


Virtue and the Freedom to Love
When speaking at marriage retreats, I like asking the married couples two questions: βHow many of you value your spouse?β At this, all of them raise their hands. Then I ask a second question: βHow many of you do things that hurt your spouse?β Most laugh, and then all...
The Art of Living
Joseph Ratzinger, the man who became Pope Benedict XVI, once said that in our secular, de- Christianized culture, the problem is not simply that the world has lost the gospel. We have lost the most basic human values as well. We have lost what he calls βthe art of...
Temperance and Self-Possession
The virtue of temperance sometimes gets a bad reputation. As the virtue that “moderates the attraction of pleasures” (Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition, no. 1809), many people today object to such a notion: “Whatβs wrong with seeking...
Patience and Perseverance
How do you respond when “bad things” happen to you? When you experience disappointment or setbacks? When you are hurt by something someone said? When experiencing sorrow, we might be tempted to close in on ourselves. We might allow negative emotions to...