The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics, Second Edition

4. PRUDENCE AND THE MORAL VIRTUES: COMMUNIO AND THE MORAL LIFE

72 4. PRUDENCE AND THE MORAL VIRTUES COMMUNIO AND THE MORAL LIFE Christian revelation unequivocally teaches that the redemption won by Christ results in the establishment of a new social order that is achieved by means of a transformation in each individual person. The book of Revelation presents the vision of a great multitude: “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come? These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:9–14). St. Paul, in an effort to explicate the “great tribulation,” describes the personal conflict which those who are transformed in the blood of Christ escape: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Rom 7:15). Authentic Christian salvation constitutes both a liberation from the contradiction of sin and the restoration of the rectitude of grace. The First Letter of Peter reminds its readers: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct” (1 Pet 1:13–14). The full experience of Christian community requires that each member of the Church break away from patterns of sinful behavior. By definition, as the Old Testament stories about the effects of Adam’s sin remind us, sin divides. Cessario_FINAL.indd 72 Cessario_FINAL.indd 72 9/9/2008 9:55:55 AM 9/9/2008 9:55:55 AM Prudence and the Moral Virtues 73 Charity unites. But since the human race was restored to charity through the sacrificial death of the Son of God, the theological life necessarily entails a participation in the cross of Christ. The Christian life does not develop in anyone without personal sacrifice and the undertaking of satisfactory works. St. Paul frequently refers to this sacrificial element in Christian life, particularly when he speaks about virtues and vices. Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:19–24). In a phrase, Christian conversion always remains ordered to the development of the virtuous life. The transformation of our moral lives effected by renewal in Christ occurs within the community of the Church. This happens principally through the sacramental actions established by the New Law, but also through the exercise of Christian charity, that is, when the members of the Church love one another properly. The eucharist, the principal sacrament of the Church, especially points out the relationship between sacramental efficacy and the realization of Christian communio.1 Nevertheless, a full and adequate explanation of what constitutes the evangelical life requires more than the instruction provided by the New Testament for worship. The Christian moral theologian takes on an even more formidable task than that of the liturgist or sacramental theologian. Moral theology concerns every human action. As a result, the moral theologian assumes responsibility for showing how the once Cessario_FINAL.indd 73 Cessario_FINAL.indd 73 9/9/2008 9:55:55 AM 9/9/2008 9:55:55 AM 74 Prudence and the Moral Virtues and for all character of Christian redemption, as the Letter to the Hebrews explains it,2 means that whatever the grace of Christ touches in human existence becomes radically new and different. Within the Church, emphases in ascetical theology vary from one century to another; the contemporary mood looks more to the glorious wounds of the Savior than to the suffering which made them so. One point, however, always requires specific consideration, namely, the death of the “old self” does not constitute a complete destruction of the human powers and capacities given in nature. Rather, the process of image restoration reshapes the activity of those powers and capacities towards authentic virtue. At times, certain ascetical theologians, especially those influenced by seventeenth-century French piety, forgot this basic and important truth of catholic...