PREPARING FOR A DEEPER SPIRITUAL LIFE
The journey towards this deeper spiritual life that prepares us for death begins by disciplining our body and our passions with temperance. It sounds odd to write this when society advocates the pursuit of our passions as a road to happiness through self-actualization and self-empowerment. Believe in yourself, your own strength, the power from within, and you will fully live your life.
What a tremendous inspirational statement that invigorates the Rocky Balboa in all of us. The error is to give ourselves over to the delusion that we have such inner power. The truth is that God is the author of all things and thus allows us to experience that sense of inner power to test our resolve and our certainty that we are not the authors; instead, we are but vapors for a time that dissipate, are gone and forgotten tomorrow. So then, the journey of the interior begins with embracing virtue. A true love of virtue opens up the soul to receive a clearer understanding of God and his divine will. The practice of virtue is really a demonstration of a higher moral standard of conduct in our actions. There are four cardinal virtues that we should aspire to: justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude. The three theological or supernatural virtues such as hope, faith, and charity can revolutionize a life quite dramatically. We love stories that exhibit virtues when we read them or see them depicted in movies — a rare occurrence today. There is something profoundly striking in the selfless hero who gives his life for others. Clint Eastwood’s character in Gran Torino depicts that selflessness perfectly. “Pay It Forward,” the Kevin Spacey movie, described acts of kindness directed towards unknown individuals without seeking any benefit. An act freely given without conditions. It is a beautiful movie depicting the selfless act of not wanting to receive any thanks. This inner desire to remain hidden captures well the virtue of humility and of the human duty to be humble (God is the author) and filled with hope (that despite my nothingness, my small act will bring great fruit through God’s providence). A New Times article (2008) found the virtue of humility intriguing enough to publish a featured story on humility (New Times, May 5, 2008). They write: “Andrew Murry, a South African writer, in one of his classic works had this to write about humility: ‘‘Humility is …. the first duty and the highest value of the creature, and the root of every virtue…. the lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect and failure’’.