Increase your Catholic wordpower - the Virtue of Faith

"The Virtue of Faith,"  Piero del Pollaiolo 1469-70 AD

According to the Modern Catholic Dictionary compiled by our patron, Fr. John Hardon, SJ, the virtue of faith is:

 "[t]he infused theological virtue whereby a person is enabled to “believe that what God has revealed is true – not because its intrinsic truth is seen with the rational light of reason – but because of the authority of God who reveals it, of God who can neither deceive nor be deceived.”'

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this mean that the virtue of faith is opposed to reason?"

I'm going to go ahead and correct you, since you're wrong.   As St. Alphonsus Liguori notes, "[t]he mysteries of holy faith are not in opposition to reason, but they transcend its power of comprehension.. . . . "Faith," say St. Augustine, "is characteristic not of the proud but of the humble."

"So, it sounds like all you have to do is believe what God has revealed, and then you're done.  At least I'm right about that, right?"

No again, since as St. Alphonsus Liguori also notes, "[t]o be pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God, it is not enough merely to believe all that our holy faith teaches us; we must, moreover, regulate our life in accordance with our belief.  Pico of Mirandola says: It is certainly great folly not to wish to believe the Gospel of Christ; but it would be greater folly still to believe it and to live as if you did not believe it."

"Okay, but a life in harmony with the precepts of our holy faith doesn't sound fun.  Is it?" 

Yes, it is.  In fact, it's much, much better than fun, as St. Alphonsus Liguori writes:

"Ask those who lead a life of faith if the renunciation of this word's goods makes them sad!  Visit the holy Anchorite Paul in his grotto, St. Francis of Assisi on Mount Alverno, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi in her convent and ask them if they miss the joys and pleasures of this earth!  They will answer without hesitation: No, no; we desire but God alone and nothing else."

Lenten Wisdom from St. Alphonsus Liguori

"Crucifixion," Basilica of San Clemente, Rome (approx 1123 AD)

St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696 AD - 1787 AD) was a lawyer who left that profession as a young man to become a priest.   St. Alphonsus would go on to found the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, popularly known as the Redemptorists, and also was appointed bishop of an Italian diocese.   Eventually, St. Alphonsus was not only canonized but also declared a Doctor of the Church.

Although St. Alphonsus lived a very long life, the volume of his published works is still staggering.  His "Ascetical Works" alone comprise 24 volumes, each one close to 500 pages in length, and each one packed with citations from scripture and the saints.   St. Alphonsus' training in law clearly shows in these works, as each is a relentless exercise in persuasion.  St. Alphonsus employs every conceivable argument in support of his propositions, so that a reader sometimes feels worn out by his pleadings.  However, St. Alphonsus is not concerned whether, like the widow in the parable of the unjust judge, he succeeds partly or even mainly through persistence.    St. Alphonsus's only care is to convince us, through a thousand arguments, of a single point: that God's love for each of us is infinite.

Of St. Alphonsus's Ascetical Works, perhaps the volume best suited for Lent is "The Passion and Death of Jesus Christ."  The following is taken from the Introduction:

"'He who desires," says St. Bonaventure, " to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the Passion of Jesus" . . . .

"St. Augustine also said that . . . . it was for this end that our Saviour suffered so much, in order that we should think of his sufferings; because if we think on them, it is impossible not to be inflamed with divine love."

"On avoiding the occasions of sin" (Part 2)

"The Virgin Appearing to St. Philip Neri"  G. B. Piazzetta

The following is taken from a sermon for the First Sunday after Easter by our Eastertide guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"Impurity, say St. Augustine, is a vice which makes war on all, and which few conquer.  "The fight is common; but the victory rare."  . . . . St. Philip Neri used to say, that in the war against the vice of impurity, the victory is gained by cowards - that is, by those who fly from the occasions of this sin.  . . . St. Bernard teaches, that to preserve chastity, and, at the same time, to expose oneself to the proximate occasion of sin, "is a greater miracle than to raise a dead man to life."


St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On avoiding the occasions of sin"

 "St. Paul,"  El Greco

The following is taken from a sermon for the First Sunday after Easter by our Eastertide guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"In consequence of original sin, we all have an inclination to do what is forbidden.   Hence St. Paul complained, that he experienced in himself a law opposed to reason.  "But I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin." - Rom., vii 23.   Now, when a dangerous occasion is present, it violently excites our corrupt desires, so that it is then very difficult to resist them; because God withholds efficacious helps from those who voluntarily expose themselves to the occasion of sin.  "He that loveth danger shall perish in it" - Eccl., iii, 27.  "When", says St. Thomas, in his comment on this passage, "we expose ourselves to danger, God abandons us in it".  St. Bernardine of Sienna teaches, that the counsel of avoiding the occasions of sin, is the best of all counsel, and as it were the foundation of religion."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the miserable state of relapsing sinners" (conclusion)

Mural of Jesus and Mary, Gondar Ethiopia

The following is taken from a sermon for Easter by our Eastertide guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"Honour the mother of God every day by some particular devotion, and by fasting on every Saturday.   She is the mother of perseverance, and promises to obtain it for all who serve her. . . . Above all, it is necessary to ask of God every morning the gift of perseverance, and to beg of the Blessed Virgin to obtain it for you, and particularly in the time of temptation, by invoking the name of Jesus and Mary as long as the temptation lasts."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the miserable state of relapsing sinners" (part 3)

"The Repentant St. Peter," El Greco

 
The following is taken from a sermon for Easter Sunday by our Eastertide guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"Let us, then, brethren, tremble at the thought of relapsing into sin, and let us beware of availing ourselves of the mercy of God to continue to offend him.  "He", says St. Augustine, "who has promised pardon to penitents, has promised repentance to no one."  God has indeed promised to pardon all who repent of their sins; but he has not promised to any one the grace to repent of the faults which he has committed.  Sorrow for sin is a pure gift of God: if he withholds it, how will you repent?  And without repentance, how can you obtain pardon? . . . . St. Isidore tells us, that the man who repeats the sin which he before detested, is not a penitent but a scoffer of God's majesty. . . . And Tertullian teaches, that, where there is no amendment, repentance is not sincere."


St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the miserable state of relapsing sinners" (part 2)

"St. Jerome in his Study," Ghirlandaio

The following is taken from a sermon for Easter Sunday by our Eastertide guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

". . . St. Jerome says, that the Devil seeks to catch in his nets all men, in order to sacrifice them to the divine justice by their damnation.  Sinners, who are already in the net, he endeavours to bind with new chains; but the friends of God are his dainty meats.  To make them his slaves, and to rob them of all they have acquired, he prepares stronger snares.  "The more fervently", says Denis the Carthusian, "a soul endeavours to serve God, the more fiercely does the adversary rage against her".  The closer the union of a Christian with God, and the greater his efforts to serve God, the more the enemy is armed with rage, and the more strenuously he labours to enter into the soul from which he has been expelled.  "When", says the Redeemer, "the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, seeking rest, and not finding, he saith:  I will return into my house, which I came out" - Luke, xi. 24.  Should he succeed in reentering, he will not enter alone, but will bring with him associates to fortify himself in the soul of which he has again got possession.  Thus, the second destruction of that miserable soul shall be greater than the first."


St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the miserable state of relapsing sinners"

"Resurrection," Piero della Francesca

The following is taken from a sermon for Easter Sunday by our Eastertide guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"I hope, my dear Christians, that, as Christ is risen, you have, in this holy paschal time, gone to confession, and have risen from your sins.  But, attend to what St. Jerome teaches - that many begin well, but few persevere.  .  . .  The crown of Paradise, says St. Bernard, is promised to those who commence, but is given only to those who persevere. . . .Do not imagine that you shall have no more temptations, but prepare yourself for the combat, and guard against a relapse into the sins you have confessed; for, if you lose the grace of God again, you shall find it difficult to recover it."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the danger to which tepidity exposes the soul" (part 3)

"Lust, Avarice and Envy" from "The Ladder of Souls with the Seven Deadly Sins," 

Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, Chaldon, England

The following is taken from a sermon for Passion Sunday by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"St. Francis of Assisi says, that, in endeavouring to draw to sin a soul that is afraid of being in enmity with God, the Devil does not seek in the beginning to bind her with the chain of a slave, by tempting her to commit mortal sin, because she would have a horror of yielding to mortal sin, and would guard herself against it.  He first endeavours to bind her by a single hair; then by a slender thread; next by a cord; afterwards by a rope; and in the end by a chain of Hell,  - that is by mortal sin; and thus he makes her his slave."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the danger to which tepidity exposes the soul" (part 2)

"Temptation of St. Anthony," Hieronymous Bosch

The following is taken from a sermon for Passion Sunday by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

[D]eliberate and habitual venial sins not only deprive us of strength to resist temptations, but also of the special helps without which we fall into grievous sins.  . . .  It is certain that of ourselves we have not sufficient strength to resist the temptations of the Devil, of the flesh, and of the world.  It is God that prevents our enemies from assailing us with temptations by which we would be conquered.  Hence Jesus Christ has taught us the following prayer:  And lead us not into temptation.  He teaches us to pray that God may deliver us from the temptations to which we would yield, and thus lose his grace.  Now, venial sins, when they are deliberate and habitual, deprive us of the special helps of God which are necessary for preservation in his grace.  I say necessary because the Council of Trent anathematizes those who assert that we can persevere in grace without a special help from God.  . . .  Thus with the ordinary assistance of God, we cannot avoid falling into some mortal sin: a special aid is necessary.  But this special aid God will justly withhold from tepid souls who are regardless of committing, with full deliberation, many venial sins.  Thus these unhappy souls shall not persevere in grace.

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the danger to which tepidity exposes the soul"

 Altarpiece, Marienburg Monastery

The following is taken from a sermon for Passion Sunday by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"A tepid soul is one that frequently falls into fully deliberate venial sins, - such as deliberate lies, deliberate acts of impatience, deliberate imprecations, and the like.  These faults may be easily avoided by those who are resolved to suffer death, rather than commit a deliberate venial offence against God.  St Teresa used to say, that one venial sin does us more harm than all the devils in Hell.  Hence she would say to her nuns: "My children, from deliberate sin, however venial it may be, may the Lord deliver you." . . . But some of you will say: Venial sins, however great they may be, do not deprive the soul of the grace of God: even though I commit them, I will be saved; and for me it is enough to obtain eternal life.  You say, that, for you, it is enough to be saved.  Remember that St. Augustine says, that, where you have said, "It is enough", there you have perished. . .  [T]he habit of light faults leads the soul insensibly to mortal sins.  . . . [T]he fall of many souls into mortal sin follows from habitual venial sins; for, these render the soul so weak, that, when a strong temptation assails her, she has not strength to resist it, and she falls."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the tender compassion which Jesus Christ entertains toward sinners" (part 2)

"Christ Redeemer"

The following is taken from a sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"[S]ome sinners, who are immersed in the abyss of sin, may say: Perhaps, if we return to Jesus Christ, he will drive us away.  No; for the Redeemer has said: "And him that cometh to me I will not cast out" - John, vi, 37.  No one that comes to me with sorrow for his past sins, however manifold and enormous they may have been, shall be rejected."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On the tender compassion which Jesus Christ entertains towards sinners."

 "Crucifixion," Giotto

The following is taken from a sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Lent by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

 "[M]y Lord, since thou hast resolved to take human flesh, would not a single prayer offered by thee be sufficient for the redemption of all men?  What need then was there of leading a life of poverty, humiliation, and contempt, for thirty-three years, of suffering a cruel and shameful death on an infamous gibbet, and of shedding all thy blood by dint of torments?  I know well, answers Jesus Christ, that one drop of my blood, or a simple prayer, would be sufficient for the salvation of the world; but neither would be sufficient to show the love which I bear to men: and therefore, to be loved by men when they should see me dead on the cross for the love of them, I have resolved to submit to so many torments and to so painful a death."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On Concealing Sins in Confession" (conclusion)

 Sacrament of Confession

The following is taken from a sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"...O lost sheep, go instantly to confession.  Jesus Christ is waiting for you;  he stands with arms open to pardon and embrace you, if you acknowledge your guilt.  I assure you that, after having confessed all your sins, you shall feel such consolation at having unburdened your conscience and acquired the grace of God, that you shall for ever bless the day on which you made this confession.  . . . Do not give the Devil time to continue to tempt you, and to make you put off  your confession: go immediately; for Jesus Christ is waiting for you."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On Concealing Sins in Confession" (part 3)

Sacrament of Confession

The following is taken from a sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"Listen, then, to the advice of St. Ambrose: The Devil keeps an account of your sins, to charge you with them at the tribunal of Jesus Christ.  Do you wish, says the saint, to prevent this accusation?  Anticipate your accuser: accuse yourself now to a confessor, and then no accuser shall appear against you at the judgment seat of God. . .  . But according to St. Augustine, if you excuse yourself in confession, you shut up sin within your soul, and shut out pardon."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On Concealing Sins in Confession" (part 2)

 Sacrament of Confession

The following is taken from a sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"Some penitents ask: What will my confessor say, when he hears that I have committed such a sin?  What will he say?  He will say that your are, like all persons living on this Earth, miserable and prone to sin: he will say that, if you have done evil, you have also performed a glorious action, in overcoming shame and in candidly confessing your sins."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On Concealing Sins in Confession"

The Sacrament of Confession

The following is taken from a sermon for the Third Sunday of Lent by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"After we have offended God, the Devil labours to keep the mouth closed, and to prevent us from confessing our guilt.  St. Antonine relates, that a holy solitary once saw the Devil standing beside a certain person who wished to go to confession.  The solitary asked the fiend what he was doing there.  The enemy said in reply: "I now restore to these penitents what I before took away from them; I took away from them shame while they were committing sin; I now restore it, that they may have a horror of confession."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

"On Heaven" (part 2)

 "Paradise" by Jacopo Tintoretto (for larger version click here)

The following is taken from a sermon for the Second Sunday of Lent by our Lenten guide, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"Here below, God is hidden from our view; we can see him only with the eyes of faith: how great shall be our happiness when the veil shall be raised, and we shall be permitted to behold God face to face!  We shall then see his beauty, his greatness, his perfection, his amiableness, and his immense love for our souls."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us. 

"On Heaven"

"Saints in Paradise,"  Fra Angelico

We've adopted St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church, as our guide through this Lent.  The following is taken from a sermon of St. Alphonsus for the Second Sunday of Lent:

"[H]ow . .  . beautiful shall be the city of Paradise.  . . . [W]hat it must be to behold the beauty of Jesus Christ!  St. Teresa once saw one of the hands of Jesus Christ, and was struck with astonishment at the sight of such beauty.  . . . The hearing shall be satiated with the harmony of the celestial choirs.  St. Francis once heard for a moment an angel playing on a violin, and he almost died through joy. . . .But the delights of which we have spoken are the least of the blessings of Paradise.  The glory of Heaven consists in seeing and loving God face to face. . . . God himself, whom the saints are allowed to behold, is, according to the promise made to Abraham, the principal reward of the just in Heaven.  "I am thy reward exceeding great" - Gen. xv. 1.  St. Augustine asserts, that, were God to show his face to the damned, "Hell would be instantly changed into a Paradise of delights."

St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us. 

"On the number of sins beyond which God pardons no more" (conclusion)

"Sinners in Hell"

The following is taken from a sermon for the First Sunday of Lent by St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church:

"God has promised pardon to all who repent; but he has not promised to wait till to-morrow for those who insult him.  Perhaps God will give you time for repentance, perhaps he will not.  But, should he not give it, what shall become of your soul?  In the meantime, for the sake of a miserable pleasure, you lose the grace of God, and expose yourself to the danger of being lost for ever. . . . You have sinned, trusting rashly in the divine mercy: the punishment of your guilt shall fall suddenly upon you, and you shall not know from whence it comes.  What do you say?  What resolution do you make?  If, after this sermon, you do not firmly resolve to give yourself to God, I weep over you, and regard you as lost."


St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.