17. Other Virtues Related to Justice
Three of the virtues that are related to justice correspond to the matter of the fourth commandment: piety, reverence, and obedience.1 These will be studied first. Five other virtues complete the potential parts of justice: gratitude, vindication, politeness, equity, and generosity. These will be considered briefly, except the last, which deserves a more detailed study.
69. Piety
The term piety (from the Latin pietas) has two meanings: (1) religion, devotion or dedication to divine worship; (2) kindness and mercy. As a moral virtue, piety is the stable disposition to offer to parents and fatherland the honor and service that is due to them as principles of our existence.2
Piety is addressed primarily to our parents as proximate principle of our existence, and secondarily to other relatives and one’s country.
Piety lacks the strict equality that is proper to justice, since restitution of the equivalent of what was received (life, education) is impossible.3
Piety is based on the relationship between members of a common stock. Charity, on the other hand, is based on divine filiation, which is common to all people. Piety is also distinct from legal justice, which is due to the country in which one lives. Piety is due only to the country where one has been born and raised.4
Piety toward parents is the proper object of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land” (Ex 20:12; cf. Dt 5:16; Eph 6:2–3).
Piety toward one’s fatherland is usually called patriotism. The fatherland is so named by analogy with father, and refers to the society in which one is born and raised, from which a great part of one’s education is received. It comprises both material aspects and culture in its broadest meaning. The term nation—which comes from nascere, “to be born”—originally had the same meaning. At present, however, it has come to mean a politically organized and more or less unified territory, together with the society living in it.
One may sin against patriotism by defect, that is, by lack of love. Sins by excess may lead to despising other countries; this is one of the meanings of the term nationalism.5
70. Reverence
Reverence is the moral virtue that inclines man to offer due honor to persons who are constituted in dignity.6
There are three forms of reverence, depending on the type of dignity enjoyed: civil (civil authorities), religious (priests, bishops, pope), and supernatural (the saints). In common language, the term respect has a very similar meaning.
71. Obedience
71a) Definition
Obedience is the moral virtue that inclines the will to eagerly comply with the will of the superior.7
Obedience is naturally based on the very order of creation. Man has to obey God, and God usually governs creatures through other creatures. Furthermore, the internal order of any society also requires obedience.
Superiors can command anything within their competence by reason of the formal cause of their authority. For example, civil authorities cannot ask anybody to do an examination of conscience; neither can the ecclesiastical authority order that a traffic light be installed at an intersection.
We must obey God in everything; it is impossible to find any justified reason for disobeying him. On the other hand, human authority is limited by the law of God, both natural and positive; it is unlawful to obey in anything that is contrary to divine law.
One may sin against obedience by excess. This is called servility, and it leads to obeying even illicit commands. The sin by defect is disobedience. Its gravity depends on the importance of the authority and the seriousness of the command.
71b) Obedience and Freedom
Only those who are able to make free decisions can obey; obedience is based on freedom.
Many reasons can lead to obedience: fear of natural or supernatural punishment, understanding the natural or supernatural reasons of a certain command and agreeing to them, realizing that obedience is convenient for the good of society and the people, even if the reason for the command is, at times, not understood.
These reasons can be simultaneously present in different proportions. Evidently, the greater the identification with the one in command and with the command, the freer the act of obedience—and, if the obedience is supernatural, the more meritorious.
Since the superior represents God, obeying him is like obeying God. Besides, the real motive for obeying God should be love, not fear. Therefore, obedience ultimately derives from love, being one of its most characteristic manifestations. Because of that, obedience always implies an eminent exercise of freedom.
Obedience is especially valuable on account of efficacy. In any society, there must necessarily be obedience. Otherwise, the result would be abandonment of work, ineffectiveness, anarchy, and chaos. On the other hand, even in this merely natural order, obedience is not in itself opposed to freedom; one may freely want to obey.
All Christian virtues must be considered in the superior light of faith. Otherwise, we would miss their real meaning and value. Thus, supernatural obedience far outreaches its human counterpart (cf. 1 Kgs 15:22). Its efficacy is especially great. Its main value, however, lies in its bringing us in close contact with the mystery of the Redemption. There, we can see Christian obedience at its best, as a manifestation of the fullest freedom (cf. Phil 2:6–8; Jn 10:17–18). The Christian must imitate Christ, and Christ’s life can be summarized in his perfect obedience to the Father (cf. Phil 2:8).
71c) Errors
Some claim that obedience is incompatible with freedom, and that only human limitations make it acceptable. When disobedience is not possible, they say, only a critical obedience could be considered as virtue.
This is disproved by what was said in the previous section. Besides, obedience, internal docility, and self-surrender for the sake of others are not opposed to human maturity, understood as responsible freedom. On the contrary, they cannot exist without it. In the same way, the spiritual childhood that God demands in order to enter heaven (cf. Mt 18:3) is not contrary to human maturity.
72. Practice of Piety, Reverence, and Obedience
The obligations that are imposed by these virtues depend on one’s circumstances in life. We will study some specific cases.
72a) Obligations of Children toward their Parents
Children are bound to show their parents:8
· Love, which must be affective—loving them and wishing them good—and effective—praying for them and supporting them in their material and spiritual needs,
· Reverence, in words, gestures, and actions (cf. Ex 20:12),
· Obedience, which changes with the child’s age and degree of dependence (cf. Eph 6:1; Col 3:20).
There is no obligation to obey one’s parents in the choice of profession and state of life, but, generally speaking, it is prudent to seek their advice.
Nevertheless, when the choice of a state of total dedication to God and celibacy is considered, parents are usually not the best advisors. A good spiritual director is better qualified to give sound advice, since the parents, having chosen a different life themselves, do not have a personal experience of that state. On the other hand, as St. Thomas remarked:
It is impossible that religion and piety mutually hinder one another, so that the act of one be excluded from the act of the other. Now, as stated above, the act of every virtue is limited by the circumstances due thereto, and if it oversteps them it will be an act no longer of virtue, but of vice. Hence it belongs to piety to pay duty and homage to one’s parents according to the due mode. But it is not the due mode that man should tend to worship his father rather than God.… Accordingly, if the worship of one’s parents take one away from the worship of God it would no longer be an act of piety to pay worship to one’s parents to the prejudice of God.… If, however, by paying the services due to our parents, we are not withdrawn from the service of God, then will it be an act of piety, and there will be no need to set piety aside for the sake of religion.9
72b) Duties of Parents toward their Children
Parents have to love and raise their children,10 both physically and spiritually.
· Love excludes hatred of their children, insults, unnecessarily pointing out their defects, excessive or harsh punishments, unjust unequal treatment of some children, and excessive indulgence that fails to demand and correct.
· Physically raising their children implies providing for their corporal needs, before and after they are born, and providing for their future by professional training.
· Spiritual education implies teaching them the faith and training them to live the human and supernatural virtues (cf. Tb 4:1–23). An important part of this obligation is the careful choice of a proper school, the effort to know the orientation and attitude of their teachers, and the monitoring of their school and home readings. Parents should also try to know what type of friends their children have.
Parents can and should help their children in their choice of profession and state of life. This help is priceless, since the future happiness of their children is at stake. Sometimes, parents will offer their personal advice; on other occasions, they will direct their children to ask the advice of a more qualified mentor.
However, that help should not overstep the freedom of their children. The choice of state of life is a personal right that cannot be waived. “Parents have to be on guard against the temptation of wanting to project themselves unduly in their children or of molding them according to their own preferences. They should respect their individual God-given inclinations and aptitudes.”11
After giving the proper advice and comment, parents “should step tactfully into the background so that nothing can stand in the way of the great gift of freedom that makes man capable of loving and serving God.”12
These criteria are to be applied all the more when children decide to devote themselves to the service of the Church. Parents should show an extreme delicacy in these cases. On the other hand, the vocation to total dedication to God sprouts in Christian families as a consequence of the supernatural environment that is found in them. It is usually received with joy and gratitude, not as a sacrifice.
72c) Duties of Spouses
Aside from the duties concerning the administration of property and the conjugal debt—which will be studied under the Sacrament of Marriage—spouses have the following duties:
· Mutual obligations: loving each other (cf. Eph 5:25; Ti 2:4; Col 3:18–19; 1 Tm 2:15), and living together (cf. Mt 19:5)
· Obligations of the husband: governing the family and family property—this excludes tyranny, since the wife is not a servant, but a companion13
· Obligations of the wife: those directed toward the good of the family through her specific dedication
Women have a special role in the family. Contrary to widespread opinions, the roles of husband and wife in the education of children are different, just as they are different during pregnancy.
There is a period during which children require a special material attention. This is precisely the decisive stage in the formation of their emotions, character, and moral values. Only through a close contact can this be successfully achieved. It follows that, during these years, mothers must devote their best time and effort to their children.
If they fail to do so, they would leave their main obligation unfulfilled. This is a pleasant—though costly—task; no wonder that some try to avoid it. The trend is not new. In the past, when it was financially feasible, many children were entrusted to nursemaids. Their place is now taken, to a larger scale, by day care centers.
It may happen that, in order to increase their income, mothers must temporarily work outside the home, but this employment must not be undertaken at the expense of the mother’s responsibilities toward her children. Pope Pius XI declared such a situation to be a serious evil:
That the rest of the family should also contribute to the common support, according to the capacity of each, is certainly right, as can be observed especially in the families of farmers, but also in the families of many craftsmen and small shopkeepers.… Mothers, concentrating on household duties, should work primarily at home or in its immediate vicinity. It is an intolerable abuse, and to be abolished at all costs, for mothers on account of the father’s low wage to be forced to engage in gainful occupations outside the home to the neglect of their proper cares and duties, especially the training of children.14
Pope John Paul II elaborated this argument:
There is no doubt that the equal dignity and responsibility of men and women fully justifies women’s access to public functions. On the other hand the true advancement of women requires that clear recognition be given to the value of their maternal and family role, by comparison with all other public roles and all other professions.… Therefore the Church can and should help modern society by tirelessly insisting that the work of women in the house be recognized and respected by all in its irreplaceable value.… While it must be recognized that women have the same right as men to perform various public functions, society must be structured in such a way that wives and mothers are not in practice compelled to work outside the home, and that their families can live and prosper in a dignified way even when they themselves devote their full time to their own family. Furthermore, the mentality which honors women more for their work outside the home than for their work within the family must be overcome.15
72d) Duties of Teachers and Students
There is a certain analogy between the duties of teachers and students and those of parents and children. As far as education is concerned, teachers are in the place of parents.
· Teachers occupy the place of parents in relation to a great part of the spiritual education of children, and, therefore, have the same obligations as parents in this regard.
· Students owe reverence and obedience to their teachers. As part of that obedience, and also in correspondence to the efforts of the teacher, they must be attentive to their teachings and study hard. Besides, study is the work that is proper to them.
73. Gratitude
Gratitude is a moral virtue that inclines man to internally and externally acknowledge the benefits that are received and reciprocate in some way.16 By benefit, we understand something done disinterestedly and out of good will. Gratitude must be prompt, internal, humble, and disinterested. Its contrary vice is ingratitude (cf. Jer 18:20).
74. Vindication
The object of vindication is the just punishment of an evildoer.17 The contrary vices are cruelty (by excess) and laxity (by defect). Penance is a related virtue that inclines us to atone to God for the offenses that are caused by sin.
75. Politeness
Politeness (courteousness, affability, or friendliness) is a moral virtue that inclines one to show a pleasant behavior toward others in words and deeds.18 Flattery is the contrary vice by excess, and rudeness is the contrary vice by defect.
76. Equity
Equity or epikeia is a reasonable moderation in the interpretation of a strict law, in accordance with the higher dictates of justice, in cases in which the literal application would be unjust. It corrects the imperfections of legal justice, bringing it into agreement with natural justice.
77. Generosity
God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them (cf. Mt 5:42; 10:8). Love for the poor is even one of the reasons for working so as to be able to give to those in need. It extends not only to material poverty, but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty. Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use.
Poverty or detachment is a virtue that inclines people to reasonably use material goods and avoid attachment to them.19 It thus coincides with the virtue of generosity or liberality, which inclines people to a proper use of material goods for their own benefit and that of others.20 It also moderates love for money and fear of losing it.21 Generosity is usually restricted to the proper use of goods that are already possessed, leaving aside their acquisition.22
Vices that are opposed to generosity by excess are prodigality and negligence in procuring the necessary goods.
The main vice that is opposed to generosity by defect is avarice. It is one of the capital sins, identified with the concupiscence of the eyes mentioned by St. John (cf. 1 Jn 2:16).
The heart’s attachment to riches is an obstacle to union with God. It can be fought by doing without superfluous things and not being downcast with the occasional lack of necessary things. One must also be watchful to not call necessities what are only superfluous things:
We have to make demands on ourselves in our daily lives. In this way we will not go about inventing false problems and ingenious needs, which, in the last analysis, are prompted by conceit, capriciousness, and a comfort-loving and lazy approach to life. We ought to be striding towards God at a fast pace, carrying no deadweight or impediments which might hinder our progress. Since poverty of the spirit does not consist in not having things but rather in being truly detached from what we have, we need to be vigilant so as not to be deceived by our imagination into thinking we can’t survive unless we have certain things. As St. Augustine puts it: “Seek what suffices, seek what is enough, and don’t desire more. Whatever goes beyond that, produces anxiety not relief: it will weight you down, instead of lifting you up.”23
In this way, as we use the material goods that are needed in our earthly condition, we will avoid the danger of becoming slaves instead of masters. This happens when we allow what is merely a means to gradually become an end. We must not have any other end than the glory of God and the salvation of souls:
If you want to be your own masters at all times, I advise you to make a very real effort to be detached from everything, and to do so without fear or hesitation. Then, when you go about your various duties, whether personal, family, or otherwise, make honest use of upright human means with a view to serving God, his Church, your family, your profession, your country, and the whole of mankind. Remember that what really matters is not whether you have this or lack that, but whether you are living according to the truth taught us by our Christian faith, which tells us that created goods are only a means, nothing more. So, do not be beguiled into imagining that they are in any way definitive: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where there is rust and moth to consume it, and where there are thieves to break in and steal it. Lay up treasures for yourselves in Heaven, where there is no moth or rust to consume it, no thieves to break in, and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart is too (Mt 6:19–21).24
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 2197–2257.
2. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 101, a. 1; a. 3 ad 1; CCC, 2214–2246.
3. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 57, a. 4; q. 58, a. 7.
4. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 101, a. 3 ad 3.
5. Cf. GS, 75; St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 525.
6. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 102, a. 1.
7. Cf. CCC, 2216–2217; ST, II-II, q. 104, a. 2 ad 3.
8. Cf. CCC, 2214–2220.
9. ST, II-II, q. 101, a. 4.
10. Cf. CCC, 2221–2231.
11. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Conversations with Msgr. Escrivá de Balaguer, 104.
12. Ibid.
13. Cf. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 25.
14. Pius XI, Enc. Quadragesimo Anno, 71.
15. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 23.
16. Cf. CCC, 2215.
17. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 108.
18. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 114, a. 1.
19. Cf. LG, 42; CCC, 2443–2449.
20. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 117, a. 1.
21. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 123, a. 4 ad 2.
22. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 117, aa. 3–4.
23. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, 125; cf. St Augustine, Sermo 85.
24. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, 118.
69. Piety
The term piety (from the Latin pietas) has two meanings: (1) religion, devotion or dedication to divine worship; (2) kindness and mercy. As a moral virtue, piety is the stable disposition to offer to parents and fatherland the honor and service that is due to them as principles of our existence.2
Piety is addressed primarily to our parents as proximate principle of our existence, and secondarily to other relatives and one’s country.
Piety lacks the strict equality that is proper to justice, since restitution of the equivalent of what was received (life, education) is impossible.3
Piety is based on the relationship between members of a common stock. Charity, on the other hand, is based on divine filiation, which is common to all people. Piety is also distinct from legal justice, which is due to the country in which one lives. Piety is due only to the country where one has been born and raised.4
Piety toward parents is the proper object of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land” (Ex 20:12; cf. Dt 5:16; Eph 6:2–3).
Piety toward one’s fatherland is usually called patriotism. The fatherland is so named by analogy with father, and refers to the society in which one is born and raised, from which a great part of one’s education is received. It comprises both material aspects and culture in its broadest meaning. The term nation—which comes from nascere, “to be born”—originally had the same meaning. At present, however, it has come to mean a politically organized and more or less unified territory, together with the society living in it.
One may sin against patriotism by defect, that is, by lack of love. Sins by excess may lead to despising other countries; this is one of the meanings of the term nationalism.5
70. Reverence
Reverence is the moral virtue that inclines man to offer due honor to persons who are constituted in dignity.6
There are three forms of reverence, depending on the type of dignity enjoyed: civil (civil authorities), religious (priests, bishops, pope), and supernatural (the saints). In common language, the term respect has a very similar meaning.
71. Obedience
71a) Definition
Obedience is the moral virtue that inclines the will to eagerly comply with the will of the superior.7
Obedience is naturally based on the very order of creation. Man has to obey God, and God usually governs creatures through other creatures. Furthermore, the internal order of any society also requires obedience.
Superiors can command anything within their competence by reason of the formal cause of their authority. For example, civil authorities cannot ask anybody to do an examination of conscience; neither can the ecclesiastical authority order that a traffic light be installed at an intersection.
We must obey God in everything; it is impossible to find any justified reason for disobeying him. On the other hand, human authority is limited by the law of God, both natural and positive; it is unlawful to obey in anything that is contrary to divine law.
One may sin against obedience by excess. This is called servility, and it leads to obeying even illicit commands. The sin by defect is disobedience. Its gravity depends on the importance of the authority and the seriousness of the command.
71b) Obedience and Freedom
Only those who are able to make free decisions can obey; obedience is based on freedom.
Many reasons can lead to obedience: fear of natural or supernatural punishment, understanding the natural or supernatural reasons of a certain command and agreeing to them, realizing that obedience is convenient for the good of society and the people, even if the reason for the command is, at times, not understood.
These reasons can be simultaneously present in different proportions. Evidently, the greater the identification with the one in command and with the command, the freer the act of obedience—and, if the obedience is supernatural, the more meritorious.
Since the superior represents God, obeying him is like obeying God. Besides, the real motive for obeying God should be love, not fear. Therefore, obedience ultimately derives from love, being one of its most characteristic manifestations. Because of that, obedience always implies an eminent exercise of freedom.
Obedience is especially valuable on account of efficacy. In any society, there must necessarily be obedience. Otherwise, the result would be abandonment of work, ineffectiveness, anarchy, and chaos. On the other hand, even in this merely natural order, obedience is not in itself opposed to freedom; one may freely want to obey.
All Christian virtues must be considered in the superior light of faith. Otherwise, we would miss their real meaning and value. Thus, supernatural obedience far outreaches its human counterpart (cf. 1 Kgs 15:22). Its efficacy is especially great. Its main value, however, lies in its bringing us in close contact with the mystery of the Redemption. There, we can see Christian obedience at its best, as a manifestation of the fullest freedom (cf. Phil 2:6–8; Jn 10:17–18). The Christian must imitate Christ, and Christ’s life can be summarized in his perfect obedience to the Father (cf. Phil 2:8).
71c) Errors
Some claim that obedience is incompatible with freedom, and that only human limitations make it acceptable. When disobedience is not possible, they say, only a critical obedience could be considered as virtue.
This is disproved by what was said in the previous section. Besides, obedience, internal docility, and self-surrender for the sake of others are not opposed to human maturity, understood as responsible freedom. On the contrary, they cannot exist without it. In the same way, the spiritual childhood that God demands in order to enter heaven (cf. Mt 18:3) is not contrary to human maturity.
72. Practice of Piety, Reverence, and Obedience
The obligations that are imposed by these virtues depend on one’s circumstances in life. We will study some specific cases.
72a) Obligations of Children toward their Parents
Children are bound to show their parents:8
· Love, which must be affective—loving them and wishing them good—and effective—praying for them and supporting them in their material and spiritual needs,
· Reverence, in words, gestures, and actions (cf. Ex 20:12),
· Obedience, which changes with the child’s age and degree of dependence (cf. Eph 6:1; Col 3:20).
There is no obligation to obey one’s parents in the choice of profession and state of life, but, generally speaking, it is prudent to seek their advice.
Nevertheless, when the choice of a state of total dedication to God and celibacy is considered, parents are usually not the best advisors. A good spiritual director is better qualified to give sound advice, since the parents, having chosen a different life themselves, do not have a personal experience of that state. On the other hand, as St. Thomas remarked:
It is impossible that religion and piety mutually hinder one another, so that the act of one be excluded from the act of the other. Now, as stated above, the act of every virtue is limited by the circumstances due thereto, and if it oversteps them it will be an act no longer of virtue, but of vice. Hence it belongs to piety to pay duty and homage to one’s parents according to the due mode. But it is not the due mode that man should tend to worship his father rather than God.… Accordingly, if the worship of one’s parents take one away from the worship of God it would no longer be an act of piety to pay worship to one’s parents to the prejudice of God.… If, however, by paying the services due to our parents, we are not withdrawn from the service of God, then will it be an act of piety, and there will be no need to set piety aside for the sake of religion.9
72b) Duties of Parents toward their Children
Parents have to love and raise their children,10 both physically and spiritually.
· Love excludes hatred of their children, insults, unnecessarily pointing out their defects, excessive or harsh punishments, unjust unequal treatment of some children, and excessive indulgence that fails to demand and correct.
· Physically raising their children implies providing for their corporal needs, before and after they are born, and providing for their future by professional training.
· Spiritual education implies teaching them the faith and training them to live the human and supernatural virtues (cf. Tb 4:1–23). An important part of this obligation is the careful choice of a proper school, the effort to know the orientation and attitude of their teachers, and the monitoring of their school and home readings. Parents should also try to know what type of friends their children have.
Parents can and should help their children in their choice of profession and state of life. This help is priceless, since the future happiness of their children is at stake. Sometimes, parents will offer their personal advice; on other occasions, they will direct their children to ask the advice of a more qualified mentor.
However, that help should not overstep the freedom of their children. The choice of state of life is a personal right that cannot be waived. “Parents have to be on guard against the temptation of wanting to project themselves unduly in their children or of molding them according to their own preferences. They should respect their individual God-given inclinations and aptitudes.”11
After giving the proper advice and comment, parents “should step tactfully into the background so that nothing can stand in the way of the great gift of freedom that makes man capable of loving and serving God.”12
These criteria are to be applied all the more when children decide to devote themselves to the service of the Church. Parents should show an extreme delicacy in these cases. On the other hand, the vocation to total dedication to God sprouts in Christian families as a consequence of the supernatural environment that is found in them. It is usually received with joy and gratitude, not as a sacrifice.
72c) Duties of Spouses
Aside from the duties concerning the administration of property and the conjugal debt—which will be studied under the Sacrament of Marriage—spouses have the following duties:
· Mutual obligations: loving each other (cf. Eph 5:25; Ti 2:4; Col 3:18–19; 1 Tm 2:15), and living together (cf. Mt 19:5)
· Obligations of the husband: governing the family and family property—this excludes tyranny, since the wife is not a servant, but a companion13
· Obligations of the wife: those directed toward the good of the family through her specific dedication
Women have a special role in the family. Contrary to widespread opinions, the roles of husband and wife in the education of children are different, just as they are different during pregnancy.
There is a period during which children require a special material attention. This is precisely the decisive stage in the formation of their emotions, character, and moral values. Only through a close contact can this be successfully achieved. It follows that, during these years, mothers must devote their best time and effort to their children.
If they fail to do so, they would leave their main obligation unfulfilled. This is a pleasant—though costly—task; no wonder that some try to avoid it. The trend is not new. In the past, when it was financially feasible, many children were entrusted to nursemaids. Their place is now taken, to a larger scale, by day care centers.
It may happen that, in order to increase their income, mothers must temporarily work outside the home, but this employment must not be undertaken at the expense of the mother’s responsibilities toward her children. Pope Pius XI declared such a situation to be a serious evil:
That the rest of the family should also contribute to the common support, according to the capacity of each, is certainly right, as can be observed especially in the families of farmers, but also in the families of many craftsmen and small shopkeepers.… Mothers, concentrating on household duties, should work primarily at home or in its immediate vicinity. It is an intolerable abuse, and to be abolished at all costs, for mothers on account of the father’s low wage to be forced to engage in gainful occupations outside the home to the neglect of their proper cares and duties, especially the training of children.14
Pope John Paul II elaborated this argument:
There is no doubt that the equal dignity and responsibility of men and women fully justifies women’s access to public functions. On the other hand the true advancement of women requires that clear recognition be given to the value of their maternal and family role, by comparison with all other public roles and all other professions.… Therefore the Church can and should help modern society by tirelessly insisting that the work of women in the house be recognized and respected by all in its irreplaceable value.… While it must be recognized that women have the same right as men to perform various public functions, society must be structured in such a way that wives and mothers are not in practice compelled to work outside the home, and that their families can live and prosper in a dignified way even when they themselves devote their full time to their own family. Furthermore, the mentality which honors women more for their work outside the home than for their work within the family must be overcome.15
72d) Duties of Teachers and Students
There is a certain analogy between the duties of teachers and students and those of parents and children. As far as education is concerned, teachers are in the place of parents.
· Teachers occupy the place of parents in relation to a great part of the spiritual education of children, and, therefore, have the same obligations as parents in this regard.
· Students owe reverence and obedience to their teachers. As part of that obedience, and also in correspondence to the efforts of the teacher, they must be attentive to their teachings and study hard. Besides, study is the work that is proper to them.
73. Gratitude
Gratitude is a moral virtue that inclines man to internally and externally acknowledge the benefits that are received and reciprocate in some way.16 By benefit, we understand something done disinterestedly and out of good will. Gratitude must be prompt, internal, humble, and disinterested. Its contrary vice is ingratitude (cf. Jer 18:20).
74. Vindication
The object of vindication is the just punishment of an evildoer.17 The contrary vices are cruelty (by excess) and laxity (by defect). Penance is a related virtue that inclines us to atone to God for the offenses that are caused by sin.
75. Politeness
Politeness (courteousness, affability, or friendliness) is a moral virtue that inclines one to show a pleasant behavior toward others in words and deeds.18 Flattery is the contrary vice by excess, and rudeness is the contrary vice by defect.
76. Equity
Equity or epikeia is a reasonable moderation in the interpretation of a strict law, in accordance with the higher dictates of justice, in cases in which the literal application would be unjust. It corrects the imperfections of legal justice, bringing it into agreement with natural justice.
77. Generosity
God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them (cf. Mt 5:42; 10:8). Love for the poor is even one of the reasons for working so as to be able to give to those in need. It extends not only to material poverty, but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty. Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use.
Poverty or detachment is a virtue that inclines people to reasonably use material goods and avoid attachment to them.19 It thus coincides with the virtue of generosity or liberality, which inclines people to a proper use of material goods for their own benefit and that of others.20 It also moderates love for money and fear of losing it.21 Generosity is usually restricted to the proper use of goods that are already possessed, leaving aside their acquisition.22
Vices that are opposed to generosity by excess are prodigality and negligence in procuring the necessary goods.
The main vice that is opposed to generosity by defect is avarice. It is one of the capital sins, identified with the concupiscence of the eyes mentioned by St. John (cf. 1 Jn 2:16).
The heart’s attachment to riches is an obstacle to union with God. It can be fought by doing without superfluous things and not being downcast with the occasional lack of necessary things. One must also be watchful to not call necessities what are only superfluous things:
We have to make demands on ourselves in our daily lives. In this way we will not go about inventing false problems and ingenious needs, which, in the last analysis, are prompted by conceit, capriciousness, and a comfort-loving and lazy approach to life. We ought to be striding towards God at a fast pace, carrying no deadweight or impediments which might hinder our progress. Since poverty of the spirit does not consist in not having things but rather in being truly detached from what we have, we need to be vigilant so as not to be deceived by our imagination into thinking we can’t survive unless we have certain things. As St. Augustine puts it: “Seek what suffices, seek what is enough, and don’t desire more. Whatever goes beyond that, produces anxiety not relief: it will weight you down, instead of lifting you up.”23
In this way, as we use the material goods that are needed in our earthly condition, we will avoid the danger of becoming slaves instead of masters. This happens when we allow what is merely a means to gradually become an end. We must not have any other end than the glory of God and the salvation of souls:
If you want to be your own masters at all times, I advise you to make a very real effort to be detached from everything, and to do so without fear or hesitation. Then, when you go about your various duties, whether personal, family, or otherwise, make honest use of upright human means with a view to serving God, his Church, your family, your profession, your country, and the whole of mankind. Remember that what really matters is not whether you have this or lack that, but whether you are living according to the truth taught us by our Christian faith, which tells us that created goods are only a means, nothing more. So, do not be beguiled into imagining that they are in any way definitive: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where there is rust and moth to consume it, and where there are thieves to break in and steal it. Lay up treasures for yourselves in Heaven, where there is no moth or rust to consume it, no thieves to break in, and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart is too (Mt 6:19–21).24
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 2197–2257.
2. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 101, a. 1; a. 3 ad 1; CCC, 2214–2246.
3. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 57, a. 4; q. 58, a. 7.
4. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 101, a. 3 ad 3.
5. Cf. GS, 75; St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 525.
6. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 102, a. 1.
7. Cf. CCC, 2216–2217; ST, II-II, q. 104, a. 2 ad 3.
8. Cf. CCC, 2214–2220.
9. ST, II-II, q. 101, a. 4.
10. Cf. CCC, 2221–2231.
11. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Conversations with Msgr. Escrivá de Balaguer, 104.
12. Ibid.
13. Cf. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 25.
14. Pius XI, Enc. Quadragesimo Anno, 71.
15. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 23.
16. Cf. CCC, 2215.
17. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 108.
18. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 114, a. 1.
19. Cf. LG, 42; CCC, 2443–2449.
20. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 117, a. 1.
21. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 123, a. 4 ad 2.
22. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 117, aa. 3–4.
23. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, 125; cf. St Augustine, Sermo 85.
24. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, 118.