Written by Andrew Whitmore, a contemporary theology professor.
Virtue is timeless because human nature has not changed. As the saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Certainly, much is new in our world: new technologies, new challenges, and new opportunities. But what made people excellent a thousand years ago makes us excellent today—and will continue to make us excellent in another thousand years. So, virtue is always relevant. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, and difficulty.” How true this is today when seeking to raise responsible children, maintain good health, pursue higher education, and serve the impoverished. Pursuing virtue can be added to this list! Is it even possible to be virtuous in a sinful world? Absolutely. With God, all things are possible (see Matthew 19:26). Fortunately, virtue is not an all-or-nothing proposition but admits of degree. What does this mean? It means that we can make incremental progress in growing in virtue…Virtue is possible. It is a process of self-discovery that is fun and exciting.
Prayer:
Written by Thomas Merton (1915-1968), an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist, and scholar of comparative religion.
In one sense we are always traveling, and traveling as if we did not know where we are going. In another sense we have already arrived. We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of God in this life, and that is why we are traveling and we travel in darkness. But we already possess God by grace, and therefore, in that sense, we have arrived and are dwelling in the light. But oh! How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived! Amen.
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