Introduction Catholic and Protestant reformers of the 16th century disagree about man’s justification, namely, how grace, the gift of God won by Jesus’ sacrifice, works on the human soul[1]. Protestants believe grace covers up but does not remove sin. Luther sees “human nature or soul as dung-covered snow, so grace covers up our ugliness.” Catholics…
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Why are the moral virtues considered cardinal? Which aspects of man does each govern?
Moral/ Cardinal virtues “A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. Virtue allows a person to give the best of himself” (CCC 1803). Virtues can be divided into moral and theological virtues. Theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) direct us to our End (God), while the moral virtues direct us in our…
What is Man’s Final End?
Thomistic ethics best answers this question on Man’s Final End and how we arrive at this conclusion from a Catholic perspective. Thomistic ethics begins with the end in mind; and defines happiness as knowing, loving and serving God. We know this as this corresponds with our natural faculties/ Reason which enables us to…
Most persuasive Theistic arguments for the existence of God
The theistic argument that is most powerful or persuasive to a person depends on their spirituality type. The cosmological arguments would probably appeal better to Thomistic types (like my husband), while the Augustinian types (like myself) may prefer the argument from desire and design. For the Thomists, the argument from contingency appears convincing as the…
Suffering well
I have a goddaughter who has a limited lifespan and I recently learned that a relative has Stage 4 cancer. To the world, it seems that any suffering is a tragedy and such news would be met with pity and horror. Without downplaying the gravity of such life situations, I would like to add that…
Why we should aim for perfection
Perfectionism… appears to be a negative thing in general. But in Christianity, we are called to be perfect and strive towards sainthood.
