Nurturing the Theological Virtues in Advent
Nurturing the Theological Virtues in Advent: Faith
This Advent, I would like to muse on the theological virtues: faith, hope, and love. Why? Because I think Advent is a good time to grow in these virtues. They are essential; they lay the groundwork for participating in the divine life of Christ. We are given faith, hope, and love so that we may become divinized, or like Christ. “He became what we are that we might become what he is” (St. Athanasius).
Virtue can be defined as a strong habit of doing good. Here is an explanation of the theological virtues: “They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1813).
God gives us the theological virtues, along with sanctifying grace, when we are baptized. They are supernatural gifts; they transcend human nature. We must cooperate in using the theological virtues for the glory of God. We should practice and foster them by reading scripture, receiving the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), studying, serving the poor, and, of course, praying.
Now, let us move on to faith. Dei Verbum describes faith as the “full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals” (5). The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines faith as:
“Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith ‘man freely commits his entire self to God.’ For this reason, the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ Living faith ‘work(s) through charity’” (1814).
There are many examples of faithful people in scripture. Think of blind Bartimaeus, who, after hearing that Jesus was present, instantly called out to him and persisted until Jesus came to him. Or Peter, who left his livelihood immediately and totally adhered to following Christ. This is what we are called to do, and it pleases God very much when we show him our trust. So, faith should be persistent, and faith should be prompt.
The opposite of faith is doubt, which everyone struggles with from time to time. When experiencing doubt, we can pray as the father of the son with unclean spirits in Mark 9:14-29: “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). The remedy for doubt is to practice faith (it is a general principle, when struggling with a vice, to practice the virtue that opposes it).
Asking God questions is not doubt; faith leads us to ask questions because faith seeks understanding. Think of Mary at the Annunciation; she asked Gabriel questions while having complete faith in God’s plan. Nevertheless, faith is very difficult sometimes! But we must remember, it is a supernatural virtue and above our nature; so, we must ask God to help us to see with the eyes of faith. One thing that is helpful is to recall all of the wonderful things that God has done for you.
Lastly, faith helps us to be holy, Christian leaders. Our conviction about God makes us convincing witnesses and inspires others.
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Nurturing the Theological Virtues in Advent: Hope
This week I muse on the second theological virtue: hope. Advent is a season of hope. As we reflect on Christ’s coming, our desire for him grows through hope.
Here is what the Catechism has to say about this theological virtue: “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire 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” (1817). “The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man…It keeps man from discouragement” (1818).
Christian hope is practiced when we experience a situation that seems hopeless or when we deal with a long-suffering affliction. Out of our poverty, hope is born. “Theological hope can only come from a radical experience of poverty. As long as we are rich, we rely on our riches” (Interior Freedom, 101). We must be aware of the inclination to put hope in things or other people. That is why fasting is good for us, which is a good idea during Advent.
We should not fear Jesus’s second coming but wait in joyful hope. Especially because we know that he forgives; we have the hope of forgiveness. It’s important to remember that fear does not come from God. When we read scripture, we see that the Lord has given us every reason to have hope in him. In all circumstances, God gives us the grace to hope, and hope helps us to persevere and endure all things until the end.
At the heart of hope is trust; so, the opposing vice of hope is distrust. When we don’t trust God, we rely on ourselves. We build trust with someone by growing in relationship. We learn to trust God, then, through prayer. If you are interested, I posted a link below to the Litany of Trust.
Hope is not foolish or wishful thinking, but rather, a conviction of Christ’s victory and eternal beatitude. To live in hope is to watch with joy for the coming of Christ. We profess our hope at Sunday Mass when we recite the Creed: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” The third week of Advent, next Sunday, is “Gaudete Sunday,” meaning “rejoice,” and reflects our joy, which comes from hope, that Christ is coming.
“They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Nurturing the Theological Virtues in Advent: Love
In the last week of focusing on the theological virtues, I am musing on the third: love. St. Paul says that love, or charity, is the greatest of the theological virtues: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Furthermore, Fr. Jacques Philippe writes in his book, Interior Freedom: “In heaven, faith will be replaced by sight, and hope by possession; only love will never pass away” (104).
What is love? According to St. Thomas Aquinas, love is willing the good of the other. Love is a decision and not merely a feeling. Love is faith in action. Here is what the Catechism says about love:
“Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (1822).
“The practice of the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which ‘binds everything together in perfect harmony’ (Col 3:14); it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love” (1827).
So, charity orders our lives; it is what raises us to become Christ-like. When we exercise love, we order our lives in such a way that serves God and others, instead of living selfishly for ourselves.
In these last days of Advent, we can practice abiding in God’s love as we await the Son’s coming. We can think about how to love as Christ. And how did he love? He made a total self-gift of himself so that we can experience eternal beatitude with him. Likewise, we can do our best to make a total self-gift to him, for that is what he desires: our very being. If love is willing the good of the other, we want to give the Lord what he desires, and that is having a relationship with us.
I hope you enjoyed my musings about the theological virtues in this season of Advent. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
Abide in my love (John 15:9).