We begin our journey through virtue in Morning Prayer with this documented story about St. Augustine:
As is well known, St. Augustine ran with a sketchy crowd as a teen, their name was something like “The Destructors.” One night, after the gang had finished playing sports in the streets of their neighborhood, their attention turned to a pear tree that was heavy with ripe fruit. The tree did not belong to any of their families, but it grew on a plot adjacent to that of Augustine’s family. The boys did not find the pears tempting in their color or flavor.
Nevertheless, they wanted to steal them. They went to the base of the tree and shook down the ripe pears.
Augustine writes in his 40’s about the event: We carried off a huge load of pears, not to eat ourselves, but to dump out to the hogs, after barely tasting some of them ourselves. Doing this pleased us all the more because it was forbidden. Such was my heart, O God, such was my heart–which thou didst pity even in that bottomless pit. Behold, now let my heart confess to thee what it was seeking there, when I was being gratuitously wanton, having no inducement to evil but the evil itself. - Saint Augustine
Later Augustine would write that they didn’t even want the pears. They gave the pears to the pigs just to fill the desire to do something wrong. A pointless deed for the sake of being shameful.
While this may seem like a strange jumping point into the deep dive of 3 of the cardinal virtues (we’ll save temperance for later), it makes sense to the children.
Prudence- Do the right thing. Did Augustine do the right thing? Easy answer. Of course not. Everyone knows that we do not steal, break rules, take from our neighbor when he is not looking, and throw good food to the pigs (who do not need them). Everything about this story is the wrong thing and the kids know it. How do they know it? Because they all know right from wrong. How do they ALL know right from wrong? Because we are ALL made in God’s image. We are fully human and yet we are connected to the maker of the universe, and His infinite love. That love will always be a part of their mind, body and soul. We are all God’s kids and that is how we know which thoughts and actions will bring us closer to God and which ones will take us further away.
Fortitude- Courage to do the right thing. What should St. Augustine’s friends have done? Oh the kids know! They should have told him to stop or maybe just have gone home if they couldn’t make him change his mind. To stand up to a friend who is determined to break the rules and misbehave takes courage. It takes fortitude! We are just weak humans and doing the right thing can be difficult. That is why we must ask God for His help. We ask God to be with us because we simply cannot do it alone.
Justice- What should happen to St. Augustine? “His Mom should ground him.” “He should have to tell his neighbor that he stole the pears and he should have to work to repair the debt he owes them.” Justice dictates that we must first get right with God. In stopping to repent and to think about our actions, our minds connect to our hearts and we feel the need to be forgiven by the Lord. It is okay to accept the consequences of our actions. God won’t leave you just because you did the wrong thing. He wants nothing more than to be with you while you grow in virtue. It is your vulnerability and then asking God for help, that brings you closer to Him.
We talk about virtue every day at Sacred Heart School. It is the core of our faith and human development. "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."(CCC1803)
God Bless,
Anne Atkin, principal
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