Temperance & Self-Control

...Intemperantia and despair are connected by a hidden channel. Whoever in stubborn recklessness persists in pursuing perfect satisfaction and gratification in prestige and pleasure has set his foot on the road to despair. Another thing, also, is true: one who rejects fulfillment in its true and final meaning, and, despairing of God and himself, anticipates nonfulfillment may well regard the artificial paradise of unrestrained pleasure-seeking as the sole place, if not of happiness, then of forgetfulness, of self-oblivion: "In their despair, they gave themselves up to incontinence" (Ephesians 4, 19). That sin is a burden and a bondage is nowhere more apparent than in intemperantia, in that obsession of selfish self-preservation, which seeks itself in vain.

Josef Pieper, Four Cardinal Virtues.

Discussion Material (PDF)

Kindness

...So once again, the man who strives for justice, and he above all, realizes (Thomas says) that fulfilling an obligation and doing what he is really obliged to do are not all that is necessary. Something more is required, something over and above, such as liberality, affabilitas, kindness, if man’s communal life is to remain human. Here nothing more (and certainly nothing less) is meant than friendliness in our everyday associations. This “virtue”—and Thomas relates it, too, to justice—is, of course, strictly neither due to another person nor can it be rightfully claimed and demanded. Still it is impossible for men to live together joyfully (delectabiliter) without it. “Now as man could not live in society without truth, so likewise not without joy.”...

From Four Cardinal Virtues by Josef Pieper.

Discussion material (PDF)

Patience

...Patience, however, is something quite other than the indiscriminate acceptance of any and every evil: “The patient man is not the one who does not flee from evil, but the one who does not allow himself to be made inordinately sorrowful thereby. ”To be patient means to preserve cheerfulness and serenity of mind in spite of injuries that result from the realization of the good. Patience does not imply the exclusion of energetic, forceful activity, but simply, explicitly and solely the exclusion of sadness and confusion of heart. Patience keeps man from the danger that his spirit may be broken by grief and lose its greatness. Patience, therefore, is not the tear-veiled mirror of a “broken” life (as one might easily assume in the face of what is frequently presented and praised under this name), but the radiant embodiment of ultimate integrity. In the words of Hildegard of Bingen, patience is “the pillar which nothing can soften.” And Thomas Aquinas following Holy Scripture (Luke 21,19), summarizes with superb precision: “Through patience man possesses his soul.”... (Josef Pieper, The Four Cardinal Virtues)

Romano Guardini, Learning the Virtues that Lead You to God, Sophia Institute Press.

Discussion Material (PDF)

CREATING A CHRISTIAN CULTURE IN THE WORKPLACE

About 30 men from a wide variety of professions gathered at Arnold Hall Conference Center in Pembroke, Massachusetts over the November 10-12, 2017 weekend to analyze three business case studies in which they were challenged to apply the principles of Catholic Social Doctrine to real world business situations. Featured speakers included Joe Patrnchak who spoke on the significantly positive impact a program of Servant Leadership can have on earnings, employee retention and market capitalization. Bill Bowman, Dean of the School of Business and Economics at the Catholic University of America, spoke on the university's efforts to respond to Pope Francis' call for lay Catholics to "go the peripheries to help those in need". Fr. Michael Barrett, pastor of St. Agnes Church in New York City, led participants through the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the degree to which a person can participate in immoral or simply immodest business settings. Participants came away with a renewed appreciation for the wisdom of the Church's social teachings as well as a practical approach to assessing how to deal with difficult ethical issues in the workplace.

ENTERING THE FRAY

The LF was launched in 1999 just as the fin de siecle was upon us. Until now, we at the LF have avoided participating in the cacophony in the social media marketplace. We recognize as well as you do that we are all bombarded by an overload of messaging on social media (most of it not worthy of our time). We commit to staying focused on our mission of encouraging men to naturally integrate their faith in God into their family life, professional work and social interactions. We also commit to posting only when we have something worth sharing; in other words, we will not feel compelled to post just because the calendar tells us that time has elapsed. Our feeds and links will be selected with our mission in mind. We hope that you find these blogs helpful, stimulating, and interesting. We would appreciate hearing from you to understand whether we are fulfilling our mission.