Sufficient Virtue for Self-Government?

In these days of increasing acrimony and mutual mistrust, how does one apply a prudent realism to politics without succumbing to a poisonous cynicism? Some have taken comfort in James Madison’s reassurance that, though “there is a degree of depravity in mankind, which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: so there are other

Holy Justice

A major section of Saint Catherine of Sienna’s Dialogues addresses the widespread corruption afflicting the Holy Catholic Church, then (as now). The root cause of such corruption is, of course, personal, as is the case with the saintly governance practiced by those ministers who have been true to their divine calling. As for the saints:

An Infinite Thing

Your desire is an infinite thing. Were it not, no virtue would have value or life. For I who am infinite God want you to serve me with what is infinite, and you have nothing infinite except your soul’s love and desire. Eternal Truth to St. Catherine of Sienna What do you think? Please comment, subscribe, &

The World’s Greatest Dad

Elizabeth Lev explores the virtues of fatherhood as depicted in the works of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682). Famous for his Madonnas, Murillo was a pioneer in the depiction of the greatest earthly father, St. Joseph. In order to convey the character of the man Christ chose to educate him in the virtuous of manhood, “Murillo

A Living Gift of the Living God

This is the day which the Lord has made: Let us be glad and rejoice therein! Psalm 117:24 Poverty of spirit, or detachment from worldly goods, may strike us as a fundamentally negative stance. As noted here, the blessing this beatitude bestows is founded on a willingness to relinquish certain things we may otherwise desire

Accepting the Gift of Happiness

The lawgiver shall give a blessing, They shall go from virtue to virtue: The God of gods shall be seen in Sion. Psalm 83:8 In Plato’s Gorgias, the ambitious Callicles accuses Socrates of turning human life upside down with his teaching that happiness consists in a life of virtue. To our fallen, grasping souls, it

Doing the Truth

A sure sign that a given regime is despotic is its hostility or indifference to what is good, true, and beautiful. The science of despotism consists in discouraging virtues such as (genuine, active) charity, and instilling vices, such as deception, or compliance with the web of lies in which despotism seeks to entangle us. How

The Test of True Virtue

St. Catherine of Sienna recounts to us how Christ explained the nature of virtue to her. Every virtue, he stresses, no matter how private it seems, is practiced in relation to others. First, every true virtue is given by God, and performed for love of him. Next, every virtue redounds in some way to the

Do and Teach

Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20 Christ our Lord is “meek, and humble of heart” (Mt. 11:29), but he is not a “nice guy.” Nowhere is this more evident than in his treatment of the Scribes and Pharisees,

Fruitful and Unfruitful Fears

Fear is a natural response to the possibility of losing something good. When it prompts us to act in defense of the many fragile blessings entrusted to our care, fear is a healthy part of the divine order. As with any passion, the trouble comes when fear overpowers reason, rather than following its governance. In