Grow In Virtue

How are you struggling with the root sins of pride, vanity, and sensuality in your life? While you may struggle with all three at the same time, one will be more dominant by having more manifestations than the others. Determine your dominant root sin by reviewing the common manifestations of each one below and identifying which root sin has the most manifestations in your life.

Pride
Pride refers to a disordered attachment to our own excellence. The proud person tends to seek meaning and fulfillment in their own achievements and conquests. Common manifestations of pride are:

• too high an opinion of myself
• annoyance with those who contradict me, tolerating no contradictions
• anger if I don’t get my way or am not taken into account
• easily judgmental, putting others down, gossiping about them
• slow to recognize my own mistakes, or to see when I hurt others, and inability to seek and give forgiveness
• anger when others don’t thank me for favors
• unwillingness to serve, rebellion against what I don’t like
• impatience, distance, and brusqueness in my daily contact with others
• thinking I am the only one who knows how to do things right, unwilling to let others help
• inflated idea of my own intelligence and understanding, dismissing what I do not understand or what others see differently
• not feeling a need for God, even though I do say prayers
• nursing grudges, even in small matters
• never taking orders
• inflexible in preferences
• always putting myself and my things first, indifference towards others and their needs, never putting myself out for them
• centering everything (conversation, choices..) on myself and my likes
• calculating in my relations with God and with others

 

Vanity
Vanity is a disordered attachment to the approval of other people. The vain person tends to seek meaning and fulfillment in being appreciated or liked by other people. Common manifestations of vanity are:

• always seeking admiration and praise, worrying about not getting it
• excessive concern about physical appearance
• being guided by the opinions of others rather than principle (this is sometimes called “human respect”)
• some types of shyness
• sacrificing principles in order to fit in
• placing too much a premium on popularity and acceptance
• easily discouraged at my failures
• taking pleasure in listening to gossip and hearing about others’ failures
• always wanting to be the center of attention, at times stretching the truth, or lying outright, or being uncharitable in my words in order to achieve this

 

Sensuality
Sensuality is a disordered attachment to comfort, ease, and pleasure. The sensual person tends to seek meaning and fulfillment in taking it easy and simply enjoying life. Common manifestations of sensuality are:

• laziness
• always the most comfortable, what requires least effort
• not going the extra mile for others
• procrastination, last-minute in everything
• shoddiness, complaining, excessively affected by minor discomforts
• inability to sacrifice
• not doing my part at home
• expecting everyone else to serve me always
• behavior and decisions ruled by my feelings and moods instead of my principles
• daydreaming a lot with self at the center
• unable to control my thoughts when they attract me, even if they are not good
• doing only what I enjoy (choice of food, work, etc)
• uncontrolled and overpowering curiosity, wanting to see and experience everything and every pleasure
• my senses and impulses overrule what I know is right and wrong
• acting out my feelings (frustrations, desires…) with no regard for my conscience, God or others
• only working with those I like, being easily hurt
• fickleness and inconstancy
• can never finish what I start

After identifying your dominant root sin above, identify an opposing virtue that you will practice based upon one of the manifestations of your dominant root sin. For example, if you're struggling most with the root sin of pride in the way that it manifests through "impatience, distance, brusqueness in my daily contact with others",  you could practice patience in your daily contact with others. Below are the primary virtues (and their opposing vices). 

Theological Virtues

• Faith (doubt): Believing in God and all that he has said and revealed to us.
• Hope (despair): Desiring the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness; placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.
• Charity (hate): Loving God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

 
Cardinal Virtues

• Prudence (folly or foolishness): Discerning our true good in every circumstance & choosing the right way to achieve it.
• Justice (injustice): Giving God and neighbor everything they deserve.
• Fortitude (cowardice): Being firm in difficulties and constant in the pursuit of good.
• Temperance (intemperance): Using things in moderation and keeping desires within the limits of what is honorable.

 
Capital/Heavenly Virtues

• Humility (pride or vainglory): Demonstrating the Beatitude of poverty of spirit by loving the certain and greater excellence of God or the excellence that may exist in others more than our own apparent excellence.
• Chastity (lust): Demonstrating the Beatitude of purity of heart by desiring God alone and loving others as fellow children of God rather than desiring them for the pleasure they can give us.
• Kindness (envy): Demonstrating the Beatitude of mourning by sharing another's unhappiness and recognizing their goodness or excellence rather than perceiving it as lessening our own goodness or excellence.
• Patience (anger or wrath): Demonstrating the Beatitudes of meekness by refusing to harm and peacemaking by preventing destruction in the midst of what we perceive as another's threat to our peace.
• Diligence (sloth or acedia): Demonstrating the Beatitude of hunger and thirst for righteousness by having a passionate desire for good even when it is absent.
• Generosity (avarice or greed): Demonstrating the Beatitude of being merciful by giving and sharing with others.
• Temperance (gluttony): Demonstrating the Beatitude of being persecuted by moderating our passion for food and drink to be healthy, respectful of God, and generous to others.

Ten Principal Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary (from Good Catholic)

• Profound humility
  • Meaning: Profound – Penetrating or entering deeply into subjects of thought or knowledge. Humility – Free from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind.
  • How Mary demonstrated profound humility: Mary perfectly conformed herself to God’s Will. She saw herself as God saw her, nothing more and nothing less.
  • How we can live out this virtue: See yourself as God sees you! Pray the Litany of Humility, accept compliments gracefully and quietly, and don’t be embarrassed to make mistakes in front of others. Don’t be surprised to find faults and sins in your life—just turn to God and ask Him to help you with them.
• Lively faith
  • Meaning: Lively – Full of life and alertness.  Faith – “The 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’ (First Vatican Council, Denzinger 3008)” (Catholic Dictionary).
  • How Mary demonstrated lively faith: Mary eagerly and wholeheartedly submitted herself to God. She joyfully surrendered herself to the Lord and put absolute faith in His word and in His promises.
  • How we can live out this virtue: Faith is a gift from God. We receive it—we do not manufacture it out of our own hearts. To receive this gift, we must seek communion with the Giver. Choose to trust Him and practice receiving His gifts with open hands.
• Blind obedience
  • Meaning: Blind — To fully trust in God’s plan for our lives even when we don’t understand it, knowing that He is Truth itself. Obedience — “As a virtue, it is pleasing to God because it means the sacrifice of one’s will out of love for God” (Catholic Dictionary). Obedience is faithfully carrying out the commandments of God.
  • How Mary demonstrated blind obedience: Mary was able to confidently give her fiat at the moment of the Annunciation, and also in every circumstance after that.
  • How we can live out this virtue: We are called to obey God, even when we don’t fully understand why He asks for certain things. On a practical, daily basis, we can obey the will of God as taught to us through Holy Mother Church. The Church teaches His ten commandments, gives us the spiritual formation we need, transmits His truth, and gives us clear guidance for our actions through such things as the five precepts of the Church: 1) On Sundays and holy days of obligation, attend Mass and rest from servile labor; 2) Confess your sins at least once a year; 3) Receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least once during the Easter season; 4) Observe the days of fasting and abstinence from meat established by the Church; and 5) Help provide for the needs of the Church.
• Continual prayer
  • Meaning: “The Christian practice, advocated by St. Paul, ‘Pray constantly’ (I Thessalonians 5:17), by which a person always remains united with God. Also called the prayer of the heart, it need not be conscious awareness of God’s presence. It implies that a person is constantly ready to do the will of God” (Catholic Dictionary). Continual prayer doesn’t mean praying in a chapel all day, but serving God in our daily duties and seeking to preserve a spirit of prayer and of frequent conversation with Him about anything and everything.
  • How Mary demonstrated continual prayer: Mary’s entire life was a prayer, in which she constantly placed herself in the presence of the Lord at every moment of her life.
  • How we can live out this virtue: Praise God. Make time for silence, for thanking Him, and for asking help to do His Will. Bring Christ into every little thing, offering up all your thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sorrows. Converse with Him about the things you’re thinking of during the day, turning your stream-of-consciousness conversations with yourself into dialogue with Him.
• Universal mortification
  • Meaning: Universal – All-encompassing, applicable everywhere.  Mortification – Dying to yourself and your own will. “The practice of Christian asceticism in order to overcome sin and master one’s sinful tendencies, and through penance and austerity to strengthen the will in the practice of virtue and grow in the likeness of Christ. Natural mortification is a normal part of self-discipline; supernatural mortification, based on faith, seeks to grow in holiness through merit gained by cooperating with the grace of God. (Etym.  Latin mortificatio, a killing, a putting to death.)” (Catholic Dictionary).
  • How Mary demonstrated universal mortification: “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42) was the whole of Our Lady’s life: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). She mortified herself and her own will by putting God’s first and seeking to unite hers with His.
  • How we can live out this virtue: Make sacrifices and offer them up for the greater good of someone else. Accept the small irritations, humiliations, and inconveniences of daily life as quietly as you can. Mortify yourself in little things such as getting up right away when the alarm goes off and not hitting the snooze button! Pray this simple yet difficult prayer: “God, teach me to love your will as my own!”
• Divine purity
  • Meaning: Divine – Proceeding from God. Exceeding natural human ability. Purity – The state of being free from sin; oneness of heart and mind in seeking God.
  • How Mary demonstrated divine purity: Everything in Mary was of God. Her mind and heart were pure. She lived her life with unity of purpose, seeking only to love and honor Him with her whole heart, mind, and soul (see Deuteronomy 6:5).
  • How we can live out this virtue: Live a life of prayer and frequent the Sacraments. Strive to keep your heart and body pure, and your mind pure and focused on heavenly things instead of the things of this world. Seek to purify your intentions. Don’t manipulate others, for example, saying something in order to obtain a certain response from them. Instead, act with simplicity and directness with everyone you encounter. Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no (see Matthew 5:37).
• Ardent charity
  • Meaning: Ardent – characterized by warmth of feeling or passion. Charity – “The infused supernatural virtue by which a person loves God above all things for His own sake, and loves others for God’s sake” (Catholic Dictionary).
  • How Mary demonstrated Ardent Charity: Every action that Mary performed for those around her was done out of love for her Lord.
  • How we can live out this virtue: Imitate the Blessed Mother and take on the disposition of love for those around you by bringing Jesus to them, the true and perfect Lover.
• Heroic patience
  • Meaning: Heroic — “The performance of extraordinary virtuous actions with readiness and over a period of time. The moral virtues are exercised with ease, while faith, hope, and charity are practiced to an eminent degree” (Catholic Dictionary). Patience — “[T]o endure present evils without sadness or resentment in conformity with the will of God” (Catholic Dictionary).
  • How Mary demonstrated heroic patience: Mary gave her fiat, her “yes” to Christ. Her heroic patience culminated at the foot of the cross, where she truly became a martyr through suffering in union with her Son.
  • How we can live out this virtue: Unite your sufferings with the sufferings of Our Lord and Our Lady of Sorrows. Pray for the gift of perseverance and cultivate silence in your life and in your heart.
• Angelic sweetness
  • Definition: Angelic – Manifesting goodness, purity, and selflessness. Sweetness – a pleasing disposition that is lovable, kind, and gracious.
  • How Mary demonstrated Angelic Sweetness: Our Lady radiated joy and peace to everyone she encountered.
  • How we can live out this virtue: We can open our hearts to the grace that is available to us and show gratitude for God’s blessings. We can smile and be kind, friendly, and alert to the needs of others, putting them before our own.
• Divine wisdom
  • Meaning: Divine – Proceeding from God. Wisdom: “The first and highest gifts of the Holy Spirit. It makes the soul responsive to God in the contemplation of divine things…Built into wisdom is the element of love, which inspires contemplative reflection on these divine mysteries, rejoices dwelling on them, and directs the mind to judge all things according to their principles” (Catholic Dictionary).
  • How Mary demonstrated divine wisdom: Mary was able to see the beauty of God’s will in every moment. She didn’t run to others first; she always conversed with the Lord first, so that she could know His Will and put it into action.
  • How we can live out this virtue: Ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to see all things with the eyes of Christ and not with your own. Ask Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, to pray for you!