2021 | Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History

St Gregory of Nyssa, Beatitudes, Blog 4, Blessed are the clean of heart and the merciful

05/27/2021 Bruce Strom 2

These sermons by St Gregory of Nyssa are cited twice in the Catholic Catechism in its discussion of the Commandment, DO NOT COVET, DO NOT ENVY. St Gregory of Nyssa mentions envy in this Beatitude: “Some people covet glory, or wealth, or prominence. Others lap up envy like some noxious food, and there are others (more holy) who desire things whose nature is good.” He continues, “the Word calls blessed those who hunger not without qualification, but those whose desire is directed toward true justice.”

Those who hunger and thirst for justice need never be filled, the possession of virtue “always offers its disciples the fulness of its delights. Therefore, God the Word promises to those who hunger for these things that they shall be filled, and in being filled their desire for virtue will not be dulled but rather kindled anew.” […]

St Gregory of Nyssa, Beatitudes, Blog 3, Blessed are the Meek and Those Who Mourn

05/25/2021 Bruce Strom 3

St Gregory of Nyssa teaches, “Blessed are those who are not easily turned towards the passionate movements of the soul, but who are steadied by reason.” “To boast of riches or to be proud of one’s family, to have regard to fame and to think oneself above one’s neighbor, all these human honors destroy and shame the honor of the soul. No righteous man would thus defile the purity of his soul. When humility is well established, wrath will find no entrance into the soul. If there is no wrath, our life will be in a settled state of peace. This is true meekness.” […]

St Gregory of Nyssa, Beatitudes, Blog 2, Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

05/22/2021 Bruce Strom 3

St Gregory of Nyssa’s collection of sermons on the Beatitudes is quoted twice in the Catholic Catechism’s discussion on the commandment, DO NOT ENVY. At first blush that seems odd, the Beatitudes do not directly mention envy, but when you think of the Beatitudes as positive commands, as encouragements to Love God and our neighbor more deeply, promising blessings to those whose hearts are humble, we realize that the connection between the Beatitudes is quite natural and not odd at all, for the commandment DO NOT envy is also a positive command to see our neighbor in the best light possible, to see our neighbor’s good fortune as our good fortune, to truly love our neighbor as ourselves. […]

St Gregory of Nyssa, Beatitudes, Blog 1, The Allegory of the Cave

05/20/2021 Bruce Strom 3

The Beatitudes and St Nyssa’s sermons on the Beatitudes are both poetry of the soul. St Nyssa asks us, “Who among us is a disciple of the Word, seeking to ascend with our Lord from the low ground, from superficial and ignoble thoughts to the spiritual mountain of sublime concentration? This mountain leaves behind all shadows cast by the rising hills of wickedness, this mountain is lit up on all sides by the rays of true light, from the summit of this mountain everything that is invisible to those imprisoned in the CAVE may be seen the pure air of truth.” […]

Father Augustine Tolton, From Slave to Priest

05/18/2021 Bruce Strom 2

Day after day Father Tolton was seen coming in or out of the shacks, the rat-infested hovels and tenement houses. He listened compassionately to complaints of unemployment, desertion, injustice, depravity. Father Tolton knew how to bring hope and comfort to the sick and dying; he knew how to mitigate human suffering and sorrow because eh himself had experienced the lash of the slave driver as well as the lash of the white man’s tongue. […]

Frederick Douglass Tells Us About His Life as a Slave in his Autobiography

05/16/2021 Bruce Strom 13

Frederick Douglas was born a slave in Maryland in the late 1820’s, he can only guess how old he is, like most slaves he did not know when he was born. He escaped slavery on his second attempt to run away to the Northern states, and not only did he teach himself how to read, he became a spell-binding orator and abolitionist, agitating for the end of slavery, and becoming a best-selling author, publishing three autobiographies, other books and a newspaper. Some bigots claimed it was impossible for an ex-slave to be able to write that well, though they could not argue that it was not him making his speeches. […]

Catholic Catechism, Thou Shalt Not Covet thy Neighbors Possessions, CCC 2534-2540

05/09/2021 Bruce Strom 2

The Catholic Catechism warns that coveting, or avarice, “is the root of theft, robbery, and fraud.” Both avarice and fornication are both sins of idolatry, when we stray from the love of our neighbor, we stray from the Love of our God, Love of God and love of neighbor are like two vines that twist around the same branch. Coveting “concerns the intentions of the heart, and summarizes all the precepts of the Law.” The commandment against coveting forbids the greed that gathers up earthly goods without limit, and the “avarice arising from the passion for riches.” “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” […]

St Augustine on Catechizing the Uninstructed, Blog 2

05/07/2021 Bruce Strom 1

If you seek to become a Christian for social or temporal reasons you may backslide from the faith when you see “wicked and impious men” who are more prosperous than you are. You may ask yourself, How is this faith helping me? This is the wrong question, for the true Christian seeks “everlasting blessedness and the perpetual rest of the saints so he may not pass into eternal fire with the devil but rather enter into the Eternal Kingdom together with Christ. He will be on his guard in every temptation, so we will neither be corrupted by prosperity nor be utterly broken in spirit by adversity, but remain modest and temperate during good times, and be brave and patient during times of tribulation.” Then this Christian will “Love God more than he fears hell,” and he will recoil from evil thoughts and temptations. […]

St Augustine on Catechizing the Uninstructed, Blog 1

05/04/2021 Bruce Strom 2

In all his writings St Augustine reminds us that the core of our faith is the commands to Love God with all of our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our mind and with all of our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In this work on catechesis St Augustine teaches that the vice that ruins love, the vice that is the enemy of love is envy, and that the mother of envy is pride. This section is referenced in the Catholic Catechism teaching on the Commandment, Do Not Covet. […]

Catholic Catechism, Do Not Envy, Purification of the Heart, CCC 2517-2533

04/30/2021 Bruce Strom 2

“Be simple and guileless, be like the children who are ignorant of the wickedness that ruins the life of men. Speak evil of no-one, and do not revel to anyone who speaks evil of another.” You sin when you listen to slander, when you believe the slander you become a slanderer. “Slander is evil and an unsteady demon, never peaceful, always stirring up discord.” “Practice goodness,” “give to all,” “he who gives is guiltless.” […]