HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SL / PAMPHLET No. 5 in the Series HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUMMA Sharing God’s Life. The Virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity, Wisdom, Prudence, Justice By REV. GERALD C. TREACY, SJ. THE PAULIST PRESS 401 West 59th Street New York 19, N. Y. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUMMA is a simpli- fied and abbreviated translation of Aquinas’ work. It is intended for classroom, discus- sion clubs or private study. Only one chapter should be taken at a time. For St. Thomas packs a great deal of thought into a few sentences. Imprimi Potest: Nihil Obstat: Imprimatur : Rev. Thomas E. Henneberry, S.J., Provincial. John M. A. Fearns, S.T.D., Censor Librorum. * Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. New York, October 26, 1955. Copyright, 1955 , by The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle in the State of New York PRINTED AND PUBLISHED IN THE U. S. A. BY THE PAULIST PRESS, NEW YORK 19 , N. Y. Highlights of the Sumnta SHARING GOD'S LIFE The Virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity, Wisdom, Prudence, Justice CHAPTER I THE MEANING OF FAITH Grace is God’s life in man. Man shares that life by the power of grace. Like all life it should grow. It grows by the practice of the moral and theological virtues. The virtues mean action. All man’s actions are intelligent. So the first theological virtue is intellectual; it is Faith. It shows man God as He is in Himself and so man knows God as he could in no other way. And it points out to the will the great Objective of the will, God. It is the principle of all man’s supernatural activities by which he strives for the Beatific Vision. Human reason can discover a number of things about God but it cannot grasp the different mysteries of God’s life. To know these God must show them to man and man must accept them by Faith. God Is Faith's Object God is Faith’s object in two ways, for He is both the object known by the mind and the light by which He is known. If a man says there are three Persons in one God, he believes in the Trinity, and God’s word is the light by which he believes. While God reveals some truths that reason could find out for itself, still Faith has chiefly to do with the mysteries of God in Himself and His activities in the world. Of themselves men could not gain knowledge of these truths. — 3— The Effect of Faith Faith broadens the mind’s view, lifting it above nature’s world and into the World Divine. It shows man the Trinity and the Incarnation. It tells man he is destined for the Bea- tific Vision and shows him the supernatural means by which this objective can be gained. It is not a limiting of the mind but an increasing of its power. The imperfections of the senses and reason are re- moved by faith. Man through faith gets a share in God’s own knowledge. Faith which gives man some knowledge of God in Himself starts man off on the road to Happiness which is the vision of God in eternity. God is simple. For that reason, difficult to understand. As the mind gets knowledge little by little, it cannot understand God simply. God in revealing Himself has taken notice of the slowness of the mind of man and so has shown Himself little by little. The Content of Faith The content of Faith is made up of the truths that have been revealed by God. These truths are many and man has received them over a long stretch of centuries. These truths may be reduced to two The Trinity and the Incarnation. The first is God in Himself, the second God as He comes to earth in order to save men. The content of Faith is found in the Creeds that are formu- lated by Christ’s Church and can be learned by every man of good will. The Act of Faith The individual believer gets the truths of Faith by an act of Faith. I assent when I believe. It is a special type of intel- lectual act. It is a firm assent based on God’s word. I believe because God says so. I take His word and say “yes.” The act of Faith while firm is obscure for a man cannot completely understand what he believes in. These truths are mainly mysteries. No human mind can completely penetrate a mystery. To gain the vision of God man must accept the truths — 4— of Faith. He must first believe God as a student believes his teacher. God’s plain words tell us that Faith is necessary if we want to gain the Beatific Vision. “But without Faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and is a Rewarder to them that seek Him,” are St. Paul’s words. (Hebrews, xi, 6) The Essentials of Faith A man must believe then, that God exists and that He will reward those who search for Him. As the Incarnation is the means to man’s happiness, this truth must be believed. Belief in the Trinity is necessary too, since the Incarnation would mean nothing without the Trinity. By receiving these truths through Faith man starts to know God as He is, and make progress in his journey toward happiness. To make an act of Faith requires good will, for reason is not compelled to accept truth on God’s word instead of on evidence. When grace prompts man’s will to make an act of Faith, in God’s sight that is a meritorious act. Professing One's Faith Naturally man’s inward conviction of Faith should at times find outward expression. Certainly whenever a man’s silence about his Faith would dishonor God or shock his fellowmen the believer should make open profession of his Faith. This obligation implies that back of the act of Faith there is a constant inclination to believe truth on God’s word, and not just a series of acts. It is a constant mental disposition and a virtue when perfect. St. Paul's Definition of Faith It is a mental habit which begins eternal life within the soul, urging the intellect to accept truths that are not evident. St. Paul’s definition of Faith is: “The substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” (Hebrews xi, 1) Faith as a mental habit urging an assent to truths not apparent, — 5— “is evidence of things unseen.” And as a habit whereby we have the beginning of eternal life,” is the substance of things to be hoped for.” Through Faith we hope to gain the Beatific Vision, Faith’s object. Faith, Intellect and Will Man’s intellect is perfected by Faith for man grasps the First Truth by Faith. It is the will which prompts the intellect to make the assent of Faith. What prompts the will is its ob- jective, the good. Charity moves the will toward its divine ob- jective. The act of Faith then is vital in the supernatural order when it acts by the prompting of a will influenced by charity. A virtue’s task is to perfect human acts. So when charity moves Faith then the act is perfect both in intellect and will, and is a virtue. Under these circumstances man gives God lov- ing obedience of both intellect and will. While grace makes man God’s child, it is also man’s willing submission to God through Faith and charity that activates man as God’s child. And it is man as God’s child who will gain the Beatific Vision. All Truths or None As God is Truth and cannot deceive, man must accept all truths that God has revealed. He cannot select merely what pleases him. Unless Faith is complete it is not Faith at all. To reject one truth means to reject all truths of Faith. For the authority for his action is not God’s word but his own mind. Faith makes man sure of truth, for the authority of the Divine Mind, all-knowing and all-truthful, gives him absolute certainty. The certitude of Faith surpasses that of wisdom, science and understanding. For these depend on reason which is fallible, while Faith depends on the Divine Mind which is infallible and superior to human reason. Faith and Reason Faith is an absolute certainty about truths that are un- reachable by human reason. It follows that it is God’s gift. For God must reveal truths for man to accept them.- And be- — 6 — cause they are beyond reason’s grasp man needs a supernatural aid prompting him to accept these truths unhesitatingly. God moves man to believe by grace through the infused habit of Faith. Man is placed on the way to God by accepting the truths of Faith. Besides the conditions for journeying successfully on this way to God, are provided by Faith. In man’s search for God he must respect God and clearly see his objective and the way of reaching it. Faith implants in man’s mind both these qualities. Faith shows man how small he is and how great God is. This engenders not only respect but wholesome fear of God. The Fear of God In the sinner this is servile fear of God’s punishment which is good as it leads to repentance. Filial fear moves the good man, the fear of the son of losing his Father’s love. This is good as it keeps man humble, making him realize that he needs God’s help if he is to reach the true objective of his earthly pilgrimage. Moreover Faith gives man clear mental vision that is neces- sary if he is to make his earthly pilgrimage a success. It raises him up to God and shows him the real objective of his living, to reach the Beatific Vision. It rids his mind of the false desires that would cause him to lose God. It keeps him on the right way to his true objective. The Holy Spirit's Gifts Faith gives man truths from God and so he accepts God Who is Truth. But he needs to deepen his understanding of these truths. God aids man in this by giving him the Holy Spirit’s gifts. The first of these is understanding which helps man dig deeply into revealed truths. The second gift is knowledge. This enables man to rightly evaluate creatures. He realizes their true place in his world, that they are faint images of God’s beauty and goodness, and that they are to be used when they bring man to God and shunned when they lead away from God. Man accepts God as his objective through Faith. Through — 7— understanding man starts to understand God and His activities in men’s world. Knowledge shows man the proper relation of the world to God and to himself. With these three gifts man is made ready to search for his happiness in the Beatific Vision. In fact happiness has begun for him, for God is present in the mind where Faith is activated by God’s love. It is the start of man’s happiness. Types of Infidelity In infidelity or lack of Faith we have unhappiness, for the unbeliever does not know the real objective of life. If he is ignorant of that, he cannot gain life’s objective and the conse- quence is unhappiness. Infidelity is of many kinds. A man does not know that God has given man a revelation, so he does not accept it through ignorance. This is negative infidelity. Then there is the instance where a man rejects Faith know- ingly. This is positive infidelity. There are pagans who refuse the message of revelation when it is brought to them. Then there are those who accept the revelation of the Old Law but not that of the New. Finally some people have rejected part of revelation after having once had the totality, and this is heresy, or have ceased to practice it entirely and this is apostasy. Effect of Infidelity All infidelity makes men lose God, objectively speaking. Objectively speaking means that we cannot pronounce infidel- ity sinful in a definite individual. For only God knows whether the individual arrived at his unfortunate state through ignor- ance or bad will. In the instance of ignorance there is no sin at all. In the case of men of bad will, their infidelity is sinful, and will cause them to lose God unless they repent. In the children and descendants, their infidelity is not sinful on ac- count of ignorance. The lack of Faith in today’s world is a peril to unbelievers as they are in danger of losing God, and to believers because their beliefs are constantly under attack and often persecuted. — 8— Christ’s Church has to meet these two dangers. She meets the danger to unbelievers by sending her missionaries to them. She helps believers by refuting the false teaching of heretics. She helps her persecuted children by proclaiming their rights, by consoling and counseling them, and by bringing them sacra- mental life. The Church and Infidelity The Church while battling infidelity always remembers that the act of Faith is a free act. She never forces the Faith on anyone. She will not baptize the children of infidels unless their parents consent. With her own erring children she will use penalties if they have left their Faith. This is her right as their mother. While unbelief is a great evil as it separate man from God, it is always possible for a man to recover his Faith by God’s grace. And the Church will always welcome back the unfaith- ful child with the merciful forgiveness of Christ. Sins Against Faith Blasphemy is also a sin against Faith as it denies God’s goodness or perfections or else reviles Him. By nature it is always a mortal sin. Other sins against Faith are despair, presumption, impeni- tence, obstinacy, resisting known truth, and envying someone’s spiritual good. These are known as sins against the Holy Spirit. They are not sins of weakness or ignorance but of calculating malice. They are called unforgiveable sins not because God is unwilling to forgive them but because man does not want forgiveness. No sin can be forgiven if man does not want forgiveness. Sins against knowledge and understanding are the last of the sins against Faith. Blindness of mind and dullness of heart are these sins. Lust gives rise to blindness of mind as it plunges man into sensual delights and blacks out the thought of God from his mind. And so he is hindered from knowing or understanding God properly. Gluttony brings on dullness — 9— of heart which weakens the mind’s power to get at the meaning of truth. As these sins pull a man away from God and plunge his mind and heart into senuous delights, they are dangers to Faith. Happiness comes to the man of good will for he receives God in obedient Faith. He is gazing toward the Divine, which is the Source of happiness. Understanding and knowledge keep him on his pathway to God. Through Faith he has already started to grasp God. CHAPTER II THE VIRTUE OF HOPE Faith assures man that with God’s aid he can gain the Beatific Vision and so places the basis of hope in man’s heart. As God is hope’s object we call it a theological virtue. Man in hoping trusts to God’s goodness and power to enable him to possess God. The divine goodness is hope’s final objective as well as its efficient cause. Love for God or charity is superior to hope for it loves God for His own sake, while hope loves God for the sake of getting something from God. However, hope comes before charity for a man who hopes for something from God arrives at the love of God. By Faith we cling to God as the font of knowledge, by hope we hold to God as the Source of happiness, by charity we love God for Himself. The Object of Hope Hope’s object is everlasting Life, the Beatific Vision. It is a virtue in man’s will, distinct from the sense passion of hope, which urges man to acquire earthly things. Neither the blessed in Heaven nor the damned in Hell have hope. The blessed possess God so they have passed the state of desiring Him. The damned have lost hope in losing God. — 10— In this life man can hope, for when it is rooted in Faith and motivated by charity, he can be sure that God can and will bring him to happiness. Hope Can Fail In regard to man, being a weak creature, he can lose hope by sin. But the divine goodness which is hope’s basis never fails. God always helps those who are striving to reach Him. But man must do his part and not expect God to do every- thing. Saving hope means more than believing in God’s good- ness, for it brings man to love God and live up to His Law. As sin can destroy hope, man gets from God the gift of fear, a gift of the Holy Spirit that sustains and strengthens hope. This is filial fear, rooted in charity. Man fears to hurt God Whom he loves. This fear leads man to avoid sin and so gain Heaven, and it perfects hope. The First Effects of Wisdom The Psalmist calls fear the beginning of wisdom (Ps. cx, 10). It is really Faith that brings wisdom to man, for it re- veals God to man, and empowers him to keep God’s Law. But the first effects of wisdom are servile and filial fear. Man in servile fear follows God’s Law in dread of divine punishment; in filial fear his motive is not to outrage God Whom he loves. Love of God destroys servile fear for the greater the love for God the less the fear of punishment. The more love for God the surer man is that he will avoid punishment. Filial fear, the Holy Spirit’s gift, increases as love for God increases, because the more a man loves God the more he will dread offending Him or losing Him. The first Beatitude expresses the perfection of hope and fear; Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt, v, 4). Filial fear leads a man to think of God only and so he will be rid of all earthly attachments. He is then poor in spirit and inherits hope’s reward, the Kingdom of Heaven. ll — Hope's Enemies Hope’s enemies are despair, losing reliance on God’s good- ness and mercy, and presumption, expecting God to give man happiness no matter how much man sins. Unbelief and hatred for God are more grievous sins than sins against faith, hope and charity. For unbelief is the re- jection of God’s truth, and hatred is pitting one’s will against God’s Goodness. Yet despair is more deadly than unbelief or hatred for God. For a man despairing is without hope, having nothing to live for. The effect will be a rushing into sin after sin, his despair increasing all the time. Only an extraordinary grace can rescue him. The Couses of Despair The causes of despair are lust or sloth. Flesh pleasures so enthrall a man that he has no interest in spiritual values or else thinks them too hard to win. Sloth darkens a man’s mind and presents the seeking after good as too difficult. Despair is the sequel to both sins. Presumption is not as big an evil as despair. For it does not reject the goodness of God, but overplays it, ignoring God’s justice. It is expecting eternal life without making any effort to get rid of sin. Pride causes presumption. The presumptuous man is so in love with himself that he imagines that God will grant him pardon without amendment and eternal happiness without merit. Presumption really kills hope, much like despair. It pre- vails upon a man to ignore the Holy Spirit’s graces which would bring him to repent. He has so much self-love, that the presumptuous man ignores God’s efforts to rescue him from sin. The sin of the modern world is despair. As there is no true hope in God there is no love for God. If love for God vanishes so will love for men. And the result is a frustrated, despairing world. The remedy for this sad, sick world of ours is to return to love of God through faith and hope. — 12 — CHAPTER III The Meaning of Charity Man’s friendship with God is charity. Friendship is an un- selfish love. Charity then loves God for Himself, not for what He can give. Like all friendships, too, charity means a sharing. Through charity man gets from God a share in His life and happiness. It is man’s share in God’s love of Himself. This is His happi- ness and man through charity shares it. God, as He is infinite loves Himself with an infinite love. Man cannot love with an infinite love because he is a crea- ture. But he can love God through charity as God loves Him- self by possessing Him as the Font of infinite happiness. Charity the Supreme Virtue Charity is the supreme virtue. It unites man to God the Supreme Good, the Object of eternal happiness. It is not self- seeking and excels the moral virtues, for they look to the means of reaching the Objective, while Charity grasps the Objective. It is superior to the theological virtues of faith and hope, for faith and hope reach God by getting from Him the knowledge of truth or the guarantee of happiness, while charity reaches God to abide in Him without any desire for personal satisfaction. Because charity reaches God as man’s Objective, no other virtue can be perfect unless it is inspired by charity to man’s Objective, God as He is in Himself. Charity is a virtue of the will, man’s rational appetite. This is because charity’s object is God as the end of all human activity. How Man Shares God # s Life Man naturally cannot share God’s life. His share in God’s life is a gift of God. No human effort can gain it. It is a supernatural gift that God infuses into the human will. — 13 — The measure of charity given men depends upon God’s will. No man can claim any definite measure of charity. St. Paul declares: To every one of us grace is given according to the measure of the giving of Christ (Eph. iv, 7). The degree of charity depends not at all on man but on God. In this life charity is an approach to God and so it can increase. The more man grows in love for God the more of himself he wants to give to God. The intensity of his love grows till he feels happy to be martyred for God. How Love for God Increases Every new act of love for God increases a man’s love for God. Love of God is always able to grow more and more, be- cause charity is sharing God’s love which is infinite. Man cannot love God as much as God deserves to be loved but he has perfect love for God when he loves to the utmost of his power of loving. First he can give God the complete devotion of his heart or will. He is always loving God and doing nothing else. Such is the love among the blessed in Heaven. Man has so many demands to meet in this life that he cannot give God this perfect love. Yet man here on earth can give God all the love that is not needed for the necessities of human life. Then again a man can think of nothing contrary to the love of God. He does nothing that would kill his love for God. The Progress of Love Man’s love for God begins with a hatred for sin, continues with a search for all that is good, and ends with a yearning to be united with God in Heaven. Charity can also grow less in man’s soul. A man indulges in frequent venial sins. These weaken him and put him in danger of mortal sin. If he commits mortal sin charity vanishes entirely from his soul, for by mortal sin man rejects God for a creature. God asks man’s love through charity not to deprive him — 14 of anything but rather to give him everything. For through charity man possesses God and in God he finds all good in this life and in eternity. When man loves God above everything, he will find everything that can make him happy in God. Since man shares in the divine love through charity he will love all that God loves. Everything that is good is loved by God and so it will be loved by man who is in possession of charity. He will love himself, his fellow men and all creation, because all have been created out of God’s love. As God loves all things in as far as they are lovable, so the man with charity in his heart will love in the same way. Man Follows God's Order A man who loves God will follow God’s order in loving. He will first love God, himself, his neighbor and all others, even sinners. And that love is not for sinners because they are sinners but because they are God’s creatures, the effects of God’s love. In Heaven the same order of love will prevail with some modifications. In Heaven for example as God loves more those who are holier than others, in like manner man will love. For in Heaven man’s will is in exact agreement with God’s will. Charity is a virtue which means it is a power for action. Love is the act of charity and that means a union in affection. The act of charity enables man to love God first and other things as they are loved by God. There are no half-measures in real and perfect love for God. Charity makes for human happiness. It makes the indi- vidual happy and society happy. It affects the individual inte- riorly and society exteriorly. Joy, peace and mercy are the fruits of charity in the individual. Beneficence, almsgiving and fraternal correction are charity’s external effects. Charity's Effects Joy is the first effect of charity. For the man possessing God knows that God, in Himself supremely good and happy, is — IS— dwelling with him through love. “He that abides in charity abides in God and God in him” (1 John iv, 16). As happiness means possessing God, then essential happiness is man’s even on earth through charity. A man in joy still may experience sadness. He will not be sad because God is lacking happiness, but he can be sad be- cause he does not possess God perfectly. He may be sad, too, for his sins by which he lost God, or at the idea that some future sin might take God away from him. He might grieve, too, as he does not have the full vision of God, as the blessed in Heaven do. For only in Heaven will charity give the full- ness of joy when God is seen face to Face. Peace is the second effect of charity. True peace in the individual means that the passions are ruled by reason and reason is guided to the love of God by the will. Until man has interior peace society cannot have it. Charity’s function is to produce individual peace and social peace. By charity man is linked to God and his fellow men. God’s power alone through charity can effect world-peace. Mercy is charity’s final effect. It means sympathy with those who are in need, going out from the heart into practical relief. Mercy is not only charity’s effect but it is a virtue in itself. It is the queen of all virtues which bear upon human relations. As the essence of all things is goodness, mercy ex- presses goodness in human relations perfectly. Charity through beneficence, almsgiving and fraternal cor- rection brings happiness to society. Beneficence means doing good to someone, wishing him well practically. It is an effect of charity. Beneficence as charity’s effect will follow charity’s order. It goes out first to those who are nearest to us and then to others. But if a stranger is in desperate need and a friend only in slight need, I owe beneficence to the stranger. Almsgiving is mercy in action and so an effect of charity. It is done out of compassion for those in distress and for love of God. As the needs of men are both corporal and spiritual the deeds of mercy are both corporal and spiritual. — 16 — The Works of Mercy The corporal works of mercy are: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the shelterless, visit the sick, ransom the captive, bury the dead. Through mercy charity ministers to men’s bodily needs. The spiritual works of mercy are: to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to reprove the sinner, to forgive injuries, to bear with the troublesome and to pray for all. Through mercy charity ministers to men’s spiritual needs. In themselves the spiritual works of mercy outrank the corporal works, because the soul is more important than the body. But in certain circumstances the corporal works may be more necessary. A man gasping for breath needs medical aid more than spiritual advice. Charity a Command Charity for our fellow man is commanded by God. Alms- giving is obligatory when the donor has an abundance, enough for himself, his dependents and more left over, and when the one benefited is really in need. When these two conditions are lacking then almsgiving is something that may be done but need not be done. To correct a sinner and get him to repent is fraternal cor- rection, an act motivated by charity. If his superior reproves him for his sin and imposes punishment, it is an act of charity since sin is harmful to the sinner and to society. Fraternal correction as an act of charity must be used with prudence and discretion. It should be done in private. Public reprehension is allowable only when the sin is injuring society and no other means are effective. Correction should be given superiors with respect and equals and inferiors with kindliness. Looking on the effects of charity it is evident that it could change the world. God’s love brings charity into men’s souls. It means sharing the Supreme Love. If all men lived by char- ity our world would become an earthly paradise. — 17— But charity does not rule the world. Men outrage God, flout His Law, injure their fellow men, and the consequence is hatred for God and man. This is the worst sin against charity, for it means turning away from God, Infinite Good, and from man whose nature God made good. If men have received grace they are not only good but divinely good. As it is natural for man’s will to turn to good, hatred is an unnatural perversion of the will of man. Hatred for God God, supremely lovable can be hated by the sinner for sin blinds the intellect. If he refuses to amend his sin he will view God as a tyrant forbidding sin and inflicting punishment, and so he will hate the All-Lovable. Envy causes hatred. It is resenting the good in another. It is a growth. Men naturally love one another. It is when sin has destroyed a man’s good will, and man sees no good within himself, that he resents the good in another. Hatred is not so much a source of sin as a consequence of continually sinning. By repeatedly sinning man grows to hate God Who punishes sin, and to hate good men who are free from sin. Love of God or charity means keeping all the Command- ments. When man finds this difficult he begins to sorrow about God’s infinite Goodness. This depresses him and he will neg- lect his duties to God. This is sloth, sorrow because of the goodness of God. It is a capital sin bringing other sins after it. When God’s goodness is resented, His goodness as it ap- pears in other men will be resented, too. This is envy, hating another’s goodness. It is a capital sin provoking men to com- mit other sins to harm their neighbor’s goodness. Peace of soul which is the fruit of charity is destroyed by sloth and envy. When individual peace is gone, soon the peace of society will go. Effects of Sloth ond Envy When man ceases to love God he will love himself. His life becomes disordered and he is a law unto himself, resenting — 18— the good in others. He will induce others to sin by scandal. He will war against his fellow men and throw the whole com- munity into turmoil. The man who no longer loves God will attack every one and everything reflecting God’s goodness. So envy and sloth impel men to attack religion and God’s Church. The end of the betrayal of love is hatred. But man was made for love and hatred can only bring him fatal frustration. CHAPTER IV WISDOM, PRUDENCE, JUSTICE Hatred Doomed to Defeat Yet hatred can never win a final victory. God’s goodness is everlasting and despite human hate, it abides in His world always. The man of hate has no peace for the goodness which disturbs him is everlasting. Peace can only come to the individual and to society through love for God and love for man who is God’s child. Only in God can man see the place and value of everything in this world. Only charity sees all things in God, and only char- ity enables a man to evaluate himself and his world properly. With this proper judgment man finds that tranquillity of order which is peace. The gift of wisdom, which enables man to judge all things as they are in God’s sight comes from charity. This gift comes to man from the Holy Spirit. Man can judge things properly because he is sharing God’s life. Two persons leading a com- mon life can judge the values in that life and agree on those values. A stranger to that life cannot do this. Man shares in God’s Wisdom by means of the gift of wis- dom. He therefore can properly evaluate God’s attributes, the effects of God’s Providence in the world, and the connection of human actions with the love of God. Man with this gift sees things in their proper perspective, as God does, and so he can order his life in charity. — 19— Without the gift of wisdom man is a fool, not knowing the meaning of his world and of his life. Blinded by sin he cannot get to the inner meaning of things. There is no ac- counting for anything if man leaves God out of the picture. Order and Peace Come from Wisdom Wisdom gives order and peace to the individual and to society. To secure these charity is needed. The world can be set according to the pattern of the God of love, by wisdom and charity. God shares His life with man and that life is charity. Man must give his life to God, loving Him and his fellow man. This is God’s plan for a happy world. The Virtue of Prudence Whatever a man’s avocation in life, he must aim all his efforts at securing happiness. For this he needs the moral vir- tues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. These will enable him to order his activities, directing them to God the theological virtues’ object. Prudence directs activities to their proper objective. As direction calls for reason this virtue is an intellectual virtue. Prudence demands foresight, based on experience and a knowl- edge of the present circumstances of action. Prudence is a perfection that directs man’s actions to their objective intelli- gently. It is a work of man’s practical reason and is not like the other intellectual virtues concerned with speculative truth. Its concern is living and suiting actions to the objective of happi- ness. Prudence o Perfect Virtue It is a perfect virtue because it guides man to what is morally good. Prudence is based on a good will, an active tendency to good. This active tendency to good is the work of the other moral virtues, justice, fortitude and temperance. Prudence guides these virtues to their objective. Prudence decides what actions will reach the objective of — 20— moral virtue. To command is its main duty. In any act human reason must take advice, judge and command. The big thing for prudence is to command. For suitable action results from the command. Prudence is of two kinds, natural and supernatural. Nat- ural prudence is the fruit of age, experience and education. If a man has good will seeking always moral good then prudence will develop in him. Without grace or charity man’s will cannot remain firm in the seeking of good. The supernatural prudence comes to the soul with the infusion of grace by God. It is God’s gift to men, through the sacrament of baptism. This is superior to natural prudence since natural prudence conforms actions to the law of reason while supernatural prudence conforms actions to God’s Eternal Law. So it gets man ready for the joy of the Beatific Vision. To make supernatural prudence function well God gives man the gift of counsel. This is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Through this gift God makes man see the actions that will lead him to happiness. As long as a man is in the state of grace, supernatural prudence and counsel will help him gain natural prudence. The Need for Prudence r~ To handle his individual life everyone needs prudence. Those in charge of families, states, military powers will need domestic, political or military prudence to secure society’s common good. Imprudence and negligence are the vices against prudence. Imprudence rushes into action without forethought. Negligence means disregarding the proper means for the end in view. There is a false prudence such as carnal prudence, by which a man considers the things of the flesh as the objective of human living. Then there is craftiness which is the use of evil means to gain an objective. Excessive worry is another type of false prudence since it makes a man more concerned for worldly goods than for eternal values. Lust or avarice are the sources of the sins of imprudence. — 21 — Prudence is lost by a man allowing sin and attachment for sin to dominate his life. Every human act is valuable only in as far as it leads man to his destiny, the Beatific Vision. Pru- dence guides man to that objective. Imprudence, on the other hand, leads to frustration as a man is seeking satisfaction in things that cannot satisfy him. A life dominated by imprudence is an unhappy life. The Virtue of Justice Man is naturally a social being. For their mutual benefit men live and work together. There must be co-operation among men if they are to live successfully. If the fullness of human living is to be attained it must be through the co-operation of all striving for the common good. Men must live and labor together if each one is to enjoy human life in its fullness. Life in society is necessary for man. For society to promote the common good of all its mem- bers, order and peace must prevail. This peace and order are fruits of the virtue of justice. By justice every man gives his neighbor what belongs to him. Justice prompts men to respect each other’s rights. From justice society gets its stability and efficiency. Rights and Obligations Justice recognizes in each individual rights and obligations. A right is something that belongs to an individual. Of a right a man can exclaim: “This is my very own.” Rights are either natural or positive. Nature gives each one a right to life. By agreement a man is entitled to a wage for work done for an- other. That is by positive agreement. By law or public agree- ment each individual may claim his home as inviolate. The idea of right is linked to the idea of obligation. If one individual possesses a right then everyone must respect that right, for every right is accompanied by an obligation to respect that right. In society the rights of all must be safe- guarded. As human acts are rendered good by justice we call justice — 22 — a virtue. It is a virtue of man’s will for it guides a man’s external actions as they affect others. Men are individuals and they are members of a commu- nity. They have rights and obligations from both these stand- points. Particular justice rules our actions relating to other individuals as individuals. General or legal justice guides our actions in relation to others as members of a community. The objective of general justice is the common good. So it is within the scope of general justice to guide the acts of all the virtues to the common good. A contract between man and man is regulated by particular justice. If we give men more than they have a claim to, we are acting with liberality not with justice. If we give less we are acting with injustice. Effects of Justice Justice gives stability to human living, and impels men to work productively. Justice is superior to the other moral virtues. It is above fortitude and temperance for they look to the sensitive appetite while justice looks to the rational will which is superior to the sense appetites. Justice is also above prudence since it is directed to the common good which is above the individual’s private good. Seeing the evil of injustice makes us appreciate the value of justice. For injustice kills the unity of society. As it in- creases the instability of social life increases. The law of might replaces the law of right and human happiness ebbs. Effects of Injustice Injustice violates charity since it is an injury to the neigh- bor. By its nature it is commonly a serious sin, though when the injury is slight it is a venial offense. The seriousness of the sin is measured by the will of the injured person and the circumstances surrounding the act. Justice may be distributive or commutative. Distributive justice gives out the goods or burdens of society to the indi- viduals forming society. Taxation, military service, educa- tional and health care, all are guided by distributive justice. — 23 — The relations between individuals are directed by commu- tative justice. It has to do with buying and selling, the trans- fer of things between man and man belongs to its sphere. Geometric proportion is the mean to be followed in dis- tributive justice, while the mean in commutative justice is arithmetical. There are many sins against justice. Respect of persons is a sin against distributive justice. This means giving a man something not because of his qualifications for the office but because he is the person he is. He is a relative of someone of influence in the community. As commutative justice has to do with the relations be- tween individuals, the sins against commutative justice are very numerous. Think of all the ways there are of injuring the neighbor! Human society is badly damaged by sins against justice. Anger or cynicism follow in the wake of sins against distribu- tive justice. That means the moral fiber of society is weakened. Sins against commutative justice are still more harmful to the peace and order of society. So it is that injustice damages the common good and the individual good. By contrast justice means happiness in society. When justice prevails then all feel safe and all can seek happiness with ease, and direct their wills to living the law of charity. From one angle charity causes justice, for when men love they will be just to one another. From another angle charity needs justice. So the happiness of society calls for charity and justice— charity as justice’s motive, and justice as charity’s support. Note—In his Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (The Fortieth Year), Pope Pius XI declared that “social reconstruction must be preceded by a renewal of the Christian spirit. Otherwise our efforts will be useless. Far and wide we witness the loss of this spirit with men seeking nothing but the things of time.” The Christian spirit is rooted in justice and charity. — 24— QUESTIONS LESSON I (Pages 3-4) How does grace grow to maturity? What are the virtues? What is the first of the theological virtues? What does Faith give to man? How can man know God’s inner life? God is the object of Faith in two ways. Explain. What is Faith’s primary concern? Faith is an enlargement of the horizons of the mind. Explain. What is Faith’s message? Why is God so hard to understand? LESSON II (Pages 4-5) What is the content of Faith? To what may we reduce the truths about God? How are the truths about God made accessible to all men? Who has the right to make known these truths? Explain what is the meaning of “to believe.” Prove the necessity of Faith from St. Paul’s teaching. What does the object of Faith include? How is Faith a test of man’s good will? When is man obliged to give outward expression to his Faith? What does the obligation to express the Faith openly pre- suppose? LESSON III (Pages 5-7) What is St. Paul’s definition of Faith? When is the act of Faith alive in the supernatural order? State the relationship between Faith and charity. What makes man a son of God? Is man free to accept some truths but not all that God has revealed? What may be said of the certitude of Faith? Faith is a gift of God. Explain. What two qualities of mind does Faith give man? What is the value of fear of God? State the difference between servile and filial fear. — 25— LESSON IV (Pages 7-9) How does Faith clarify and purify the mind? Explain the two gifts of the Holy Spirit that help man under- stand God’s revelation? How does infidelity react upon man? Explain the different kinds of infidelity. Negative infidelity may not be sinful. Explain. Is it possible for the unbeliever to repent? What is the sin of blasphemy? Enumerate the sins against the Holy Spirit. Why are they called unforgivable sins? What causes blindness of mind and dullness of heart? LESSON V (Pages 10-11) Explain the virtue of hope. , How is the divine Goodness related to hope? What is the relation between faith and hope? What is the difference between charity and hope? How do we cling to God by faith, hope and charity? What is the object of hope? What is the difference between the passion and the virtue of hope? Why cannot the blessed or the damned possess hope? When is hope possible? How strong is the faith on which hope is based? LESSON VI (Pages 11-12) On man’s part hope can fail but not on God’s part. Explain. What is the hope that saves? , What is the gift of fear? Fear is of two kinds. Explain. Of what good is servile fear? How does filial fear perfect hope? What virtue gives man the essence of wisdom? What are the first effects of wisdom? How does love cast out fear? What results from increasing love of God? 26 How does filial fear increase? What is the lesson of the First Beatitude? , Name the enemies of hope. Define despair and presumption. How serious are the sins of unbelief and hatred of God? How is despair more dangerous for men than unbelief or hatred of God? Explain the causes of despair. Is presumption as serious a sin as despair? What is the great sin of the modern world? State the remedy for the modern world’s sickness. LESSON VII (Pges 12-13) How does charity bring God to us? How is charity like all friendship? In what does God’s happiness consist? How is man happy through charity? Can man love God as God loves Himself? State the measure of charity. How is charity distinct from all other virtues and above them? Charity is a virtue of the will. Explain. What is charity based on? Can any human effort acquire charity? LESSON VIII (Pages 14-15) Define charity as a gift. In what measure does God give charity to men? On what does my degree of charity depend? Prove that man’s charity can increase. How does a man grow in the love of friendship? What are the signs of a man’s growing love for God? What does every new act of love of God dispose a man for? Why is charity capable of greater and greater growth? No man can love God as much as He ought to be loved. Ex- plain. In what three ways can man love God perfectly? — 27— LESSON IX (Pages 15-16) Why cannot man love God in this life with entire devotion of will? How can a man give his whole heart habitually to God? Describe the progressive growth of man’s love for God. Can charity fail through venial sin? Why is it that mortal sin drives charity out of the soul? In what sense can venial sin lead to a loss of charity? What does man attain through charity? What results from man loving God above everything else? Charity moves man to love as God loves. Explain. According to what measure will charity love all things? Explain the order of charity. Why will a man love some men more than others? Why will a man love his children above his parents? A man will love those for whom he does good above bene- factors. Explain. How will the order of charity be in Heaven? Charity is a virtue, a power to act. Explain. What is the meaning of loving God completely? What does perfect love of God mean? Why will charity have a big influence in the gaining of happi- ness? Name the interior and exterior effects of charity. What is the first effect of charity? Does joy that charity brings with it preclude all sadness? Where will charity produce its full effects of joy? What condition is necessary to have peace in society? Where is the peace the world is seeking to be found? Define mercy and tell whence it comes. Why is mercy a great virtue? Why is mercy more perfect than justice, fortitude, temper- ance? How does charity give happiness to society? What is beneficence? Beneficence should be measured by the order of charity. Explain. How are the works of mercy divided? Name the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Why are the spiritual works superior to the corporal works of mercy? In some cases the corporal works of mercy may be better than the spiritual works. Explain. — 28— Almsgiving is a matter of precept. Explain. When is almsgiving a matter of counsel? Fraternal correction is an act of charity. Explain. LESSON X (Pages 17-18) How must fraternal correction always be used? When should fraternal correction be used? How could charity transform the world? If all men lived by charity what would result? What explains the evils of the modern world? Name the worst sin against God and man, and analyze it. Hate and love follow knowledge. Explain. Whence comes hatred of men? Hatred of men is the end of a journey. Explain. Hatred is not a capital sin, it is an end result of a life of sin. Explain. LESSON XI (Pages 18-19) What does charity demand? What is sloth and why is it called a capital sin? Define envy. What follows after the loss of interior peace? State the effects of a man loving himself to the exclusion of God. Why are religion and Christ’s Church so viciously attacked to- day? Where do men find peace and joy and rest? What enables man to find the tranquillity of order which is peace? Explain the gift of wisdom and its effects. What are the fruits of charity and wisdom? Order and peace depend on wisdom and wisdom depends on charity. Explain. LESSON XII (Page 20) What is man’s aim in life? Why does he need the moral virtues? — 29— How does prudence affect human actions? Why is prudence called an intellectual virtue? What is the concern of prudence? How is prudencee related to the other moral virtues? What is the main duty of prudence? Prudence is of two kinds. Explain. Why does man need grace or charity? LESSON XIII (Page 21) How does man get supernatural prudence? Why is supernatural prudence superior to natural prudence? What is the gift of counsel? What are the vices opposed to prudence? What is carnal prudence? Define craftiness. What are the sources of the sins of imprudence? In what degree are human acts valuable? Why is an imprudent life an unhappy life? LESSON XIV Pages 21-22) Why do men live in society? How is the fullness of human living attained? What must prevail if society is to promote the common good? What is the virtue of justice? What does justice effect for society? Define a right. What is the difference between natural rights and positive rights? What accompanies every right? Why is justice a virtue? Explain the difference between legal justice and particular justice. LESSON XV (Pages 22-24) What is the objective of general justice? What is within the scope of general justice? — 30— What type of justice regulates contracts? How does liberality differ from justice? What are the effects of justice? Explain how justice is superior to the other moral virtues. What effects have injustice on society? How is the sin of injustice measured? What is the function of distributive justice? What is the function of commutative justice? What is the mean to be followed in distributive justice? How do sins of injustice affect society? What is the mean to be followed in commutative justice? Whatis the connection between justice and charity? What is the sin of repect of persons? How do these virtues affect society? Why are the sins against commutative justice numerous? What effect have sins against both types of justice? — 31 — Note — Pope Pius XI in his Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (The Fortieth Year) calls the two cornerstones of a reconstructed social order social justice and social charity. Those Catholics who had strayed over into Socialism, under the false impression that the Church favored the rich against the poor, the Pope urged “to return to their ancient Faith and endeavor ceaselessly according to the mind of the Church to re- form society on a firm basis of social justice and social charity.” The Holy Father insisted that “men must obey anew the commands of Him Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. . . . Crowning all this struggle for justice must be charity. Justice is not enough if we hope to harmonize hearts and minds in a battle for the common good. Until men are convinced of their true brotherhood which rests on the Fatherhood of God and on their membership in the Body of Christ, class-warfare and social strife will not cease. . . . Let all men of good will join in the battle for the renewal of the Christian Social Order which Leo XIII inaugurated in his immortal Encyclical Rerum Novarum.” — 32 — This is the text you have been seeking for your classes in religion, your convert work, your discussion clubs . . . Highlights of the Summa By REV. GERALD C. TREACY, S.J. Men of our times have learned all but the important things. They are learned but far from wise . They have not learned the meaning of life and the three great truths of the Christian Religion: The Fact of God, Man, and the World. From the great Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, truly a book of wisdom, Father Gerald C. Treacy, S.J., has prepared HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUMMA, a simplified and abbreviated translation of Aquinas* work. DIVINE ARCHITECT SPLENDOR OF MAN PASSIONS— HABITS— VIRTUES GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SIN, LAW, GRACE SHARING GOD'S LIFE RELIGION — PRAYER— SACRIFICE WORD MADE FLESH THE SACRAMENTS. THE JUDGMENTS These eight pamphlets, complete with discussion club questionnaires, will be received with enthu- siasm by the zealous teacher of religion. 10c each, $8.00 for 100, $67.00 for 1,000 One Set Postpaid for $1.00 The Paulist Press, 401 West 59th Street, New York 19, N. Y.