man may be in grievous sin without knowing it: "Who can understand sins? From my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare Thy servant" (Ps. xviii. 13, 14). The Holy Ghost goes so far as to say: "Be not without fear about sin forgiven (Eccli. v. 5). Our own assurance is worth nothing, for the Apostle says: "I am not conscious to myself of anything, yet I am not hereby justified. . . . Therefore judge not before the time, until the Lord come who will both bring to light the things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts" 

(1 Cor. iv. 4, 5). You can never venture to presume on your safety. Serve God in confidence and hope, but also with fear and trembling.

     II. It is an anxious thing for us to reflect that at any moment we may lose the grace of God, and fall into the ranks of His enemies and even perhaps of the reprobate. Sampson fell, and David, and St. Peter; Judas also, and he never repented. St. Paul speaks of those who had been enlightened and yet subsequently made shipwreck of the faith: another of His converts he publicly delivered over to the dominion of Satan. We have indeed received spiritual life and countless favours from the Lord, "but we have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Cor. iv. 7). If we fail, all our past virtues will not merit for us restoration to grace. "The justice of the just shall not deliver him in what day soever he shall sin" (Ez. xxxiii. 12). "If the just man turn himself away from his justice and do iniquity according to all the abominations which the wicked man useth to work, shall he live? All his justices which he hath done shall not be remembered; in the prevarication by which he hath prevaricated, and in his sin which he hath committed, in them he shall die" (Ez. xviii. 24). The higher you have risen, the more does Satan strive to compass your ruin, the more complete it will be if it comes; the more care therefore you need to exercise. It was to the Apostles that Jesus said: "Watch ye and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak" (Matt, xxvi. 41).

     III. Perseverance is the final gift of God. It is needed to crown the work; and all else goes for nothing if we do not secure this great grace. The gift of perseverance involves a multitude of actual graces, aids to well-doing, protection against temptations, the arrangement of a long series of accidents, the approach of death at a suitable moment when we are in the state of grace. Who but God can dispose so many things successfully? We cannot secure this by any foresight; we cannot merit all these graces for ourselves. We need to watch always, to endeavour to be always ready for the coming of the bridegroom, to avoid occasions of sin, to repent at once if unhappily we fall, to be steadfast above all in praying for a happy death, and to secure the intercession of the Holy Virgin, and the Saints, and the living friends of God; and then we may entertain a humble hope of salvation: "For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life" (Rom. v. 10).

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