“Virtue is certainly the most noble and secure possession a man can have. Beauty is worn out by time or impaired by sickness – riches lead youth rather to destruction than welfare, and without prudence are soon lavished away; while virtue alone, the only good that is ever durable, always remains with the person that has once entertained her. She is preferable both to wealth and a noble extraction.”
– Savage
Why we should seek virtue is answered by our grade sevens and eights in the form of a catechism response from James 2:14-16.
This well-known passage where the brother of Jesus says, ‘faith without works is dead,’ is a critical way of living that cannot be stressed enough. Belief in God not accompanied by lived out faith, hope, love, wisdom, justice, courage and temperance is dead. James highlights the virtuous actions of Rahab, Issac and Abraham to illustrate how true supernatural faith in God leads to supernaturally empowered actions. The sobering reminder that devils believe and tremble without virtue ought to lead us to self-examination to see if our growth in virtue and wisdom glorifies God through love of neighbour.
May our faith never be alone but always accompanied by virtue.
