Vices & Virtues
I’m sure you’ve heard of these. Vices? Virtues? Well they’re not the same thing. In fact, they’re quite opposite. In the Catholic faith there are seven virtues that we all possess in difference levels that make us Holy. For each of these virtues, there is an opposite and negative vice that contests our holiness.
The seven virtues are quite simple. There’s humility, liberality, chastity, gentleness, temperance, love, and diligence. Okay, it may not seem that simple, but let’s take them one by one.
Humility is the first virtue and quite an important one as it is one of the easiest to overlook. Humility is the conscious action of not excessively praising or glorifying oneself or one’s actions in order to belittle others. The opposite of humility is pride. Pride is the self-glorification and gratification that makes other people feel less than or inferior to you. It may seem like pride will make you more popular, but it gives people a very negative view of you as it makes you seem self-centered and cocky. Nobody likes a cocky person.
Liberality is the second of the seven virtues and is simply common sense. Liberality is synonymous with generosity and is simply the opposite of greed. Liberality is important because there is little more powerful than the conscious act of giving up one’s personal possessions in order to aid someone in need. This will help you a lot because if you give without demanding anything in return, people will have a very positive image of you and so they will be more open and comfortable with you. That is what forms friendships.
Chastity is number three. I’m sure you’ve heard of chastity, but probably not in the way I mean. Of course there is a very sexual aspect to chastity as its opposite is lust, but there is more to it than sex. Chastity is about control. Control of oneself and one’s body is extremely important as it allows us to keep a clear, level headed mind and allows us to make responsible and clear decisions. Lust clouds the mind and causes us to act based on impulse, most of the time of the sexual type.
Gentleness is our next virtue. We all know what it means to be gentle. Gentleness is the conscious use of kindness and patience even in uncomfortable situations. The lack of gentleness is anger. Anger is an unpleasant emotion because it causes us to act with rage rather than love and these impulsively angry actions sever ties and destroy relationships.
Temperance is the fifth virtue, and one of the most difficult ones to master. Temperance is being fair in the distribution of goods and not keeping a larger portion for yourself for due to selfish reasons. The opposite of temperance is gluttony or greed. It is important to not be greedy because gluttony can drive a person to do terrible things such as resorting to violence to get what they want. Greed makes you a hog. You’re not a pig, you’re a person.
Love is the sixth and quite possibly most irreplaceable virtue as it is necessary for someone to be loving before they can humble, liberal, chaste, gentle, temperate, or diligent. Without love, nobody would be able to do anything virtuous or good. The partnering vice to love is envy. I’m sure you’ve heard of the green-eyed monster, right? Well that monster is envy and it can dissolve relationships in an instant. In the Bible it states that, “Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, and it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6)
Diligence is the seventh and most practical virtue. Diligence is the conscious drive to not give up and keep working hard at whatever it is. Even the bible says, “…That anyone who would not work should not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) This means that we should not entertain sloth or else we shall suffer dire consequences. Sloth isn’t a cute, furry animal. Sloth is a deadly vice that can lead to terrible consequences spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially.
You have now seen the seven virtues and their opposing vices. By being humble, liberal, chaste, gentle, temperate, loving, and diligent we can become holy. Through pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth we move farther away from God’s grace and hurt ourselves by destroying relationships and ensuring a negative image in others.
The seven virtues are quite simple. There’s humility, liberality, chastity, gentleness, temperance, love, and diligence. Okay, it may not seem that simple, but let’s take them one by one.
Humility is the first virtue and quite an important one as it is one of the easiest to overlook. Humility is the conscious action of not excessively praising or glorifying oneself or one’s actions in order to belittle others. The opposite of humility is pride. Pride is the self-glorification and gratification that makes other people feel less than or inferior to you. It may seem like pride will make you more popular, but it gives people a very negative view of you as it makes you seem self-centered and cocky. Nobody likes a cocky person.
Liberality is the second of the seven virtues and is simply common sense. Liberality is synonymous with generosity and is simply the opposite of greed. Liberality is important because there is little more powerful than the conscious act of giving up one’s personal possessions in order to aid someone in need. This will help you a lot because if you give without demanding anything in return, people will have a very positive image of you and so they will be more open and comfortable with you. That is what forms friendships.
Chastity is number three. I’m sure you’ve heard of chastity, but probably not in the way I mean. Of course there is a very sexual aspect to chastity as its opposite is lust, but there is more to it than sex. Chastity is about control. Control of oneself and one’s body is extremely important as it allows us to keep a clear, level headed mind and allows us to make responsible and clear decisions. Lust clouds the mind and causes us to act based on impulse, most of the time of the sexual type.
Gentleness is our next virtue. We all know what it means to be gentle. Gentleness is the conscious use of kindness and patience even in uncomfortable situations. The lack of gentleness is anger. Anger is an unpleasant emotion because it causes us to act with rage rather than love and these impulsively angry actions sever ties and destroy relationships.
Temperance is the fifth virtue, and one of the most difficult ones to master. Temperance is being fair in the distribution of goods and not keeping a larger portion for yourself for due to selfish reasons. The opposite of temperance is gluttony or greed. It is important to not be greedy because gluttony can drive a person to do terrible things such as resorting to violence to get what they want. Greed makes you a hog. You’re not a pig, you’re a person.
Love is the sixth and quite possibly most irreplaceable virtue as it is necessary for someone to be loving before they can humble, liberal, chaste, gentle, temperate, or diligent. Without love, nobody would be able to do anything virtuous or good. The partnering vice to love is envy. I’m sure you’ve heard of the green-eyed monster, right? Well that monster is envy and it can dissolve relationships in an instant. In the Bible it states that, “Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, and it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6)
Diligence is the seventh and most practical virtue. Diligence is the conscious drive to not give up and keep working hard at whatever it is. Even the bible says, “…That anyone who would not work should not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) This means that we should not entertain sloth or else we shall suffer dire consequences. Sloth isn’t a cute, furry animal. Sloth is a deadly vice that can lead to terrible consequences spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially.
You have now seen the seven virtues and their opposing vices. By being humble, liberal, chaste, gentle, temperate, loving, and diligent we can become holy. Through pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth we move farther away from God’s grace and hurt ourselves by destroying relationships and ensuring a negative image in others.