TrueManhood’s Guide to Virtue
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LEARN VIRTUE, LIVE VIRTUE!
Man up!
What Does it Mean to Be Manly?
I came across a few videos today on YouTube that were a bit frustrating to watch. I’m not posting them here because 1. they are frustrating 2. they are inappropriate for my site and 3. I don’t want to promote the males that made these videos. What I found in these videos was a misconstrued image of manliness, but not in the normal sense (aka – “cultural manliness”, as I refer to it –> money, power, women, stuff…) but in a sense of bashing overly manly activities, ideas, thoughts and practices. Taking it to the other extreme; calling men to be more feminine. Yuck.
Let me make it clear to the readers of this blog what I mean when I say words like MANLY, MANLINESS, TRUEMAN, TRUEMANHOOD, etc. In essence, I mean virtue. In none of the three videos that sparked this post did they ever mention anything about virtue. It might get old hearing about virtue, and yes, I write about it frequently, but virtue = manliness. TrueManliness. Plain and simple.
Others can blog/vlog about whatever they want, but when it comes to talking about manliness, they aren’t my compass. My compass points are Christ and St. Joseph, combined with other saints and men who are alive (both literally and figuratively) in the faith. These men live(d) out “the greatest of these” – Love. Prudence, Temperance, Justice, Fortitude, Faith, Hope and Love. Live them.
If you would like a copy of some virtue materials, contact TrueManhood.com at proveritasspeakers@gmail.com.
Man up!
7 Days of Virtue; Day 2 – Justice
Think of virtues like your muscles. You work your muscles out so that they can perform for you when needed. Virtue is the same way. You practice, work on the virtue and then, when the time comes, the virtue is there and ready.
Day 2 of the 7 Day Journey through the Virtues: DAY 2 – JUSTICE.
Justice is the good due to others. This removes the emphasis from self and places the emphasis on others. Overemphasis on rights misses the concept of justice. There are seven sub-virtues of Justice:
- Honor – recognizing the worth (value) of something. In ancient times, if something was weighty, it was valued (ie: gold). In ancient Greece, dishonor was symbolized by mist or steam.
- Religion – a head virtue. Habitually honoring and praising God in all we do.
- Piety – Honor and Service. Honor through obedience and respect.
- Observance – honoring our leaders/those in positions of authority over us. Observing the office they hold.
- Gratitude – honoring our benefactors. St. Thomas Aquinas suggested that we 1. Recognize the favor 2. Express thanks 3. Repay the favor.
- Kindness – intending comfort/pleasure for those around you. Anticipating others’ needs, habitually.
- Truth – our words and deeds correspond to reality. We owe reality to one another.
Practically, I am a justice-seeker, meaning that if I see someone who is not receiving “the good due to them”, I tend to step in and make it right. I’ve done this since I was a kid – if I saw someone bullying someone, I stepped in and forced the bully to respond to me. (Most often, the bullying stopped.) Knowing this, regularly for me, seeking justice can easily overlap with anger, which is dangerous. We want to afford people with the ability to receive the good that is due to them, yet we must be careful of how we go about that. Use the virtue of prudence to know when to purposefully seek justice and when to not step in.
Man up!
A TrueMan is Virtuous – the start to a 7 day look at Virtue
***My apologies for the delay in posting over the past few days, I was on retreat all weekend and away from technology.***
Virtue (in Latin: virtus) means manliness. In order to truly be manly, we must possess virtue. Virtue means having the “firm and habitual disposition to do the good”. If a man possesses the virtue of Courage, that means that he’s courageous 1. with joy 2. with ease 3. promptly and 4. consistently. Every time, without fail. In order for a man to gain virtue, he must practice. He must also ask for God’s grace to help him acquire virtue. (Note: women can attain virtue as well, and it doesn’t mean that they become manly.)
I’m kicking off a 7 day look at virtue, starting tomorrow. I’ll dive into each of the 4 Cardinal Virtues and each of the 3 Theological Virtues, one each day. Prudence, Justice, Fortitude & Temperance and Faith, Hope & Love. If you want to be a TrueMan, become a virtuous man.
Man up!
