The Way Forward - Leading A Virtuous Life - Part 4 Moral Virtues ► Temperance

JMJ

We last saw that Justice regulates our relations with others, God and our fellow-men (or women as the case may be). Temperance is focused on regulating our 'relations' with our passions that have been in rebellion since the fall.

The following diagram outlines the virtue of temperance in its subordinates and annexed virtues following the Catholic Encyclopedia model.

Temperance, is the moral virtue which keeps within the bounds of reason the desires and pleasures of the sensuous appetite attached to those action by which human nature is preserved in the individual (food / drink) or propagated in the species (procreation).

The subordinate species of temperance are:

Abstinence, which disposes to moderation in the use of food;
Sobriety, which inclines to moderation in the use of spirituous liquors;
Chastity, which regulates the appetite in regard to sexual pleasures; to chastity may be reduced to Modesty, which is concerned with acts subordinate to the act of reproduction.

The virtues annexed to temperance are:

Continence, which restrains the will from consenting to violent movements or concupiscence;
Humility, which restrains inordinate desires for one's own excellence;
Meekness, which checks inordinate movements of anger;
Modesty or decorum, which consists in duly ordering the external movements of anger; to the direction of reason.

As a final note the Waldron notes that the above can be summaries along Aristotle's eutrapelia, or "good cheer". This disposes to moderation in sports, games, and jests, in accordance with the dictates of reason, taking into consideration the circumstance of person, season, and place.

Application in Today's World

In looking at the reactions of all Catholics on the 'spectrum' below (plus those who fall to the 'right' of radical trad), I think that annexed virtues are paramount.

In dealing with developing an understanding of the crisis and dealing with people who hold a different understanding, we need to keep humble (hey our understanding may be flawed), keep the passions in problem regulation (keep calm and Catholic on), keep anger in check and maintain decorum.

As an aside the surest way to lose an argument is to get angry and lose rationality.

P^3

Reference

APA citation. Waldron, M.A. (1912). Virtue. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved July 27, 2015 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15472a.htm

Comments

Cathinfo and the 'resistance' perspective (updated with response to comment)

+ JMJ Matthew, the owner of Cathinfo - a resistance forum has posted a response to a person that indicated his reasons for continuing to go to the SSPX.

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Mary Victrix: The Cyrpto-Lefebvrist Dodge (aka The Crypto-Lefebvrist Dodge)

+ JMJ Setting aside the spelling mistake in the title, I noticed yet another volley in the ongoing war of words between Fr. Greiger and various other people he has labelled as 'cyrpto-lefebvrists'. I also noticed that he has made some statements that are not supported by references or distort the actual positions of the SSPX. As a rule I assume that a person is of good-will and not of malicious intent. This is, after all, the Catholic approach to relations. So at this point I am assuming that Father Angelo Mary Greiger is simply operating under a confirmation bias , that he may be using to reduce any cognitive dissonance that he is experiencing. As such when I noticed some of the issues with the post were incorrect, I emailed Fr. Greiger my thought. As he has not amended the article, I post below a copy of my email. P^3

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

What the heck is a congregation of "Pontifical Right"

+ JMJ In a discussion with a friend the question occurred to me that I didn't actually know was is involved in being a religious order of 'pontifical right'. I had a vague notion that this meant they reported to Rome as opposed to the local diocese. I'm also aware that, according to the accounts I have heard, the Archbishop received 'praise' and the written direction to incardinate priests directly into the SSPX. This is interesting because it implies that the SSPX priests were no longer required to incardinate in the local diocese but in the SSPX. This is something that belongs to an order of 'pontifical right'. Anyway here's some definitions: Di diritto pontificio is the Italian term for “of pontifical right” . It is given to the ecclesiastical institutions (the religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See or approved by it with the formal decree, known by its Latin name, Decretu...

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