The Catechism of the
Catholic Church teaches there are four Cardinal virtues. Virtues,
simply put are good habits. These can be formed on our own
capabilities. The four cardinal virtues are justice, prudence,
fortitude and temperance.
According to the
Catholic Encyclopedia, justice is the most important of the four
cardinal virtues. God gave the Commandments to Moses because to be
the basis of justice. It perfects the will to give to others what
rightly belongs to them. It gives its due to God and neighbor.
Justice to God is the basis of religion. When some Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes, Jesus said, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.”
Justice to God is the basis of religion. When some Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes, Jesus said, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.”
Many people today
use this as the basis for defining the separation of Church and State
and stress we need to give Caesar what is his. But they forget the
most important part: Render to God the things that are God's.”
Society has been so focused on demanding what is theirs they forget
to give to God what is his to the point of taking what belongs to God
and claiming it to be theirs. We see this in moral issues on life and
marriage.
How do we render to
God what is God's? The first three commandments show us how. The
first commandment tells us not to have other gods. God has to be
number one in our lives. Everything should be based on God and
justice must be based on God's Law and not on the whims of men.
The second
commandment tells us to respect God's name. We should treat his name
as holy because God is holy. How may movies just through out the name
of Jesus as a curse? Respecting the name of God means respecting the
person. Disrespect for the name is disrespect for the person. The third
commandment is to keep holy the Sabbath. We honor God with our work
but we also honor God with our rest. By resting on Sundays, we do as
God did: stop creating and enjoy the beauty of creation. By resting,
we express our trust in the Lord's providence and we get a glimpse of
heaven.
Part of doing
justice to God is tithing. Tithing is giving part of our income to
God. It honors God by expressing our trust in him – that he will
give back more than what we offered.
Justice to men
allows us to respect the rights of others and promote peace and
equity with regards to persons and common good. This is covered in
the remaining seven Commandments. This virtue is based on the fact we
were created in the image of God and everyone is endowed with natural
rights. These rights are granted by God and not by any human state or
institution.
Lord, give us the
virtue of justice. Let us honor you by giving you what you deserve as
God: Our obedience to your word.
This is the TRUTH! And I pray that many people will be able to read this beautiful article and learn the TRUTHS of our Catholic faith.
ReplyDeleteTHanks Pete. God bless.
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