| A Brief Review of The Virtues Reviewed by Shaun C. Brown. |
The Virtues is a collection of short pieces by Pope Benedict XVI, and edited by Jacquelyn Lindsey. After an introduction written by the editor, the volume consists of excerpts from writings, speeches, homilies, and prayers of the current pope on the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) and the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance), as well as some definitions of virtue and the virtues from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Scripture. Lindsey edits an introduction to both the theological and the cardinal virtues, and devotes a chapter to each of the seven virtues.
Lindsey edited the volume because, “The world would do well to focus more intently on the Theological and Cardinal Virtues” (9). The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his senses and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions” (CCC 1803). Lindsey edited a volume on virtue using the work of Pope Benedict XVI because “he has regularly woven the them of the virtues throughout his writings and speeches” (9). This is illustrated by the fact that his first three encyclicals, Deus Caritas est (“God is Charity/Love”), Spe Salvi (“Saved in Hope”), and Caritas in Veritate (“Charity/Love in Truth”), have dealt with the virtues.
The Virtues does not function like a “hot to” or a self-help book, but as a devotional on the virtues. Pope Benedict does not discuss the virtues abstractly. He roots the virtues in the person and work of Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church and her worship, and the lives of the saints. He discusses the virtues in relation to all of life, from issues concerning the church’s mission and evangelism to critiques of secularism.
While some Protestant readers will be uncomfortable with some of the Pope’s perspectives on Mary, prayer to the saints, or purgatory, The Virtues offers all Christians some accessible but theologically rich teaching on the virtues and their centrality to the Christian life. Interested readers should not only read some of Pope Benedict XVI’s other writings, but also read N.T. Wright’s After You Believe and book III of C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity for more on the importance of the virtues to Christian living.
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Shaun C. Brown is Associate Minister of Youth at Central Holston Christian Church in Bristol, TN, where he lives with his wife Cassandra and cat Tonks, and blogs at Battle Against the Bewitchment of Intelligence.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
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