The Definition of Virtue

Today, we begin a series of blog postings about natural virtue, the cardinal virtues (prudence in particular), and Divine Providence. One special feature of this series will be how prudence has a key role in shaping the exercise of human freedom.

What is the meaning of the word “virtue”? This word comes from the Latin virtus, which means “strength” or “power.” Based on this etymology, it seems that a virtue is a kind of strength or power or capacity or ability.
Now that we have seen the root of the word, we want to know what the Church says about virtue. St. Thomas Aquinas, possibly the Church’s greatest theologian, says that virtue “is a habitus by which a person acts well” (Summa Theologiae, Prima Secundae, Question 18, Article 3). Now habitus is a Latin word which in English is rendered “habit”. Thus a virtue is a habit that helps a person to act well or do something good. Furthermore, “habit” or habitus denotes an ability, tendency, capacity, or power to do a certain thing or behave a certain way with ease, that is, without having to think about it very much. When a habit helps us to do the good with ease, then it is a virtue. Thus virtue is a habit that helps one to do the good with ease. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1803) says it this way: “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good.”

The Two-layered Documents

Every Church document has two layers: 1) a layer in which a natural law argument is advanced. This is addressed to everyone in the whole world, and 2) a layer in which the natural law argument is drawn up and expressed as Catholic theology.

The above is paraphrased from a rerun of an interview of Dr. Ralph McInerny by Raymond Arroyo. The rerun aired posthumously on Friday, February 5, 2010, on EWTN's news program The World Over.
The Church's approach is very reasonable; it mirrors the historical reality of life. For instance, the ancient Romans discovered the natural law and its principles (That's the first layer.) while the ancient Israelites had the natural law expressed explicitly in their theology, that is, in the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. (That's the second layer.)

The natural law lives: for all people of all times!

Rest in Peace

“These Live For All Time” salutes Doctor Ralph McInerny, who died yesterday (Friday, January 29, A.D. 2010). He is the author of The Father Brown Mysteries and of The Defamation of Pius XII, a book that defends Pope Pius XII, the Catholic Church, and the natural law. Dr. McInerny’s book praises the Pope and the Catholic Church as the perennial defender of the natural law against the Nazis and their “hidden successors” who in other nations continued the anti-natural law agenda of the Nazis during the time period from right after the War until the present day.
We pray for the happy repose of the soul of Dr. McInerny. May he rest in peace in the loving arms of God, his Almighty Father.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The Natural Law Lives in US

A recent Knights of Columbus poll finds that 56% of all Americans and 58% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 years consider abortion to be morally wrong. (This was reported on EWTN's The World Over on January 22, 2010.)
The election of Scott Brown to fill the vacant Senate seat of Edward M. Kennedy has—at least for now—put up a roadblock to the passage of the current Health Care Bill, which would further fund abortions and take away the legitimate conscience rights of health care workers who are following the natural law in refusing to participate in abortions. Thanks also to Bart Stupak and his group of Democrats who oppose any abortion funding in the Bill, and of course to the Republicans who have been opposing the Bill all along.

"The Righteous Gentile"

We are pleased to publish these words of high praise by a leading Jewish newspaper upon the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958:

… There probably was not a single ruler of our generation who did more to help the Jews in their hour of greatest tragedy, during the Nazi occupation of Europe, than the late Pope.
–The Jewish Post, November 6, 1958

Pius XII: Silent? Coward? Evil Collaborator? Nay!

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light!"

This quotation from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew applies--of course--to the Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But the saints, who followed Christ heroically, are "smaller lights" that give off the light of Christ to their contemporaries.

Look what the New York Times had to say in the Year of our Lord 1941, on Christmas Day, during the initial stages of War World II:

"The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe this Christmas. He is about the only ruler left on the continent of Europe who dares to raise his voice at all."

Editorial, The New York Times, December 25, 1941

Click on the link to view the blog! theselive.blogspot.com

Venerable Facts

On December 19, in the Year of Our Lord 2010, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI declared Pope Pius XII venerable. This means that now the process of canonization can move forward. Pius could canonically and officially become a saint. The doors are wide open!
Between 1939 and 1945, twelve thousand Jews were allowed into the Dominican Republic, safe from the Nazis thanks to the silent and heroic efforts of Pope Pius XII.
Until recently, every major Jewish leader “adored” Pius XII. In Israel, Golda Meir even planted a forest in honor of Pope Pius XII.
The Jewish philosopher Maimonedes said this: “The highest form of charity is anonymous charity.” That is what Pius XII is “guilty” of. He secretly, silently, and anonymously saved the lives of 186,000 Jews. That’s 186,000 of the people who were the first to receive the Revelation of the one true God.
The Ambassador from the United States of America wanted to know what Pius XII thought of Hitler and the Nazis. Pius told him that Hitler was an “untrustworthy scoundrel” who was “fundamentally wicked.” Now, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I ask you: “Do these sound like the words of ‘Hitler’s Pope’, of someone who collaborated with der Furer of Nazi Germany?” No! They do not. In fact, they are the words of a good and holy man, a “righteous Gentile” who is totally committed to Truth and Goodness.
Note: These facts are--in large part--from an interview of Gary Krupp by Raymond Arroyo in The World Over Live on EWTN, which aired on Friday, January 9, 2010. Krupp is Jewish and is the founder of the Pave the Way Foundation.