Chapter Six: The Virtues - Cultivating Character

1. Chapter Six: The Virtues - Cultivating Character

2. Character • The attributes and features that make us the type of person we are. • Our character can be influenced by: • Our family background • Our friends • Our religious upbringing • Character also refers to the kind of person who acts in a certain way. • We do not see character directly…we see it in the fruits of its actions. • The action we perform will in turn form us.

3. Character Cycle Habits you form (virtues and vices) What you do (acts) Who you are (character)

4. Virtues and Vices • Virtues enable us to reach the intended purpose of our lives. • Virtues are habits of the heart. • Virtues are character strengths that incline us to make good moral decisions. • Vices are character weaknesses that incline us to actions that are harmful lto ourselves and others.

5. Authentic Freedom • “Freedom is the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one’s own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts when directed towards God.” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1744) • Our authentic freedom can be diminished, however, by certain factors, including • Ignorance: lack of knowledge, education, etc • Family didn’t teach you stealing was wrong; • Fear or Duress: threats, unlawful or forcible restraints • Lie to protect self; prisoners of war • Psychological or Social Factors • Mental capacity or maturity (and immaturity) • Violation of economic, political and other conditions needed to exercise freedom

6. The Theological Virtues • Faith (Trusting and Believing in God) • “The freely chosen habit of positively responding to God.” • Hope (A Virtue of Trust and Responsibility) • “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) • Love/Charity (The Cornerstone of Virtues) • “The virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1822.)

7. Prayer and the Theological Virtues • “Prayer is a mysterious encounter with God” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church,2591) • Faith is the prayerful longing to encounter the mystery of God. • The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit • Wisdom • Understanding • Counsel • Fortitude • Knowledge • Piety • Fear of the Lord • How do the Gifts of the Holy Spirit represent the process of moral decision-making?

8. The Cardinal Virtues • Prudence (Practical Judgment) • Making the correct judgment about what to do and to choose the right way to do it. • Justice (The Virtue of Rights and Responsibilities) • All people have rights and should have their basic needs met. • Fortitude (The Courage to Act) • Strength when confronted with difficulties and perseverance in pursuing that which is good. • Temperance (The Virtue of Self-Control) • A balanced lifestyle.

9. Integrity • Honesty, genuineness and consistency in behavior • “Receive the Book of the Gospels, whose herald you know are: Believe what you read, Teach what you believe, and Practice what you teach.”

10. Communities of Character… • …Promote the common good. • …Provide the conditions such as peace and respect that allow its people to develop. • Catholic morality does not simply ask, “What should I do to be good?“ • Catholic morality also asks, “What should I do to help others be good as well?” • “The dignity of the human person requires pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be concerned to crate & support institutions that improve the condition of human life.” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1926)