First, to my readers, I would like to apologize for the delay in this chapter. For several reasons, I have not been able to work on this side project. However, having completed several projects, I am back and running! Today, I would like to publish my chapter on vainglory, which is often an overlooked capital vice that gets blended in with the Deadly Sin of Pride. For Aquinas, he had 7 Capital Vices, the first of which was vain glory, while he understood Pride to be at the root of all sins. Take a read!

-Fr. Chris

Chapter 4

Vainglory: The First Capital Vice

“On the contrary, Gregory does not include pride among the capital vices.”[i]

One thing that many of my teachers, especially those in English courses, taught me was to ensure that a good transition sentence existed between each paragraph and chapter. This entire chapter serves as a type of transition into the “capital vices” that St. Thomas Aquinas examines critically. Many have considered Pride to be the capital vice, from which all other capital vices occur; however, according to his work in the Summa Theologica, this simply isn’t the case. Consider a foundation to a building – it is often hidden, and under the ground level. It has a “general influence towards all sins,”[ii] yet it does not manifest as a “capital vice.”

So, what is the ultimate difference, then, between pride and a capital vice? For Aquinas, he examines and distinguishes the deadly sins according to causes. One must remember that Aquinas was a scientist, and at this time in Western Culture, theology, spirituality, philosophy, and logic were all considered sciences. Although the equivocal notion of that term today may confuse many, science, etymologically, meant knowledge, and one obtained knowledge by apprehending the relationship between causes and effects.

To return to the question, Aquinas writes,

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Navigating the worst of all sins, and the cause of all subsequent sins requires a fearlessness to pierce our own soul with an honest, investigative, examination.  Such a fearless disposition requires courage, and humility, all of which cannot exist in an absolutely prideful soul.  Yet, one cannot really be absolutely prideful in regard to our nature which is made for humility.  It is the case that within man there is always some spark of goodness, a nature disposed toward the truth.  So we cannot begin the exploration of Pride as though it as at the root of our existence.  This would be a lie of the enemy who conflates our sin with our good, God-given nature. It happens that when exploring our own self, without a good, secure sense of our own identity, we run the risk of allowing our sinful inclinations to define ourselves.  Man cannot begin to pierce his own soul with an honest gaze if he does not first know that he was created good.  We would get far too lost in the mire of ugly sin, and lose a sense of that foundational blessing in which all grace builds off of:  a good nature. God has given us the grace of a good-nature which always has an appetite for the truth, even as we sin.  This appetite is not present in us due to any virtue, but rather is a fundamental disposition, universally present to all human beings.  This means we must recognize that at the depth of our being is an identity that wishes to magnify the truth, rather than suppress its discovery.

[1] ST II-II q. 162 a. 6 reply 1

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The Unforgivable Sin

Most Catholics have had the experience of hearing about Jesus condemning the Sin against the Holy Spirit, as unforgivable.  At the onset of hearing about this sin, people can quickly be shaken to their core.  “This doesn’t sound like the Jesus I’ve been told about!?” 

Christ reveals Himself to be a merciful God, one who would never leave a truly repentant person in the guilt of their sin.  Those who seek mercy in the right manner, need not worry about the unforgivable sin.  The bottom line, here, is that the unforgivable sin is final-impenitence.  Nonetheless it is worthwhile to contemplate the scriptures in this regard, because to many this is not readily apparent.

It would be worth discussing, nonetheless, the unforgivable sin as we prepare to dissect the nature of sin, and how it leads us to error.  I believe it should precede the chapters to follow, as the lesson on this sin in Christ’s teaching applies to all of the deadly sins.  The Lord is attempting to build up our own soul, as a holy temple that in spirit and truth, houses God.  In order to cooperate with God’s efforts, we must learn to have an automatic approach to repentance.  That is to say, in order to welcome Christ into every aspect of our being, our mind, and our heart, we must be dedicated to the task of removing that which obstructs His presence. 

The Pillar of Truth

When discussing the nature of the unforgivable sin, the themes of instability, permanence and damnation all come crashing down upon us.  An image that displays the converse spiritual state, has recently manifested itself in my prayer.  The image is of a beautiful, white, pillar.  I’ve identified this pillar as being nothing less than the Church, which is the “Pillar and foundation of Truth.”[1]  The image has evoked within me a sense of stability, protection, purity, and humility.  The image of the Pillar is a classical one, entirely white, and not significantly broad, but perfect in all its dimensions.  This pillar is an invitation to my own soul to stand under what it upholds.  There I do not need to worry about the ceiling crashing down upon me.  The mountains will not fall on me[2], as I stand next to this pillar.

How could it be that such an inanimate object could bestow in my soul the sense of protection, stability, purity and humility?  Because the Church is not so much a thing, but the very Body of Christ.  Each of us, as members of that Body are able to be grafted into that Body of Christ by the very Spirit of Truth promised upon the Church.  This Church, regardless of the sinful human element that often obscures its genuine God-given identity, is something that can only be trusted with the supernatural gift of faith.  Trust in the Church is trust in the Body of Christ.  And to have such trust is an act of trust in God’s own work.  This work is accomplished by the Holy Spirit being poured out upon the members of the Church, who in turn cooperate with His movements.

This is the vision of our Savior, as he casts out demons, and forgives sins.  He seeks to graciously hand on the power, authority and identity of Himself, through the Holy Spirit, to the Church.  Thus, to refuse to accept the anointing of Christ by the Spirit,[3] is also to reject the anointing of the Church.  This isn’t precisely the unforgivable sin, as the Church herself declares, but it is inching us closer to what it might be.  In fact, this is a concrete expression of how that sin can occur.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

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Please begin with the introduction of Fr. Chris’ book by clicking here.

Note from the Author:

This chapter may be a bit difficult to navigate, given all the philosophical terms applied to the subject matter. The subsequent chapters will be simpler, but also help slowly digest and refer back to some of the concepts here.

It’s Time to Fall

It is the goal of this chapter to use the analogy of falling from a three-story tower to depict a departure from error. This act of falling is ultimately an act of humility, whereby we come closer to reality. To remain in this tower is to be in a distanced or remote relationship with reality. Falling involves us letting go of our fantasies about ourselves, and passively falling toward the earth. Actively, we must consent to jump, but the ride toward reality is a passive one. In other words, there is a passive and active dimension. We are actively seeking the truth, but nonetheless students of that truth. We receive truth while at the same time seeking it.

If we flutter about, as we fall, we are like a feather, somewhat unzealously falling toward reality. But if we dive, we simply cooperate with the gravity of truth that pulls us towards reality. The case may be that this is a humiliating process. I would suggest that there are a few possible reactions to humiliation: (1) growth in humility and (2) inordinate shame and defensiveness. When we find ourselves humiliated by our errors, our intellect perceives juxtaposition between a truth revealed and error upheld. If we decide to become defensive, and remain in denial about our own errors we are guilty of not allowing the truth to humble ourselves. Such humiliation invites us to be humbled. And while humility certainly involves placing ourselves below any lofty sense of self, humility also demands a seeking of greatness. St. Thomas Aquinas draws our attention to what seems to be a type of paradox:

“Humility restrains the appetite from aiming at great things against right reason: while magnanimity urges the mind to great things in accord with right reason. Hence it is clear that magnanimity is not opposed to humility: indeed they concur in this, that each is according to right reason.”

When we seek greatness, without becoming unhinged from reality, we experience both humility and magnanimity. Thus, the least amongst us imitate the greatness of the Christ, and all the saints. But this is chiefly an interior act, and not something that occurs purely as an external show. The interior life principally addresses our reaction and response to error and truth. How we react to error ought to be done in a manner that involves graciousness. Are we too embarrassed to admit of our fault? Do we define our identity around an error we are attached to? Grace enables us to fall from error in manner that is zealous about being insinuated more deeply in reality. We want to plummet to the depths of the earth, like a seed, to be drilled into the ground.

When a leader, apologizes to his congregation for an error, he doesn’t typically inform them of anything new – they often already know he has erred. But what he demonstrates with a genuine apology or acknowledgement of error is that he has enough courage to dive into reality: to be humbled. But to be humbled means something is done unto us, and we allow it to be done. It means that we allow ourselves to fall. Will you take the dive with me?

Where do I start?

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The Phenomenon of Confusion around Evil

At the dawn of this book, I ought to make it clear why one should study and speak about the reality of sin.  It can be a daunting task to place ourselves into a penitential place where we expose our mind and heart to the “not so pretty” dimension of living in our fallen world.  Fear might meet us as we begin this book – a fear that might even cause us to put it down and look for something more comforting.  These reflections are the antithesis of “fluffy” and “sunshine and rainbows!” We are addressing the jagged, dark, smoky, violent, gross, and messy dimension that is both a real and unreal experience.  We might ask why someone would pick up such a book.  How could they dare to read about the darker things in life, especially if the implication is that such darkness exists within themselves?

Part of the reason is that some see evil as good, and good as evil.  There is an ever-strange experience and observation throughout human history that what one thinks is evil and sinful, another thinks of as a value or heroic act. 

And this presents us with a real problem that needs to be addressed.  That is: division. Humanity is strongly divided against itself because of our concepts of good and the evil – and if we care about unity and harmony, we will sit down and discuss the elephant in the room.  If we attempt to move “beyond good and evil,” all we are doing is ignoring that elephant.  Such a philosophy of transcending good and evil is impossible. Nietzsche would have considered such transcendence good, and the failure to transcend it as evil.  In other words, Nietzsche contradicts himself about the categories of good and evil by espousing a philosophy he considers good. It’s inescapable – good and evil are the very basic drawing and repulsing dimensions to the human spirit.

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