The Year of the Priest - St. Jean Vianney, Patron of Priests

"The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”

On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart 2009, the Holy Father declared “A Year for Priests” to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death (dies natalis) of the Curé d'Ars: Jean-Baptiste Marie Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. He was born in the last years of the Ancien Régime, into a devout and humble peasant family of Dardilly. The early life of young Jean was rocked by the French Revolution. The revolutionary government outlawed the Church and practice of the Faith. Many loyal priests went into hiding and continued to carry out their duties. The Vianney family was forced to attend Mass in secret locations. St. Jean was prepared in secret for his First Holy Communion by two nuns in disguise. The example of these heroic priests and religious had a profound effect upon Jean. From an early age he decided that he was called to the priesthood.

In 1802 the Church in France was re-established. Jean wished to begin his studies for the priesthood but his father did not let him leave the farm until he was twenty years of age. He went to Father Balley's "presbytery-school" in the neighbouring village of Ecully and began the rudimentary studies required to enter seminary. He struggled, especially with Latin. He had not been helped by the way the revolution had disrupted his earlier studies. His desire to answer God’s call was strong and aided by the patience of Father Balley he soldiered on. However once again the consequences of the French Revolution interrupted Jean’s course: he was drafted into the Napoleonic army in 1809.

He should have been exempt but a clerical error resulted in him being called up. He went to Lyons, became ill and was hospitalised, missing his first draft. When he was better he was sent to Roanne to meet up with another unit. Whilst with this group he went to a Church to pray and fell behind. He met a fellow conscript who offered to guide him back but instead led him to the mountain village of Noes. Here a group of deserters had gathered. For over a year the deserter Jean hid from the authorities under the name Jerome Vincent and opened a village school for the children. Like the priests of his childhood, Jean was now also in hiding, and slept in a barn. In 1810 an imperial decree granted amnesty to all deserters. Jean returned to Ecully and resumed his studies. In 1813 he returned to Lyons to enter the major seminary. He was ordained in 1815, a month after the Battle of Waterloo, and was appointed assistant to Father Balley.

Father Balley died in 1818 and Jean was sent to the remote hamlet of Ars. Once again the reverberations of the French Revolution would affect Jean. The attacks on the Church had left the town ignorant of the Faith. Sundays were spent working in the fields and dancing and drinking in the tavern The Bishop had warned Jean as he assigned him: "there is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there..."

Jean took this mission to heart. He was deeply aware that he needed to go there to embody Christ’s presence and to bear witness to his saving mercy. He prayed: "Lord, grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!" and with this prayer he entered upon his mission.

He devoted himself to his parish: He began a serious programme of education for the young and the old. He organised care for orphans and the sick, He restored Sunday as the Lord’s Day, preaching against the blasphemies committed. He promoted devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady. He became a “fixture” in the Church building. He was there for the souls entrusted to him: “ Upon his arrival, he chose the church as his home. He entered the church before dawn and did not leave it until after the evening Angelus. There he was to be sought whenever needed”. He would spend hours in the confessional and his reputation spread throughout the world. The first recorded ‘pilgrims’ began coming to him in 1827. By 1855 twenty-thousand people a year were visiting him. He died in 1859 at the age of 73 after forty-one years of service in Ars.

Jean lived an austere and prayerful life. He was attacked by the devil and by doubt. He ran away four times to join a monastery but he returned each time to carry on his mission in the small hamlet. He is an example to all priests, especially today. In the West we see half-empty churches and a world which has rejected the Faith, but like St. Jean we must not despair. From the start Jean suffered to follow God’s calling. Not even a socio-political juggernaut like the French Revolution could stop him fulfilling God’s wish for the salvation of souls. He realised the important role the priest plays in this:

"Were we to fully realize what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love… Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth… What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods… Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshiping the beasts there… The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for Christ."

The Life of Virtue - Eutrapelia

One day, so the story goes, some people came across St John the Evangelist playing games and telling jokes with his friends. They were shocked. Not the thing, so they thought, for one so close to the Lord. He got one of his friends to take up a bow and to fire arrows from it, one after another. ‘Why is he doing that’, asked the scandalised folk. ‘If he goes on using the bow, and does not relax it occasionally, the bow will break’, replied Saint John.

The point is clear: the human being needs time to relax and to rest, time for enjoyment and games, for the witty conversation of friends, time for re-creation. If we are to be useful to our friends and are to respect the limitations on our energies, then we must become skilled in knowing when to stop, turn aside and relax. It is only common sense, you might say. Nevertheless we often hear about people ‘burning out’, exhausting themselves and running close to physical and emotional breakdown. It can be in any walk of life, any profession or business, but often it is people in the caring or helping professions who over-do things: social workers, nurses, clergy, parents, teachers. Rather than being a sign of dedication and selflessness such experiences may simply show a lack of wisdom, a failure to respect oneself and one’s needs, ignorance of one’s limits, a failure to listen to the messages of the body.

Aristotle believed that what was required for proper relaxation and enjoyment was not just a social skill but a special virtue, another kind of temperateness. He called it eutrapelia (another good name for a cat!). With this virtue a person will know that he or she must relax, and will know when and how to do it. Because it is a virtue, concerned with what is morally good, it will not allow us to enjoy ourselves at the expense of others or in a way that is wrong (destructive or obscene, for example). Like all virtues it stands between two extremes, buffoonery (stupid carry on) and boorishness (inability to take a joke). Eutrapelia strikes the right note, helping us to relax in a healthy way. Aquinas once again takes up what Aristotle says and includes it in his account of the good human life (Summa theologiae II.II 72,2; 168,2)

This common sense and Greek wisdom is found also in the Bible. After the work of creation God rested, teaching us the need for special days and years, times of rest and celebration, Sabbaths and jubilees (Gen 2.2-3; Exod 20.8-11; Lev 23-25). The point of God’s work is to share his delight and happiness with human creatures. God’s wisdom says: ‘I was by his side, a master craftsman, delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence, at play everywhere in his world, delighting to be with human beings’ (Prov 8.30-31).

The Father is the Lord of the Dance (Zeph 3.17-18) who invites us to dance before him as David did before the ark of the covenant (2 Sam 6.16). For the early Christians the dance went on in the paschal experience of Jesus. The resurrection is God’s great joke, at the devil’s expense, an unexpected and witty response to the apparent victory of Satan so that ‘he who sits in the heavens laughs’ (Ps 2). Dance continued in the liturgy, the Lord’s Day was the day of rest and recreation, the holy days became the holidays: a resting in the Lord who pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber. Our holidays and Sundays are not just necessary relaxation to rest the bow and gather our strength for the coming week. This rest from our work reminds us that it is God’s world and not ours. The progress of the world depends on Him before it depends on us. Human life is a gift and a grace to be received and lived with joy, so that we may eventually enter the place of rest reserved for God’s people (Heb 4.1-11), God’s place of peace and delight.

Eutrapelia is the virtue that enables us to give ourselves fully to the very serious business of enjoying the delights of friendship and love, family and friends, books and games, wine and Guinness. Some people are fortunate enough to live in places where they can be joyful in the sunshine!

Catholicism in the South Wales Valleys: 1. The Cynon Valley

As part of my summer placement after ordination to the Diaconate, I spent a month working in the South Wales valleys. The Parish of Mary Immaculate is a relatively new parish, formed from the recent merger of three small parishes, those of St Therese of Lisieux, Hirwaun, St Joseph's, Aberdare, and Our Lady of Lourdes, Mountain Ash. The parish territory covers the upper part of the Cynon Valley.

We perhaps don't often think of Wales as a place where there are many Catholics. Whilst that is certainly true of Mid and North Wales, it is not the case in South Wales. From the time of the Industrial Revolution up until relatively recently, the South Wales valleys were a centre of industry, and were noted especially for coal mining. From some quick research, I have counted that the upper Cynon Valley had twenty six deep mines between the late nineteenth century and the 25th of January, 2008, when Tower Colliery, the last deep mine in Wales, was closed. Such a large number of mines meant that there was a need for labour, and people came from far afield to work in the mines and the industries that supported them.

Of particular interest from a religious point of view was the number of people who moved to South Wales from Ireland and Italy. Many of the Italians came from the town of Bardi, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy. Migration to South Wales continued right up until the late 1950s, and many of the Catholic parishioners still have strong Irish accents, or are fluent Italian speakers. The resulting Catholicism is recognisable as Italian and Irish in flavour, yet has a distinctively Welsh feel too.

Although life in the Cynon Valley was hard in the mining times, the closure of the pits has brought a large amount of unemployment, and an uncertain future for the young people of the area, many of whom may have to look further afield in order to find employment in the future. It has also resulted in a weakening of the sense of community that had always been so strong in this part of Wales The Church in the area has much work to do in evangelising and preaching the Gospel of hope, and the Parish of Mary Immaculate is looking for new ways to carry out this work. Work in the two primary schools in the Parish is a large part of the focus of the Parish, along with supporting young people and young families.

Please pray for the work of Fr Mark Rowles, the Parish Priest, and Srs Nora and Eileen, two Dominican sisters who are part of the parish team.

The Life of Virtue - Studiosity

Study is one of the central components of Dominican spirituality. To be studious is to be appropriately eager to study. It is having the desire to apply one’s mind to something; to learn about it, to know it, so that one may understand it. To develop, foster and have the virtue of studiosity is a good thing. It is just as natural and proper for humans to desire knowledge, as it is to desire the pleasures of food and drink. Aristotle observes in his Metaphysics “all human beings have a natural desire for knowledge." Apart from this natural inclination, we are commanded by God to: “Study wisdom, my son, and make my heart joyful, that thou mayest give an answer to him that reproacheth." Ultimately we all desire to know that which is true, that which is Truth itself; and that Truth, which is God, wishes us to know him.

Studiosity is a desire; it therefore belongs to temperance. If we have an appetite for study, like all appetitive movements, it will need to be moderated. We can easily fall into the vice of curiosity, when we allow our pride to drive our yearning for knowledge. When we do this we try to put ourselves above God. We also do this when we separate our study from the due end: God. This does not mean that when learning about the Imperial German Armee-Inspektion or Cornish cheese- production, we have to insert God; but we must remember that what we are learning about is not the be all and end all of everything.

Also if we engage in study in order to sin, we put ourselves against God. We must be careful in what we study. This requires an element of humility. We might not intend to sin but we can easily fall into sin by studying things that might be above our intelligence. This can lead us into error. Likewise our natural curiosity can become superstitious. St. Augustine gives the example of many being excommunicated by their interest in studying demonology and witchcraft.

We must also remember that there is a hierarchy of our studies. At times we have an obligation to certain pursuits but also some areas are more important than others. We cannot let our curiosity take us off track. St. Jerome observed: "we see priests forsaking the gospels and the prophets, reading stage-plays, and singing the love songs of pastoral idylls." This is not to say that we can not have other studious interests, outside our primary focus, but they must be subordinate.

Solemn Profession 2009

"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it" - Mark 8:34f.

These words, from the Gospel for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, were very appropriate for the solemn profession of fr Lawrence Lew OP which took place during conventual Mass in the Oxford priory on Sunday 13 September. fr Lawrence's friends and family had come from near and far to witness him make profession and promise obedience "usque ad mortem", until death. As the Prior Provincial, fr John Farrell OP reminded him, fr Lawrence was entering into the obedience of Christ who was "obedient unto death, even death on a cross". So, the faith which we had all received in baptism has to be borne out in action and good works. Let us pray that the good work undertaken in making religious profession will be brought to perfection by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Below are photos and a video clip from both the solemn profession and the reception, which took place after Mass:

fr Lawrence lies prostrate in the form of a cross and asks for God's mercy and the mercy of the brethren.

The Provincial receives the profession and promise of obedience "until death" from fr Lawrence.


"I, brother Lawrence Lew, make profession and promise obedience to God, and to Blessed Mary, and to Blessed Dominic, and to you, brother John Farrell, Prior Provincial of the Province of England, in place of brother Carlos Alfonso Azpiroz Costa, Master of the Order of Friars Preachers, and his successors, according to the Rule of Blessed Augustine and the Institutions of the Friars Preachers, that I will be obedient to you and your successors, until death."

The Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge sang the Propers of the Mass in Dominican chant: "Grant peace, O Lord, to those who wait for you, that your prophets may be found faithful: hear the prayers of your servant..." - from the Introit of the Mass for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In addition, another choir comprised of friends of fr Lawrence, including some with whom he had previously sung in Leeds University Chamber Choir and Leeds Cathedral, sang the Ordinary of the Mass. The setting was Haydn's Kleine orgelmesse, and during communion they sang Stanford's Beati quorum via: "Blessed are they whose life is blameless: who walk in the law of the Lord" - Psalm 118:1

fr Lawrence with his parents and uncles and aunt who had come from as far afield as the U.S.A., Malaysia and Singapore.

fr Lawrence with his father and step-mother.

The Life of Virtue - Humility

Humility – just another ‘monkish virtue’! That was British philosopher David Hume’s opinion in the eighteenth century and I would hazard that many share it now. We are told that if we want to get anywhere in life we have to ‘sell ourselves’, be forward and build ourselves up because if we don’t nobody will do it for us. As such, humility is often incorrectly seen as something which just belongs in the cloister because it degrades us unnecessarily or, just as perversely, shows itself as ‘the worst form of conceit’.

As Christians we must learn that there is a lot more to this virtue than always going around thinking, or telling others, how awful we are! St Thomas informs us that the word humility is derived from the Latin humus or that which is from the earth beneath us. Rather than grinding ourselves into the ground it would perhaps be best to begin to view humility as a virtue that allows us to see where we stand and can keep us grounded. Thomas teaches us that “the virtue of humility consists in keeping oneself within one's own bounds, not reaching out to things above one, but submitting to one's superior” (Summa Contra Gentiles, bk. iv, ch. iv). The superior to which we must all submit is evidently God but we must also be prepared to submit to others for God’s sake, it is therefore important that we know what true humility consists of and how to practise it.

We must firstly guard ourselves against false humility and learn to see how our talents and gifts may be viewed aright against those of others. It is not simply a matter of viewing ourselves inherently as beneath all others, “otherwise each one would have to esteem himself a greater sinner than anyone else”, as Thomas points out with characteristic bluntness (Summa theologiae II.II 161 art 3). It is important to note that we should not see our supernatural gifts, given to us by the grace of God, as being less than those others possess. Nor should we see those natural gifts we possess as necessarily being inferior to those of our neighbour. Instead we must be honest with ourselves and acknowledge when we lack a good that our neighbour may possess or exhibit an evil that they do not. We must then be humble enough to recognise this and in doing so we subject ourselves but we must be wary of outward acts of subjection as Thomas warns, “due moderation must be observed in the outward acts of humility even as of other virtues, lest they conduce to the detriment of others” (Summa theologiae II.II 161 art 3). Instead our acts should be ultimately directed to God and thus out of love and not false humility which seeks some other reward. As St Paul states, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3).

Humility is allied to temperance in its potential part because it represses or moderates our excesses of appetite, in this case pride or vainglory. As such it is often viewed as a great spiritual foundation because it removes the obstacles to faith which we daily face. Pride is often our greatest stumbling block and without humility we cannot hope to remove its harmful influence from our spiritual lives’. We would do well to heed the words of St Peter, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6). For our truest example of humility we should always look toward Christ who being “found in human form, humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

Other Recent Publications from English Dominicans

As well as recent publications by Dominicans attached to the Oxford community, these other recent publications by Dominicans should be noted.

Fr Aidan Nichols of the Cambridge community, the most prolific English Dominican author of his generation, recently published a study of faith and reason in modern Catholic thought (Gracewing Publications). He considers the work of three important 19th century theologians, Georg Hermes, Anton Gunther and Louis Bautain and the interventions of Gregory XVI and Pius IX in relation to their work on this question. The return to scholasticism is represented by Joseph Kleutgen and the project of Leo XIII to restore the study of St Thomas to the centre of Catholic intellectual life. For the 20th century he continues the story by examining the work of Etienne Gilson, Maurice Blondel and Hans Urs von Balthasar. The story ends with consideration of John Paul II's encyclical Fides et ratio (1998) and the theological work of Benedict XVI.

Letters to a Non-believer, a work of apologetics, was published recently by Fr Thomas Crean of the Leicester community (Family Publications). The letters begin with considerations of the existence and nature of God, then the Trinity and faith, the trustworthiness of the gospels, on Jesus, the incarnation and resurrection, on Christ's death and the fall of man. There are reflections also on science and the fall of man, on love, the soul, life after death, evil, freewill and the Church. The publishers say this: "Writing in his clear and precise style, Crean makes the rational arguments which underpin Catholic teaching accessible to every reader, marking himself out as a true philosophical heir to scholastic philosophers like St Thomas Aquinas, and the literary heir to Christian expositors such as C S Lewis."

The Life of Virtue - Modesty

Modesty, like so many of the Christian virtues, has been largely disregarded by Western liberal societies. In the latter half of the twentieth century, modesty in dress was rejected outright by radicals, particularly radical feminists, who saw it simply as a way for men to oppress women and of determining their self-image according to how they dressed. Any criticism of less than modest dress in women was taken to be a cynical attempt by men to make women feel ashamed of their bodies, and thus their identity, something that would in turn make them to be subservient to men.

An emphasis on the importance of modesty in dress was also thought to lead many women to see themselves as moral failures because they did not wish, or did not feel able, to live according to the standards set by society. This guilt was thought to do great psychological harm to these women, leading the most rebellious amongst them down a path of moral decay, through which they would become the means to satisfy the lusts of the very men who publicly criticised immodesty. This was the theory presented by many liberal thinkers in the twentieth century and was partly caused no doubt by the hypocrisy and/or genuine failure of many who publicly condemned immorality whilst privately behaving immodestly.

This way of thinking is too simplistic, however, because it neglects to address many important aspects of the issues involved. For instance, just because some people criticised others publicly for behaviour that they were themselves undertaking in private, this does not make the behaviour any less wrong. Simply because some people failed to live up to a high moral standard, this does not mean the standard does not truly exist or that it has no value for contemporary society. Furthermore, it could be argued that by buying into the notion that the acceptability of women dressing immodestly is empowering for women, these women have in fact disempowered themselves, for they have given many men exactly what they wanted without any benefit to themselves, aside from the perceived benefit that they are freer because they can reject the “constraint” of modesty in dress. It is interesting to note that a perceived lack of modesty in dress in Western society has been a major factor, judging by what they say themselves, in leading many Western women to convert to Islam, where they think that the rules for modest dress are very clear.

It is also crucial to remember that modesty of dress applies to men too, something that many people seem to forget when addressing the issue. Many people are often tempted to focus excessively on the aspect of modesty as an avoidance of revealing clothing. However, modesty is much more than this, because it is concerned with much more than even modesty of dress. In fact Aquinas, when discussing modesty, describes modesty of dress as the fourth and least significant of the four aspects of this virtue. One might argue, for example that taking an excessive amount of time over putting together a particular outfit that was in all other regards perfectly modest, might make the outfit immodest. By giving something non-essential so much of one’s time, one risks prioritising the superficial over the practical and fundamental matters of life. Another obvious example is the amount of money spent on clothes that appear to be modest, money that could be better spent on helping one’s brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us ask Our Lady, the model of modesty for us all, to pray for people in our society that they may rediscover the beauty and integrity that comes from having a modest heart.

Clothing of Novices and Simple Profession 2009

On Saturday 12 September, the English Province rejoiced in the clothing of two new novices and the simple profession of fr Nicholas Crowe OP, both of which took place in Cambridge, the novitiate house.

The clothing ceremony, which took place in the morning, was only witnessed by Dominican brothers and sisters, who welcomed fr Andrew Brookes OP (above right) and fr Dominic McDevitt OP (above left) into their new Dominican life with us. Clothed in the habit of the Order, as a symbol of this, they were then entrusted into the care of the novice master for one year. They are shown above with their novice master, fr John Patrick Kenrick OP.

In his address to the novices, the Prior Provincial, fr John Farrell OP urged them not to be afraid but to trust in the Lord's mercy and that of the brethren. Please pray for our new brethren that they may persevere and be happy to "live in the house of the Lord".

Below are more photos from the clothing ceremony:

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me..." - Galatians 2:20

"Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life... " - Ephesians 4:22

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" - Matthew 11:29f

"For surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround him with your favour as with a shield" - Psalm 5:12

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" - Psalm 133:1

The Provincial shares his music with fr Dominic as they sing the 'Te Deum' together, thanking God for the gift of a religious vocation.

Both novices signed the Admissions book after the clothing ceremony. Here, fr Andrew signs the book as the novice master and fr Martin Ganeri OP, the prior of Cambridge, look on.

In the afternoon after the Clothing ceremony, fr Nicholas made his simple profession during Mass.

Prostrate in the form of a cross, the friar is asked what he seeks. He responds: "God's mercy and yours".

fr Nicholas makes profession and promises obedience for three years.

The Provincial exchanges a sign of brotherly love and peace with fr Nicholas.

The Provincial blesses the scapular of the newly-professed, saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, who in your great love put on the clothing of our mortality: bless, we pray, these scapulars, such as our holy fathers were accustomed to wear as a sign of dedication and humility. In your overflowing kindness, make those who wear them worthy to be clothed with you, who live and reign forever and ever."

fr Nicholas in the priory garden after his profession with his parents and brother.

fr Nicholas has moved from Cambridge to Blackfriars Oxford, where he will begin his studies in the Studium, and he will also be writing as a member of the Godzdogz team. Please remember him in your prayers.

For more information and help with discerning a Dominican vocation, visit our vocations webpages.

The Life of Virtue - Gentleness

In the letter to the Ephesians, St Paul says "Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." Anger is not necessarily sinful, but it is a passion that can easily lead us into sin and to hatred of our neighbour. Whilst on occasion it might be right to desire vengeance for the sake of the good that it may achieve, it is always wrong to take pleasure in the evil suffered by another person because this is incompatible with charity.

However we would not be free from vice if we never became angry. On this point, St Thomas quotes St John Chrysostom: "He who is not angry, when he has cause to be, sins. For unreasonable patience is the hotbed of many vices, it fosters negligence, and incites not only the wicked but even the good to do wrong."

Since we are much more likely to be angry to excess or with the wrong person than not to be angry enough, the habit of being angry to the right level and in the right situation is greatly facilitated by the virtue that restrains anger, and this virtue is called gentleness. Gentleness is a secondary virtue of the principal virtue of temperance. Whilst temperance moderates the pleasures of nourishment and procreation, gentleness moderates the desire for vengeance. The virtue of temperance takes precedence over the virtue of gentleness because it is usually more difficult for a person to show restraint when it comes to food and sex than to show restraint in the situation when a person has been wronged. Other virtues such as faith, hope, charity, prudence and justice are yet greater still than gentleness because whilst gentleness restrains a person from committing evil, these other virtues direct a person to do good.

Still, it is very important that the virtue of gentleness is fostered. An angry person is liable to become an irrational person, one who acts rashly and lacks self-control, and so anger can be a great obstacle to attaining knowledge of God. If we are gentle we have a disposition in which other greater virtues can take root in us so that we can become acceptable before God.

The Life of Virtue - Clemency

Clemency is the inclination to lessen punishment and it originates in love. Love as justice will sometimes require punishment; love as clemency will want to mitigate that punishment. Because it responds to a higher reasonableness, clemency is counted as a virtue.

A distorted form of clemency is 'favoritism' where a person is less demanding in relation to one he prefers than he is to one he does not love so much, but at least it shows the connection between clemency and love. The real opposite of clemency, however, is cruelty. Aquinas says that to take pleasure in the sufferings of another human being is to lack normal human affections since even at a natural level we are inclined to love, and to feel for, other human beings. To be cruel to another, therefore, is to be mad.

Clemency's tendency to mitigate punishment when this is the reasonable thing to do aligns it with epeikeia in relation to legal justice: a virtue which enables us to know when a strict and severe application of the law would be contrary to right reason.

Here is an interesting thing: most of Aquinas's consideration of clemency and gentleness depends on the work of the pagan philosophers Aristotle, Cicero and Seneca. Where is the teaching and example of Jesus, we might begin to wonder? In the first three articles of the question (Summa theologiae II.II 157,1-3) there are just two scriptural references, to Matthew 5:4 on the beatitude of meekness and to Galatians 5:23 on gentleness as a fruit of the Spirit. In the final article however, 157,4, what might seem like a simple endorsement of pagan morality is thrown into a completely different key. Now his authorities are biblical, with additional comments from the Christian teachers Ambrose, Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius.

Are clemency and gentleness the greatest of virtues, Aquinas asks? Who would have thought so? Perhaps only someone who has come to know Jesus Christ, and the Father through him. Faith, hope and charity are the greatest of virtues, Thomas replies. However, among virtues that help us to resist depravity, the distortion of our souls, gentleness and clemency are the most powerful, the first because it tempers anger enabling us to be calm enough to accept the truth, and the second because it already comes close to charity, the greatest of all the virtues.

The person who is clement and gentle is merciful and so has become like the Heavenly Father. If the structure of Aquinas's thought is taken from the great pagans, the light that animates it is the light of the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

Saints This Month - 2 September: The Martyrs of September, Blessed John du Lau and Companions

In 1790, the revolutionary government of France enacted a law denying Papal authority over the Church in France. The French clergy were required to swear an oath to uphold this law and submit to the Republic. As with the Henrician Oath of Supremacy in 16th century England, many priests and religious took the oath but a sizable minority opposed it. The revolutionary leaders’ primary target was the aristocracy but by 1792, as the leadership became more radical, their attention turned to the Church, especially the non-jurors within it.

In August, in the name of Liberté, égalité & fraternité, those who had refused the oath were rounded up and imprisoned in Parisian monasteries (after the monks had been kicked out). In September “Vigilance Committees” were set up and mobs sent to the make-shift prisons. On 2nd September a season of bloodshed and slaughter began. The inmates were cut-down in cold blood. All of the prisoners, even the old and disabled, were put to the sword. The executions at the old Carmelite monastery in Paris were recorded.The band of murderers arrived and they called out, “The Archbishop of Arles!” Archbishop John du Lau of Arles was praying in the chapel. When summoned, he came out and said, “I am he whom you seek.” Thereupon, they cracked his skull, stabbed him, and trampled him underfoot. Then the leader set up a “tribunal” before which the imprisoned were herded and ordered to take the oath. All refused; so, as they passed down the stairway, they were hacked to pieces by the murderers.

This purge continued for most of the year. By the end of September over 200 clergy had been killed and by the end of 1792 the total was 1500. One-hundred and ninety-one September martyrs were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Their heroism in the defence of the Papacy and the Faith is remembered long after the names of their blood-thirsty executioners had been forgotten. The long list of those beatified can be viewed here.

The Life of Virtue - Continence

If temperance is the virtue concerned with moderating our physical desires, then where does continence (which seems to be about the same thing) fit in? To understand, we need to remember that, as we’ve seen in the course of this series, to possess a virtue involves more than just acting in the right way. It requires a disposition to act in whatever way we determine to be the right one in a given set of circumstances.

And yet it’s clear that in many cases, we are not disposed to act in the way we know to be right: even if on every occasion someone does choose to do what they know to be right, this may still come after an internal struggle, during which doing the opposite (even though known to be wrong) was considered. In such a case it is continence, rather than temperance, that is being demonstrated: the person acts well, but only because the strength of their will allows their reason to overcome passions which incline them to act against it. As St Thomas says (Summa theologiae II.II 155, 1), continence is something like a virtue, but cannot really be classed as such: it involves repeated good action, yes, but good action which is chosen on each occasion after a struggle, and which thus cannot be properly called a habit of good action. We should note, of course, that even the temperate can be subject to temptation: the distinction between them and the continent is that the latter countenance the possibility of actually doing what they know to be wrong.

All of this reminds us, then, that the acquisition of virtue is a process that takes time, and that there are stages on the way to the fullness of virtue where our behaviour might have some of its attributes, though not all of them. Continence is a step on the way to the acquisition of the virtue of temperance, the strength to choose repeatedly to act well which enables us to acquire the habit of doing so with respect to our physical desires. So let us ask the Lord for this strength, that with it He may bring us at length to the fullness of virtue to which He calls us all.

The Life of Virtue - Virginity

Virginity is not seen in a positive light by many in society. The first of the seemingly endless series of American Pie films and the more recent The 40 Year Old Virgin reflect the mainstream view that one’s virginity, one’s bodily integrity and purity, is a social and emotional monkey-on-the-back, that must be kicked as far as possible into touch as early as possible. Virginity has been devalued by society, so much so that people are happy to auction it on eBay. This has of course led to a reaction, especially among Christians. Celebrity virgins, such as Britney Spears and the Jonas Brothers, and the American chastity movements, such as ‘The Silver Ring Thing’, have become one of the cultural markers of both Ronald Reagan’s moral majority and the G.W.Bush era. Movements of that kind are now found across the world and are growing still. However, whilst I sympathise and agree with much that these groups do and say, I find that they do not promote the full meaning of Christian virginity. I always feel that they focus too much on the physical side, especially abstaining from only penetrative sexual intercourse. There is also a tendency to concentrate on the negative aspects of sex such as sexually transmitted illnesses and unwanted pregnancies.

Of course the physical side of virginity is very important - "virginity resides in the flesh", as St. Augustine says - but the spiritual side is crucial. St. Thomas, in defining virginity, states that this spiritual side “stands in the position of form and complement, because the essence of morality is perfected in that which concerns the reason”. The material element is the integrity of the flesh but the important part is why we keep our virginity. As St. Augustine says, “we do not praise virgins for being virgins, but because their virginity is consecrated to God by holy continency.”

This purpose allows us, even if we are not physically virgins, to recover the virtue of virginity. St. Jerome says “other things God can do, but He cannot restore the virgin after her downfall”. This is true only of the material element of virginity. The formal element, the purpose of virginity, can be recovered. Whilst we may not be in the position to recover the material element, our minds and our souls can be so prepared that we have the purpose of safeguarding this same integrity of the flesh. By practicing the virtue of virginity we imitate our Lord and Mary, His Mother, Who both preserved both material and formal virginity. By practicing the special virtue of virginity, as St. Paul tells us, our focus is directed to contemplating and thinking on the "things of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7:32-35).

The Life of Virtue - Chastity

When chastity is spoken of in these times most people simply associate it with the edict of ‘not having sex outside of marriage’. Whilst this is not wholly untrue there is a lot more to chastity than one, or even a list, of prohibited actions. Chastity is above all a way of living our lives aright before God in accordance with right reason, living according to the example and teachings of Christ and being courageous enough to separate ourselves from the crowd and not bow to the mores of secular society.

Chastity has as its Latin root the adjective castus, meaning pure and we must remember that this purity for which we aim is not only bodily but it must stem from a purity of the heart and mind. We must strive to be pure as God is pure. This is why in striving for the virtue of chastity we must be aware that it really is an attitude to life, an approach that should govern not simply our physical actions but our thoughts and our words the very way we live before God and our neighbour.

Thomas Aquinas identifies for us two ways in which we can view chastity, the first he terms ‘properly’ and the second ‘metaphorically’ (Summa theologiae II.II 151, 2). The former relates to chastity as “a special virtue having a special matter, namely the concupiscences relating to venereal pleasures” and we can thus identify lust as the vice contrary to chastity. The second approach states that the “spiritual union of the mind with certain things conduces to a pleasure which is the matter of a spiritual chastity.” In other words, the human mind delights in a union with the things of God but when we stray and unite our minds to sinful pleasures we commit, in effect, spiritual fornication.

Society, of course, increasingly makes the possibility of straying sinfully in our minds all the easier. We are daily faced with a barrage of propaganda on a whole host of issues – particularly ‘lifestyle’ issues – which would draw us away from the example of Christ. To stray in thought is often a precursor to straying in deed. It is certain then that we must be watchful and brace ourselves against the many temptations which daily cross our paths. We must be mindful of the words of St Paul, "but among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving" (Ephesians 5:3).

As the Church teaches, “the virtue of chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses with reason" (Catechism of the Catholic Church §2341). Self-mastery over our unruly passions is vital if we are to be truly free and fulfilled and the choice is clear, “either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy” (CCC §2339). This is no easy thing and we must all learn to persevere. If we fall we must try to pick ourselves up again as quickly as we can and seek God’s forgiveness. His mercy is abundant and we must put all our trust in Him because without Him we can make little progress. As Aquinas states “chastity consists principally in charity and the other theological virtues, whereby the human mind is united to God” (Summa theologiae II.II 151, 2). Charity then, the love of God for us and our love for Him must be our guide: if we can unite ourselves to Christ in prayer and persevere in this, His grace will allow us to flourish and to cultivate this most important virtue of chastity

The Life of Virtue - Sobriety

At first sight the notion of sobriety as a virtue might seem rather dull, or even worse, puritanical, but St. Thomas is careful to make clear that this is not at all what he has in mind by this virtue of moderation in drink. Like all virtues, sobriety is a good and useful habit that is essential for those who are in the pursuit of a happy and peaceable life. The scriptures are full of exhortations and encouragements that counsel us always to show restraint when drinking, so as to avoid drunkenness, a state that is the cause of so much strife, violence and unnecessary heartache in our society: “wine drunk to excess is bitterness of soul, with provocation and stumbling” (Sirach 31:29). The need to know one’s limit in drinking and the harmful consequences of disregarding it can be plainly in any of our city centres on a Saturday night, where anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related fights are an all too frequent occurrence.

However, sobriety does not mean a rejection of all alcohol as sinful (this cannot be the case, for we know from scripture that Our Lord drank wine). In fact, Thomas stresses in many articles in the Summa Theologiae, that a moderate intake of wine is good for the health of the body and cheering for the heart, especially when it is drunk as a means of making merry with friends, as Aquinas holds friendship in the highest regard, “wine drunk in season and temperately is rejoicing of heart and gladness of soul” (Sirach 31:28). Thus in drinking, as with other pleasures of the flesh, the virtue is to be found in the mean, since the virtuous man is one who has accustomed himself to drinking within what he knows to be his sensible and enjoyable limit. With young people, it may take a few incautious drinking sessions before they learn the unpleasant side effects of reckless drinking, but this is a lesson well-learnt, since it will stand them in good stead throughout their lives. As followers of Christ, we are called to be models of good behaviour for others to follow and therefore should avoid drunkenness, but we can enjoy a drink or two with family and friends, content in the knowledge that we are practicing the virtue of sobriety.

The Life of Virtue - Virtue in Sport?

John Paul II, a handy goalkeeper in his youth, often lauded the positive aspects of sport:

The correct practice of sport must be accompanied by the virtues of temperance and sacrifice; frequently it also requires a good team spirit, respectful attitudes, the appreciation of the qualities of others, honesty in the game and humility to recognize one's own limitations. In short, sports, especially in less competitive forms, foster festive celebration and friendly coexistence. While playing sports Christians also find help in developing the cardinal virtues — fortitude, temperance, prudence and justice.

In modern professional sports it seems very few of these virtues are evident. This has been symbolised this summer by the investigation into the fake blood injury scandal during Harlequins’ Heineken Cup tie against Leinster. A player, aided by the club physio, faked a blood injury with a blood-capsule to allow a specialist kicker come onto the field in his place. This has of course damaged the traditional image of rugby football as the game for ruffians played by gentlemen but has also been seen as the embodiment of the lack of sportsmanship, ethics and virtue in professional sport.

In the traditional association football season curtain opener, the Community Shield, the victorious Chelsea team (although Manchester United are no angels) seemed to be lacking virtue. Michael Ballack’s off-the-ball challenge or “blocking” of United’s Evra and the Chelsea team’s failure to kick the ball out, after Evra went down, resulted in the west London team scoring a crucial goal. The fact that Ballack was “happy” that the referee did not blow for a foul but would have been “ok” if he had, suggests a less than virtuous motive for his use of the elbow.

Even cricket has suffered to some extent. The brilliant Ashes series between England and Australia has been overall a good example of sportsmanship but at times has been marred by 12th men and overzealous physios and the pragmatic slow over-rate that is all too common in test cricket in the modern era.

Professional sport especially at the highest level is now an industry. Major matches have become events worth millions not only to the teams, clubs and players, but also to sponsors and the media. It is understandable that teams and players feel the need to win at any cost. This does not make it right. Winning is important but how you win is more important. It was therefore refreshing to hear Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manger state this in a rare interview this summer. Monsieur Wenger stated that football is an art. In the course of his interview, The Professor, as he is affectionately known among the Ashburton Grove faithful, echoed St. Thomas Aquinas. The Angelic Doctor defined art as:

... simply a right method of doing things. The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work which he produces.

Wenger is mainly talking about the technical way a team plays the game and anyone who has watched the Arsenal teams he has built will not deny that they play some of the most beautiful and attractive football in England if not the world, but sportsmanship and fair play have a part in this. He admits he has had moments of selective blindness when his players act in unacceptable ways but he sees these moments of so-called pragmatism as damaging to the “canvas” he is creating. Sport, when performed properly, can have a moral aspect.

There are moments of inspirational sportsmanship in modern sports. Robbie Fowler purposely missing a penalty he did not deserve in 1996; Andrew Flintoff consoling Shane Warne after Australia lost the ashes in 2005; the atmosphere at a London Irish St. Patrick’s weekend match. Sadly these are the exceptions to the rule. The bad influence of elite athletes trickles down to the amateur and junior levels. Some of my worst sporting experiences have been playing in amateur rugby matches! This is such a shame, as sport really is a practice ground for the development and strengthening of virtue. If there is not a change in the mentality of those at the top this will not be the case for much longer.

The Life of Virtue - Fasting

By fasting, St Thomas means to go without food for a period of time. According to this definition, we are fasting when we are not eating between meals. However, fasting such as this does not automatically come under the category of virtuous acts. In order for fasting to be virtuous, it must be done for a reasonable purpose. Thus, St Thomas makes the distinction between the natural fast of simply going without food, and the faster’s fast of going without food with the intent of achieving some good end.

Whilst there are obvious physical benefits to limiting the amount of food we eat, such as good health, when it comes to cutting out food altogether and experiencing hunger, the benefits are more spiritual. St Thomas gives three possible reasons for fasting which he backs up with scriptural references. Firstly, fasting helps cool the lusts of the flesh. Secondly, fasting helps the mind to rise more freely to contemplate heavenly things. Thirdly, fasting can also be a way of repenting of the sins we have committed. These are honourable aims - that our passions should be subject to our wills, that our minds be focused on God, and that we be committed to turning away from a life sin. However there are also obvious dangers with fasting if it is undertaken too zealously. As with all acts of virtue, a midway point between two extremes has to be established, and this appointed by the virtue of abstinence which is part of temperance. If we were not to fast at all, we might miss out on the possible benefits, but to fast to the extent that our bodies could not function properly would be to offer a sacrifice of stolen goods.

Because most people are in need of the benefits of fasting and because there are certain times in the year when it is especially fitting that people should receive these benefits, it is a precept of the Church that Christians should fast on certain assigned days such as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On such fast days, people should have only one full meal. However this precept of fasting is not binding on all people, because there may be some special reason why it would be unwise to fast. Thus, the old and the sick are not under this obligation. Neither are pilgrims who need to eat in order to sustain themselves on their journey. Having said that, St Thomas suggests that if possible, pilgrimages should take place at times that do not coincide with the fast days of the Church.

The demands on us that the Church makes with regard to fasting are really very light and they are in no way opposed to our freedom, because by fasting we become less enslaved to sin. In addition to these fast days, we may voluntarily fast on non-feast days. If we are in good health, and if fasting in no way inhibits our ability to fulfil our duties, it is worth remembering that this virtue is available to us if we want to conform our lives more to Christ.

The Life of Virtue - Abstinence

It used to be very much part of Catholic culture and consciousness to abstain from meat on Fridays. Indeed, this laudable practice led to such a decline in hamburger sales on those days that the McDonald's fast-food chain created their 'Filet-O-Fish' to cater to their Catholic customers. Such was once the influence of Catholic practices!

Of course, the current Code of Canon Law still maintains that every Friday in the year (which is not a Solemnity) is a day of penance, and canon 1251 specifically prescribes abstinence from meat as the form of penance. However, in some countries, this penance can be substituted by another or by the performance of a good work. Either way, the Church prescribes the practice of some virtue on a Friday.

The specific virtue that has traditionally been practised on Friday is abstinence, which St Thomas says is a "special virtue" that falls under temperance. He says this special virtue is needed because food, which is a natural good and necessary for health, is so pleasurable that one can easily over-indulge in a way that violates temperance and the good exercise of our reason. Abstinence from food and specifically from meat can thus be seen as a way of controlling our desire for the pleasures of the flesh, so to speak. And this virtue, of course, helps us to control our sensual appetites, so that we also abstain from those other pleasures of the flesh that are controlled by the virtue of chastity.

Thus, St Thomas says that abstinence combats the vice of gluttony and is "a help to chastity, since one virtue helps another." He also notes that the more one gives in to the pleasures of the flesh - whether through gluttony or lust - the more these temptations of the flesh increase in force. St Thomas' observation has a long pedigree, coming from the experience of the Desert Fathers and other Christians ascetics, and in the 20th-century, this link between the sensual appetites has also been observed by Christians like C.S.Lewis.

The food and beverage industry is huge these days, and people who can afford it will stop at nothing to acquire all manner of gastronomic delights. And this is nothing new. As St Thomas rightly noted: "the pleasures of the table are of a nature to withdraw man from the good of reason, both because they are so great, and because food is necessary to man who needs it for the maintenance of life, which he desires above all other things." So, we require the virtue of abstinence, so that we will eat and drink temperately. This means we eat to live rather than live to eat. All pleasures have to be moderated by temperance lest they distract us from the Giver of all that is good and pleasurable, He in whom our ultimate pleasure lies and who feeds us with his divine life in the form of bread and wine.

Running concurrently with all this gastronomic indulgence is a certain abstention from food that does not always stem from the virtue of abstinence: dieting. There is a plethora of trendy diets, and although it is good and virtuous to have a concern for one's health and well-being, this can become obsessive or ill-directed. Hence, St Thomas says: "right reason makes one abstain as one ought, i.e. with gladness of heart, and for the due end, i.e. for God's glory and not one's own." Therefore, the Church in her wisdom directs us every Friday to work to acquire the virtue of abstinence. We abstain from meat or some other food, motivated by love of Christ who died for our salvation. We refrain from enjoying these transient pleasures of the flesh for the sake of Him who died in the flesh that we might enjoy eternal pleasure with God.