theological virtues - 6th week tuesday 2014

Last week we said that virtues are habits formed in us through repeated action through which a faculty or a human power is made perfect.  By repeatedly acting out the good, sa sige sige naton nga himo sing maayo, it becomes a predisposition, kag gani in the long run kahapos na lang sa aton magmangin maayo.  That is the characteristic of virtue – it predisposes us to act the good with ease.

Today we will reflect on the theological virtues, the three theological virtues namely the virtues of faith, hope and charity.

These virtues however are formed in us not by habits or by our repeated actions but are given to us by God.  That is the reason why they are called theological - they come from God, they are given to us by God, they are infused in us by God.  On our own we cannot produce or develop them.  They are called theological God is the source. 

They are also called theological virtues because it is only through these virtues that we can attain salvation, it is only through these virtues that we can enter heaven and attain the happiness that can only come from God.

Your faith is a gift from God, your belief in his love and in his promises towards you; your hope amidst adversities, your persistence in believing, your perseverance in loving in the midst of trials and difficulties is a gift from God; the love that you have for God, your concern for family and people and your love for others, your charity, is a gift from God.  You cannot have faith, you cannot persevere in hope, you cannot love as you do if these were not given to you by God – these are gifts, gifts for our salvation.  Dulot ini sang Dios agod nga kita maluwas kag makaambit sang kalipay sang langit.

But why are these virtues?  Thomas has an interesting view.  Faith is a gift but if we do not practice the faith, if we do not nourish the faith, if we do not exercise the faith it will die, the gift will fade away and will be lost.  Hope is a gift but if we do not exercise hope, if we always give up on ourselves and on God every time there is adversity, every time we meet obstacles, then our hope also dies.  We need to exercise it to increase its power.  We need to stretch further our persistence, we need to stretch further our perseverance.  That way we increase our hope and we do not easily fall into despair. 

If we want to become more loving we need to practice love, we have to learn to love the unlovable, we need to forgive the people we find difficult to forgive, we love even if we don’t feel like it, we love even if we feel moody and irritated.  That way we grow in love and we nurture the gift of charity that is given to us by God.

Yes the virtues of faith, hope and charity are gifts from God but they can only grow, they become true to their characteristic as virtues when we practice them repeatedly.

In our first reading the apostle James said that all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.  But like the disciples we at times forget what we already have, the gifts in us.  Nagakamatay ang aton pagtuo kay ti wala man kita nagapangadi, wala kita nagabaton sang kalawat.  Nagakamatay ang paglaum kay wala man naton ini ginapabakod sang pulong sang Dios kag sa pagpamati sang iya mga promesa kag mga pasalig sa aton. Nagakamatay ang paghigugma sa aton tagipusuon kay wala naton ginapakigsumpungan ang kalian sang buot, wala naton ginapatay ang kaakig, sa baylo ginadabukan pa gid naton bangud sang aton pagpanglibak, bangud sang aton pagbutang-butang.

God has already gifted us – thus they are called theological virtues but it is up to us to make them grow.  It is up to us to nourish these gifts.