Virtues – Page 9 – Perpetual Adoration

June 1, 2013

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The Destruction of the Boy Scouts of America

On May 23, 2013, the 1,400-member National Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) voted in favor of a resolution to add the following language to the requirements for being a Boy Scout: “No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.” The resolution passed by a wide margin, with 61.5 percent voting in favor of the change and 38.5 percent voting in opposition. The new requirement will be binding on all councils and units when it goes into effect January 1, 2014.

March 30, 2013

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Does The New Pope Have What It Takes?

February 1, 2013

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Sloth – Failure To Do God’s Work

Do you know the first words of Jesus Christ that were recorded in the Bible? His mother asked Him why He had not told her where He had been for three days, and the twelve-year-old Son of God responded, “How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49)

January 18, 2013

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The Destructive Triangle – Covetousness, Avarice, and Greed

As you know, two of the Ten Commandments deal with covetousness: “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife,” and “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods.” Covetousness is defined as an inordinately strong desire for possessing someone or something. In his book Victory Over Vice, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said:

December 9, 2012

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A Culture of Football, Guns, & Sin

If you’re a sports fan or if you pay attention to national events, you know about the National Football League (NFL) Kansas City Chiefs’ linebacker who shot and killed his girlfriend last week and then committed suicide. The football player was Jovan Belcher. What caught my attention was the immediate rush to judgment by journalists and commentators in the sports and news media, most of whom wanted to place the blame on. the “gun culture” and the “violent game of football.”

December 7, 2012

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Lust – The All-Consuming Passion

After pride, lust is the vice that the devil prefers to use to lure people away from God. Lust blinds the mind of a person, and since it is the mind that enlightens the will, once blinded, it no longer has the ability to lead the will away from the irrational urges of the body. Lust is an undiscerning passion that acts on fantasies, thoughts, and desires. Lust always leads to irrational, reckless, ruinous, and self-destructive behavior.

November 29, 2012

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Anger – The Father of all Sins

If pride is the mother of all sins, anger is the father. While all sins are born from pride, those same sins are often supported by anger. Pride nurtures sin, and anger defends it.

September 8, 2012

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A Hip-Hop and Gangsta Rap Culture

Earlier this year, one of my daughters was standing in the hallway of a local school visiting with a small group of girls. The ages of the girls ranged from 14 to 20. As they were talking, a 19-year-old boy they all knew came walking toward them. (For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to call him James.) As James approached, he said to the girls, “Step aside, bitches.”

August 31, 2012

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A Missing Virtue

Last week I told you that there are two virtues that we as baptized Catholics have that Jesus neither had nor needed. The first is the virtue of faith. The second is the virtue of hope. Our Lord did not need the virtue of faith because He had the beatific vision. He did not need the virtue of hope because he was already in possession of the heavenly kingdom.