QUIBUS VIRTUTIBUS?
Doubtlessly the practice of virtues is one of the foundations of the
spiritual life and one of the building blocks of holiness. The more important
question about this topic, in my view, concerns what good habits we should
consider virtues, or put another way, what virtues are vital to the “holiness
project.”
We might cite the cardinal values that originate in Plato and that were
subsequently propounded by Cicero—prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude. We
would observe that they are the virtues of the male aristocrat in a society
that was patriarchal, yeoman, warrior, and slave-owning, and that restricted
its social entitlements, particularly its democratic privileges to the ruling
yeoman warrior class, excluding women. In an important sense, they are
therefore the virtues that support and propagate this type of society. They are
the virtues of social and political conservatism.
Consider in contrast the virtues broadcast by Jesus in the Beatitudes.
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be
satisfied”—this beatitude exhorts advancing social and political justice.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”—this
beatitude underscores our utter poverty before God. Manifestly, it carries a
social imperative, enjoining our sharing the goods of the earth. “Blessed are
the meek, for they will inherit the earth”—this beatitude condemns disordered
human aggression and all the wars that thereby spring.
If we reflect deeply on the Beatitudes, it becomes quickly apparent
that they propound a social agenda significantly divergent from that of the
classical cardinal virtues. The Beatitudes are the virtues of the Jewish
prophet. They are the virtues not only of repentance and conversion but also
those defining the actions that follow upon metanoia. They are the virtues not
only of conversio mores but also of social and political change. They are
socially progressive virtues. They are the virtues of Jesus, a manifesto sprung
from the lips of the Savior.
ON THE EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
An examination of conscience, the particular examination especially,
that is based on a classical and Thomistic understanding of the virtues risks
being overly individualistic, lacking in social cognizance and vision. True,
all social virtues originate in individual disposition, practice, and habit.
The person who supports progressive social and economic policies, for example,
may be motivated by their personal sense of social justice and a generous
heart. However, social virtues are built on social understanding, so that the
person who is focused on their individual perfectibility shown possibly in
their personal industriousness, sincerity, or temperance, for instance, isn't
necessarily engaged in deep reflection on or penetrating analysis of larger
society. You can be assiduously engaged in your medical studies, demonstrating
the worthy virtue of diligence, for example, but at the same time blithely
oblivious—and morally blasé as well—about the violent political revolution
taking place all around you. Individualistic virtue does not guarantee a keen
social conscience or adequate social cognizance.
In modern times society has become more and more socially complex and
in some respects social reality has outstripped the capacity of many to grasp
this complexity and to respond adequately, in both the moral and pragmatic
sense. We must be cautious about cultivating individualistic complacency based
on ignorance of and indifference towards the often difficult social conditions
in which we are invariably immersed. The examination of conscience,
paradoxically, risks co-opting self-centered individualism and thereby vice as
well.
The virtues - a Greco-Roman concept - that are described in the Beatitudes do not neatly sort into separate categories of conservative and progressive.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the concept of virtue originated in a Greco-Roman context. It connotes the Greek concept of arete or excellence, and the four cardinal virtues are the attributes of the statesman in the Roman empire of antiquity. When the Greco-Roman concept of virtue is incorporated into mainstream Roman Catholic theology during the High Middle Ages, the concept of virtue carries with it the cultural heritage from which it originated, which is pagan. That heritage - of arete and the Roman statesman - is individualistic and aristocratic, and when incorporated into Christianity, it leans towards social and political conservatism.
When we separate the Christian understanding of the Beatitudes from the Greco-Roman tradition - and the Beatitudes carry with it a long and deep heritage of Jewish prophecy and revelation - we get a palpably different apprehension of “virtue,” meaning, habits of holiness. The Beatitudes are theologically embedded in the ancient Jewish religion. They encourage a radical or even revolutionary way of thinking. They lean toward socially progressive interpretations of spirituality.
Gonzalinho
“Dorothy Day’s life and legacy is a radical movement, faithful to the Gospel and the church, immersed in the social issues of the day, with the aim of transforming both individuals and society.”
ReplyDeletehttps://catholicworker.org/life-and-spirituality-dorothy-day/
—“The Life and Spirituality of Dorothy Day” from James Allaire and Rosemary Broughton, Praying with Dorothy Day (1995)
Dorothy Day stands out from many saints and candidates for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church because of her social consciousness that is indispensably joined to her Roman Catholic spirituality. Her social consciousness besides defining her life entirely characterized her Christian spirituality.
The above post on the importance of social consciousness in the examination of conscience and in our understanding of Christian virtue directly relates to Day's socially oriented spirituality.
Gonzalinho