Free Republic

Fathers and Daughters – Is This a Missing Key to Modesty Today? By: Msgr. Charles PopeWe often speak today of the terrible toll that fatherless homes have on young boys. And this is true. Without a reasonably good (even though not sinless) model of manhood and responsibility, many boys lose their way. Fathers also play a large role in disciplining boys, especially as they grow older and become  stronger than their mothers.But missing fathers also bring forth terrible effects on many girls. Women, even young girls, certainly do seek and desire the love and appreciation of men and have...

Temperance Or: Avoiding Ruin  Throughout our lives, we will all have struggles against temptations for what we know to be detrimental to ourselves and others. Temperance is the virtue which counteracts these temptations. Temperance enables us to keep from doing what is wrong, even when we have strong feelings for it. In other words, temperance is what keeps us from sinning, even when we want to.  Notice that temperance is the last of the cardinal virtues. That's because temperance is about maintaining the good, but you can only maintain the good if you already have some idea of what...

Tolerance Has Its Place, But Also Its Limits – A Brief Consideration of a Widely Misunderstood Virtue By: Msgr. Charles PopeYesterday we discussed the intolerance of the very radicals who are forever calling for tolerance. A couple of people wrote in to indicate that they consider my stance duplicitous, since I likely support Archbishop Cordeleone’s stance requiring Catholic School teachers to demonstrate loyalty to Catholic teachings and promise not to teach to the contrary in Catholic schools. I do in fact support the good Archbishop. But I do not accept the charge of duplicity.Why? Because, as I hope to teach, tolerance is...

What is Piety and How Does the Modern Diminishment of it Spell Doom for Us? By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn the modern world, the word “piety” has come to be associated with being religious. And while it does have religious application, its original meaning was far wider and richer. The English word “piety” comes from the Latin pietas, which spoke of family love and by extension love for one’s ancestors,  one’s country, and surely God. Cicero defined pietas as the virtue “which admonishes us to do our duty to our country or our parents or other blood relations.”For the ancient Romans,...

Prudence   Smart Living  Alright, let's review: we want to be happy, and we want to pursue goods in a way that will make us happy. This means we have to learn how to act well, which in turn involves an acquisition of virtue. If that sounds complicated, let me put it more simply: virtue is about doing the right things, and if we do the right things, we will become happy. But what is the first thing we need if we want to do the right thing? Well obviously, we need to know what the right thing to...

 Charity Or: Loving as God Loves  The two terms "love" and "charity" are frequently used interchangeably, and with good reason, since the virtue of charity is in fact a kind of love. However, the two are not identical; not all forms of love are also charity. For example, we often hear expressions like, "I love hot chocolate," or "I love basketball," or even "I love America," and these kinds of love, while all good in themselves, still fall somewhat short of the love that is charity. What sort of love is charity, then? Quite simply, charity is the Love of...

Hope Or: Striving for Heaven  As we saw in the previous lesson, Faith reveals to us God's supernatural plan for our lives. With faith we know that the ultimate purpose and fulfillment of each human person lies in the attainment of Heaven. Once we have this knowledge, it is time to begin working towards that objective. That's where the theological virtue of Hope enters the picture. Hope is the virtue whereby the individual strives for Heaven as something which is possible, but not yet guaranteed.  There are, then, three conditions needed for the virtue of hope: firstly, an active...

Faith God's Truth in Our Souls  Perhaps you remember how back when we were discussing the Cardinal Virtues, the first on the list was Prudence, because it was the virtue of knowledge, and knowledge must always come before all other activities. You have to know what to do before you can do it. The same is true on the supernatural level: you have to have a supernatural perspective before you can live a supernatural life. That supernatural perspective is faith.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Faith as Belief  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The notion of faith is hard to get a handle on initially, so to start out...

How Does Pride Accumulate in Our Life? A Reflection on a Teaching by St. Bernard of Clairvaux By: Msgr. Charles PopeSo you think the idea of the “Twelve Steps” is new? Well, if you think you’ve got a new idea, go back and see how the Greeks put it, or in this case how the Medieval Latins put it. St. Bernard of Clairvaux identified twelve steps up the mountain of pride in his work Steps of Humility and Pride.In today’s post, we focus on the Twelve Steps of Pride. Tomorrow, we’ll tackle the Twelve Steps of Humility (from St. Benedict’s rule). ...

Faith-Hope-Charity From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, SimplifiedThe Three Theological Virtues (1812-1813) The three theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) allow man to share in God's nature. These virtues relate directly to God who directly infuses these three virtues into the soul where they make the believers capable of living as God's children and meriting eternal life.Believing What God Revealed (1814-1816) By faith, we believe in God, in all that he has revealed, and in all that the Church proposes for our belief. Faith leads to a total committal. "The righteous shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17).When faith...

24 Quotes About Purity That Every Young (& Old) Catholic Should Know   By John Ritchie     Impurity is plastered everywhere today: Movies, TV, billboards, music, entertainment, books, and magazines. We must fight back.  To that end the following collection of quotes -- many of which are authored by Doctors of the Church -- will provide you with the support and encouragement you need to stand your ground and fight for purity. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." -- Matthew 5:8   “Holy Purity, the queen of virtues, the angelic virtue, is a jewel so...

> Good Times for Dogs, Not So Good for Babies – A Reflection on the Perversity of Modern Culture By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn moral decline, both personal and cultural, the problem is that not only do we desire what is evil, we also stop desiring that which is good and holy. At the heart of desiring what is evil (or what is good, but to excess), are pride, greed, lust, and gluttony. Sloth and envy are more involved in no longer desiring what is good.Sloth is a kind or sorrow or aversion to the good things God offers to us, involving everything...

Why Did Christ Humble Himself in the Face of Evil? By: Msgr. Charles PopeEarlier this week we read the magnificent hymn from Philippians, which sings of the Humility of Jesus:Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,Who, though he was in the form of God,did not regard equality with Godsomething to be grasped.Rather, he emptied himself,taking the form of a slave,coming in human likeness;and, found human in appearance,he humbled himself,becoming obedient to death,even death on a cross (Phil 2:5-8).Why this incredible humility? The Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, had always enjoyed His Father’s love...

Prudence: Mother of All Virtues Fr. William Saunders Q: I keep hearing about the importance of virtue and being virtuous, but no one explains what virtue is.St. Paul in his Letter to the Philippians captured the idea of virtue and the living of a virtuous life: “My brothers, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous or worthy of praise” (4:8). With this in mind, the classic definition of virtue is a habit or firm disposition which inclines a person to do good and avoid evil....

The Eucharist and Chastityby Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.Our subject for tonight's conference is "The Eucharist and Chastity." It could just as well be, "The Necessity of the Eucharist for Chastity," or even, "There Can Be No Chastity Without the Eucharist."To understand how indispensable the Eucharist is to the practice of Christian chastity is to understand the meaning of Christianity. When Christ told us, "Without me, you can do nothing," He meant this to be taken literally. Without the constant help of His grace to enlighten our darkened minds and strengthen our weak wills, all the moral precepts of...

RUSH: Did you know, folks, that if you work hard, you can get ahead? Did you know that? I vaguely remember hearing some nutcases say that, but I didn't believe it. But, yeah, I was just watching the president. There's a thing going on at the White House called the college costs summit. And President Obama's there, along with the first lady, Moochelle. By the way, Saturday night at the White House, big gala, 50th birthday party for Moochelle. I've never heard of this at this kind of thing. Guests are being told to eat dinner before arriving, because this...

Take a look at the following list and tell me if anything strikes you: Prudence Justice Temperance Courage Faith Hope Charity Viewing these, the Seven Cardinal Virtues, anything make an impression? Okay, now try the Seven Heavenly Virtues of: Chastity Temperance Charity Diligence Patience Kindness Humility Anything? What strikes me is that equality is not among them. Scour great works, such as the Bible, and you won't find talk of equality. Not one bit -- that is, unless you consider The Communist Manifesto a great work. One thing about virtues -- which are defined as "good moral habits" -- is...

The Virtues   Virtues!  We all think we are virtuous, but so many people can’t name more than a few of them.  In the Catholic Church, there are three very distinct categories of virtues which we all should be praying to have more of.  The first category is known as the Cardinal Virtues, the second is known as the Theological Virtues, and the third is the Capital Virtues.  There are many others as well, but for the sake of this discussion, only these three types will be discussed. THE CARDINAL VIRTUES The Cardinal Virtues are four moral virtues that are the...

Faith is God’s gift to created persons who are entirely dependent on Him. The proper response to this gift is reverent obedience. Christian faith is characterized by a humble and reverent submission to what God has revealed. Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) has this to say: “’The obedience of faith’ (Rm 16:26; cf. Rm 1:5; 2 Cor 10: 5-6) ‘is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,’ and freely assenting to the...

Follow Me… Apr 1st, 2012by Gary Zimak.  As Jesus passed on from there,He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)As we head into the final 2 weeks our Spiritual Exercises retreat, I just wanted to reach out and share a few thoughts. Today, with the celebration of Palm Sunday, we enter into the holiest week of the year. Over the next five days, on my nightly radio show, we’ll meditate on Our Lord’s Passion and death. As we do this, we’ll recognize...