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October 17, 2021Dear Parishioners,
This week I’d like to take the time to explain an important distinction in the spiritual life. In theology we distinguish between faith which is formed by charity and faith which is unformed by charity. When a person receives Baptism, they are infused by the three supernatural virtues of faith, hope and charity. “Virtue” in a theological sense does not mean a moral norm or rule. We can understand virtues as habits, perfections, new dispositions, or changes of a particular part of a human being. This change enables a person to act in a certain way. The theological virtues enable a person to act in a Christ-like way for the sake of salvation. They also transform a person into a child of God. Without the infusion of faith, hope and charity, a person cannot act in a Christ-like way, but they can still possess acquired virtues.
The distinction between supernatural virtue and acquired virtue is key to understanding how grace transforms us. Acquired virtue, as the name suggests, grow in a person through repeated action. Acquired virtue is the result of our actions, whereas supernatural virtue is the result of God’s actions on us. Often, we might mistake the spiritual life simply as the cultivation of acquired virtue. People can acquire several virtues on the natural level. For instance, someone who has cultivated the virtue of courage is able avoid cowardice and foolhardiness. Yet, the supernatural life involves so much more than simply acquired virtue.
The acts of a person with faith formed by charity, that is moved by love, will be meritorious and grow the person spiritually. A meritorious action is one that helps a person get to heaven. And the more we make such acts of faith moved by love, the easier it will be for us to reject sin, desire God and love him above all things. One’s whole being moves toward God. We can see the full effect of supernatural virtue in the lives of the saints.
What about unformed faith? The person who commits mortal sin loses charity in his or her soul but retains the virtue of faith in an unformed state. Such a person may retain some parts of the faith (e.g. a belief that God exists), but they no longer grow spiritually, move to God, or merit salvation. Mortal sin is a choice which excludes God from our lives. In this exclusion one inhibits charity’s movement toward God. To move back to God we need a resurrection, an intrusion of grace. This intrusion certainly comes by way of the sacrament of Confession.
We can see this dynamic in the Parable of the Wise Virgins. The wise virgins have brought plenty of oil and so their lamps burn brightly, the foolish virgins do not bring enough oil and so their lamps go out. The fire of the lamp is seen as the light of faith. The oil is seen as charity. Faith is kept burning brightly with charity; with good works. In other words, for the foolish virgins it was not enough to have faith; they had faith, they were waiting for the bridegroom; clearly, they did not doubt our Lord, but they did not keep watch for Christ’s coming by doing good works; by being charitable; by having God’s love in them.
Hence in our spiritual lives we strive to ensure that the virtue of faith in our souls is formed by charity.
God bless,
Fr. Barrow
