Truth from the Heart: the art of living

A Prescription for Senioritis

6:00:00 AMEmma Lindle

Senioritis. The phenomena of the student finishing her education without the same zeal with which
she began. The frenzy of perfect papers, the diligent studying, the upkeep and enthusiasm for the reading, all seem to be slipping away. There she sits. The senior. All that matters is getting things done, and a lot of time is spent planning and praying, dreaming and worrying, about the future.

But what does she miss out on? This phenomena is referred to as an illness after all.

College is the unique occasion where people are not living intergenerationally. One age group is living all together in a mass amount. Never again will a cafeteria exist where I can walk in and find people of the same age. Not only this, but the reason all of us are together is education. Maybe I’m an idealist, and maybe it’s true that it’s not only the senior who slacks in studying, but the potential for great meetings among friends with intellectual passion and care for life is a reality in college. It is of great value to me, and a reason many of us have discovered that this college debt is worth it.

The sufferer of senioritis misses the glory of the college culture.

You may object and say that the senioritis patient does see and experience the glory of all the people around her. In fact, this is who she spends most of her time with instead of her studies.
I say she is still missing out on the college culture because she is not really making herself a part of it. Being part of the culture means she has taken on the role of the student. The time given to study makes the time with friends all the more meaningful. She has material for some good conversation and a sense of dignity found in work which carries over to friendship.

The sufferer of senioritis also misses out on the last minutes of the game. The final home stretch. The growth in perseverance which does one well for any next stage of life. Finishing out strong builds strong character.

Why is senioritis so real? I don’t think the solution is just to pull up our bootstraps and hit the books. I think the first is a little understanding. The main motivating factor has been stripped from the senior. She has a job, or is in the process and she now faces her days with the question, “besides a future job, why did I chose to study this?” By answering this question the senior can begin fall in love with her studies again. This will help, but this illness runs deep and so will my prescription.

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What do I propose as the deep cure for this phenomenon?

Gratitude and the religious sense.

In the Art of Living by Dietrich Von Hildebrand, he describes the ungrateful person as “the person who remains on the periphery and takes everything for granted” (1). How easy is this to do as a senior. “I’ve worked so hard.” “My job isn’t hinging on this.” “I’m about to be separated from my friends.” With these thoughts, we’re taken from the vital center of our reality and placed on the periphery of our daily life.

Gratitude for our work, friends, and the knowledge gained will help, but a religious sense that all these things are given to us by something or someone greater will take us back to the vital center of our reality. It will help us love “the daily” again. “The daily” which our senioritis has taken us out of. “The daily” grind of our studies, relationships, work, and responsibilities which gives meaning to our lives.

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I was sitting at dinner with a another senior. I had just met her a few hours earlier. She studies architecture and was about to take a job. She had the perfect climate for senioritis to roll in, and yet weaved throughout our time spent together was the very present love she has for her work. At one point she described how her mind will be forming and finishing an architectural design in the middle of having a conversation with another person. Her studies were a gift to her, and after being struck by how her mind could work, it seemed only natural to connect these gifts with God. This gratitude must have been a pulling force for her.

At many points in our life we will need this experience of renewed religious gratitude for the daily. This healing brings transformation and rebirth. At many points we will face the symptoms of senioritis and be left without momentum for present life circumstances; right before we get married, transfers jobs, or move to a new town. Responding in these times with a renewed transcendent gratitude will cultivate in us a strong sense of what it means to be a person. When we hit midlife and there seems to be nothing on the horizon but a mysterious unknown, we must allow our personhood to become so intertwined with transcendent gratitude that only goodness and rebirth will flow forth from our sufferings. Edith Stein wrote a beautiful prayer on this rebirth after her own midlife crisis:

“Lord, is it possible that someone who is past
Midlife can be reborn?
You said so, and for me it was fulfilled,
A long life’s burden of guilt and suffering
Fell away from me.
Erect I receive the white cloak,
Which they place round my shoulders,
Radiant image of purity!
In my hand I hold a candle.
Its flame makes known
That deep within me glows Your holy life” (2)

The senior needs a rebirth, possibly her first, from the guilt and suffering of a life that doesn’t seem prepared for the future. The senior, through a religious gratitude, finds this rebirth. She is moved from her weaknesses to the givenness of her life. She can enter fully into the college culture, come to love her studies again, and finish the race.

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(1) Hildebrand, Dietrich. The Art of Living
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(2) Stein, Edith. Edith Stein Selected Writings, 61. Translated by Susanne M. Batzdorff.
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aesthetics Appreciation Attitude

The Mother of All Virtue

6:00:00 AMJonah Soucy

It’s a pretty big claim to say that reverence is the “mother of all virtues”. If you were to ask me an hour ago what virtue was the “mother” of all the rest, I’d think about it for a moment and then probably tell you that it’s ‘humility’ or ‘patience. But after reading a section from Dietrich von Hildebrand on reverence, I've been convinced that reverence is indeed the “mother of all virtues”, and I hope to show you why.

Reverence is a topic I’ve wanted to write about for some time now, because I don’t think many of us understand the term in its fullness. Too often we equate it with “seriousness” or “piety”. As a kid I remember the phrase “show some reverence” had pretty much the same meaning as “shut up”. But if we look at the definition of reverence, we see that what it really means is “deep respect for something or someone.” In other words, we can’t reduce it to a moment of silence held at the side of Uncle Billy’s coffin . True, this moment is a very reverent one, as long as it is directed towards the respect of Uncle Billy in some way. Later on, drinking a couple beers with the cousins and sharing “glory stories” of the adventures of Uncle Billy takes place. Has it ever crossed our minds that this too, is a form of reverence towards beloved Uncle Billy? I think that if we’re sticking with the definition laid out for us by the good ole Google dictionary, it is. Reverence does not need to be somber. There is something to be said about those moments of intimacy where that special, silent, kind of reverence needs to take place, but our reverent attitude is something that we can carry with us into every moment of our lives, including the crazy moments which seem so far away from the tender and intimate ones which we so often equate it with.

It’s for this reason that reverence can even be considered a “mother” of other virtues in the first place. It’s an attitude, and one that we can change almost at will. What it takes is a conscious choice in looking at the world in a certain way. It is by our attitudes that we grow in virtue. Virtue is not something freely given; it must be worked for. Here’s what Dietrich von Hildebrand, one of my favorite philosophers, has to say about it: “Reverence is the attitude which can be designated as the mother of all moral life, for in it man first takes a position toward the world which opens his spiritual eyes and enables him to grasp values.” (1) How often do we limit reverence to God and the deceased? At every moment beauty is screaming at us through all of creation. How many sunsets have we missed because we were too focused on getting through traffic? And how many people have we failed to give the time of day to because we simply don’t care or we have our nose buried in our phones? The reverent man takes the time to “stop and smell the flowers” so to speak.He is in touch with the depths of reality and aware of what is going on around him under the surface.

Well and dandy, you may say, but how does this translate to virtue? Reverence, simply put, is the first step. You can’t be virtuous if you can’t see or understand what a virtue is, and it is reverence towards the world of virtues which allows one to do so. The beautiful thing about reverence is that you don’t even have to be aware of it for it to be there. For some it comes more naturally than for others. A young child who seems to be naturally virtuous may not know the definition of ‘reverence’ or find a suitable definition of patience (one that doesn’t use the word ‘patient’), but he sure can tell you what it means to be a good person and tell you he wants to be one. That attitude is one of reverence towards the world of virtues.

The other beautiful thing about reverence is that in those who struggle with certain virtues, it is the beginning of our journey to acquiring them. It is the first step, and the one which we have the most control over. An intemperate or impatient temperament may be hard to overcome, but by choosing to see our flaws and taking a stand of respect towards the virtues we want to attain we can gain much strength in the battle for virtue. You hear coaches, parents, and teachers say all the time “what you need is a change in attitude”. Reverence is the very definition of that attitude we need to mold ours into.

Of course, like any good thing, there are dangers lurking around the corner ready to snatch it away at a moment’s notice. There are two vices which will kill any sense of reverence towards the world of values quickly. Von Hildebrand lists these two great obstacles: pride and concupiscence. On one hand, we have a man who thinks he knows all there is to know. He fails to see the mystery in creation, in virtue, in goodness. He “believes that he penetrates everything at first sight and knows all things right from the start.”(2) If you believe nothing is outside of your reach, you’re never going to actually be able to grab anything outside of your reach. The other great vice which keeps us from reverence, and consequently the other virtues, is only being able to see what is in his or her immediate interest. One who approaches life seeking the next big thrill, or seeking happiness for its own sake will fail to find it. One such as this approaches the world around him closed off to the intrinsic value it contains, outside of just what it contains for his or her person. A man who does this will only experience a fraction of the goodness in the world.

“To whom will will the sublime beauty of a sunset or the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven reveal itself, but to him who approaches it reverently and unlocks his heart to it?”

-Von Hildebrand, The Art of Living p. 9

Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living p. 4
Ibid. p. 5

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Dating dietrich von hildebrand featured

The Irreverent Narwhals: A Lesson on How and How Not to Date

6:00:00 AMBenjamin Klare

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Have you ever met a couple that spends all of their waking hours together? The ones you pass by in the hallway that seem to have forgotten that anyone besides themselves exist? The ones who spend so much time with one another that they have no time left for you? If you have, you may have actually encountered a narwhal.

At least, that’s what my friends and I have affectionately, or not so affectionately, named these couples. We call them narwhals because, in one sense, they are majestic and a rare thing of wonder (as we wonder about how they got to be like that). Yet, in another sense, they are completely strange and, quite frankly, entirely inexplicable.

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However, as magical as these things seem to be, let’s be honest, no one actually wants to be a narwhal or to be in a clingy relationship, right? I mean, I’d imagine the tusk/horn thingy would be incredibly annoying to swim around with, and although these overly-involved relationships can appear cute (sometimes), they tend to be a bit, dare I say, excessive.

Well, regardless of whether or not you fantasize about being a narwhal, I think that these “narwhal-like” relationships actually reveal a lot to us about ourselves. Though I’m sure everyone would agree with me that it’s a bad idea to become completely and utterly absorbed in a relationship, a lot of us have admittedly struggled to find balance between our dating relationships and our friendships. Reluctantly many of us will have to confess that this desire to spend every waking moment with our significant other can sometimes be all too real. But why is this?

I think this difficulty is rooted in the basic human desire for intimacy. More often than not, in one way or another, I think we find ourselves to be desperately yearning for authentic relationships. So, when we find someone who we can be truly intimate with, we cling to that person, often living in want of him or her, craving to be at his or her side every hour of the day, even to the expense of our other relationships.

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Herein lies the issue with many relationships: that the same persistent longing to share in the life of another (that is typically the impetus for starting a relationship in the first place) later becomes the cause of many of the relationship’s problems. In other words, often the same yearning that sparks intimacy, very easily becomes the thing that smothers it.

To explain further, let’s take a look at some typical relational flaws. I’m sure that at some point or another you have met those people or couples who are too controlling, clingy, speedy/rushed, worried, distant, permissive, flip-floppy, or flirty in a relationship. Although these relational flaws typically originate from a wholesome and good desire for intimacy, obviously somewhere in the relationship, this desire took a turn for the worse.

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Which leaves us asking, what caused this good desire to go from being helpful in starting relationships to being harmful in maintaining one?

In light of Dietrich von Hildebrand’s work The Art of Living, it would seem that much of these relational problems actually arise from what he would call ‘irreverence’.

Now I know this term ‘irreverence’ seems to have come from out of the blue, but bear with me for a second. For Hildebrand, the irreverent person is someone who “never gives situations, things, and persons a chance to unfold themselves in their proper character and value” (5). Hildebrand says that the irreverent person “comes too close to things, so that he does not give them a chance to reveal their true essence” (6). And doesn’t this sound like the problem in many relationships?

Take for example, those people who are clingy or controlling. Essentially, these people get “too close” to their significant other, to the point where they don’t give them the space to simply be who they are. The clingy person does this by smothering his significant other with an inordinate amount of attention. The controlling person does this by supervising and directing so much of the relationship, that the other person has no room to naturally be who he or she is. A similar thing can be said of those excessive worriers, who fret so much over the relationship that they restrict themselves and often their partner from simply being who they are.

Likewise, those people who are distant, “flip-floppy,” or permissive can also be said to be irreverent, but in a different way. Instead of getting too close they remain too distant. Perhaps out of worry, fear, doubt, or something of the like, these people wander too far from their significant other to even have a shot at getting to know them. Take the permissible person, for example. This person bends so much to the will of their significant other that truly they are not themselves but rather someone who their significant other wants them to be. Thus, they are not present before their significant other, but rather somewhere else entirely. Consequently, they are irreverent also towards themselves, masking who they are in fear and worry, refusing to reveal themselves to their significant other.

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These types of people then, truly, are incapable of having authentic relationships, at least to the fullest extent. Their insatiable desire for intimacy overwhelms them to such an extent that, in grasping for what they want, they stifle any chance or opportunity for truly encountering who it is they desire to come to know.

For Hildebrand, the best way to cure irreverence is through its opposite, reverence. He says that “when confronted with being, the reverent man remains silent in order to give it an opportunity to speak” (7). Instead of suffocating the beloved, the lover simply steps back, and gives the beloved the room and space needed to be who he or she is. “It is from reverence,” Hildebrand writes, “that there flows the willingness of a lover to grant the beloved the … space needed to express freely [his or her] own individuality” (9). Therefore, through reverence, the lover sacrifices the immediacy of relation for the authenticity and intimacy of a true relationship. And in so doing, the pair of them find themselves with what it is they always wanted: true knowledge of and relation with the other.

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Quite simply then, Dietrich von Hildebrand is making apparent to us through this concept of reverence that we have to give people space to be who they are. Thus, if we are truly interested in another person, we shouldn’t crowd them, but should approach them, preserving a reverent distance, allowing both them and ourselves the room to be who we are. Only in this can the other person come to know us and we them. Anything else would be irreverent, anything more or anything less and we will quickly find ourselves swimming in an ocean with a giant tusk stuck to our heads, having somehow metamorphosed into a narwhal.

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Want to keep reading about reverence?

Check out my editor, Catherine's blog on reverence here: "Restored: My Walk with Reverence"

Interested in the nature of non-dating relationships like friendship?

Check out my friend Emma's very popular blog on friendship here: "Friendship: I Don't Know What It Is, But I Need It"

Did you like the GIF?

Check out my friend Emily's art blog here: "Emily's Random Comix"

culture heroism love

Becoming a little hero

6:00:00 AMUnknown

It would be hard to deny that there is a tragic element to the human condition. Many rightly testify to the corruption our society has undergone; we look for nobility in our fellow men but we seldom find it. Since the dawn of time in dark and dismal circumstances mankind has believed in heroes that would take on the responsibility of saving the world. We do not dream up heroes solely for the sake of entertainment in a movie theater. Yet we appreciate even imaginary heroes because we know that the evils and hardships of our world must be changed.

Mankind recognizes the wrongness of evil and seeks deliverance from it. We are drawn to politicians who promise change, social groups which purpose reformation, even youtubers who inspire us with video montages. Whether it be the civil rights movement or rock ‘n’ roll, social change sparks a flame of justice within us. When people march down a street with picket signs in hand more times than not they are upholding a truth they believe in. We raise our fists and declare that certain things are unacceptable, unlawful, unjust. Yet, sometimes we fail to face these issues directly. Holding a picket sign is fine and dandy but if it is evil which is our enemy, than we must face it by placing love and virtue as our highest ranking duty.

(The Beatles holding ‘All You Need Is Love’ posters.)

We not only fail to take personal responsibility for the corruption of our world but more importantly, we fail to take personal responsibility for the change we wish to see. We pin responsibility on our politicians, social reformers, and the heroes which live no more. We love to quote Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King but we forget that these noble heroes and heroines are no longer living. We can no longer expect them to save us from the immorality that we've created. We should not idly sit and wait for the next Gandhi or for a masked vigilante to come and vanquish the evil in our country and in our neighborhoods. We must look in the mirror, and acknowledge the fact that if we only try, we as individuals can combat the evils that surround us. If there is one thing J.R.R Tolkien has taught me, it is that little hobbits such as myself, can save the world.

In almost every era a leading force of cultural change has been the youth. Yet, this does not mean that our youth understand what bringing about change demands of them. The problems of our country and our world cannot be solved without heroism and sacrifice. Nevertheless, it seems some youth attempt to battle an unjust reality simply by retreating from reality. So many flee from the needs of our time by seeking solace in the pleasures of a drug or alcohol induced euphoria, which promises an illusory enlightenment. Similarly many adults and clergy feel a sense of (false) comfort standing behind their pulpit or board room table. But reality must be faced. The problems of our world can not be fixed by passing around a joint or by preaching empty words from a pulpit.

Action and personal responsibility must be taken, not only by young “revolutionaries” but by our children, our parents, and our grandparents. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis created heroes to motivate us to “live like a Narnian even if there isn't any Narnia.” Fairy tales and superheroes were meant to compel us to face reality courageously not to retreat. Living with only the desire to appease ourselves with arbitrary pleasures is in no way a noble or valiant effort to promote change within our culture. One can not bring about the appropriate change in society if he does not have the integrity or grit to actively oppose the injustice which he is dissatisfied with. It seems that all those who wish to create change, myself included, have fallen into a rut perfectly described by a quote I once read, “The more we spoke the less we did, until we spoke about everything and did nothing at all.”

The solution to our angsty yet spineless activist’s problem is simple: responsibility. If change is so important to us then we must become responsible for making that change happen. But how can one bring about an end to injustice, hatred, and evil within our world if they do not believe in an alternative justice, love, and goodness which is objective? It seems that if I am to stand up to evil I must have more than just some vague idea of goodness. The men and women who achieved positive reformations within society, did not obey a relativistic idea of morality. Rather, they possessed a moral wakefulness crucial to having an awareness of responsibility. It is imperative that the senses of man be awakened to the world of values and morality if he is to take on the responsibility of making this world a better place. In The Art of Living, Dietrich von Hildebrand writes,

“He possesses that wakefulness towards the world of values which places his life under its sword of justice, which makes him at every moment aware of his position and duties in the cosmos, and which makes him realize clearly he is not his own master” (pg. 27).

Responsible men are aware that the perverted state of our society is a serious matter which must immediately be addressed. A responsible man understands what it means to ‘do what we can (and often more than we want to).’ The heroes that this world needs are simple folk like you and me. Men and women who “bear the seal of wakefulness, of earnestness instead of frivolity, of manliness instead of childishness” (pg. 31). Tolkien’s hobbits did not save Middle earth by hiding in the Shire, smoking their pipes, and drinking ale. On the contrary, while men were arguing over who should destroy the ring, a little hobbit stood up and accepted the dangerous task.

Let us accept this great responsibility of changing the world even if we are fearful, weak, or small in number. And as our inspiration let us look to little people like Frodo Baggins who exclaimed, “I will take it! I will take it! I will take the ring to Mordor...though I do not know the way.”

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Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1965) pp. 27-31.
Richard L. Purtill, Lord of the elves and eldils: Fantasy and Philosophy in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006) pp. 187- 191.

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being gratitude objective values

Terror of the Void

6:00:00 AMUnknown

An abyss of nothingness awakens in us the terror of the void.

My Father raised his glass and made a toast. “To God’s precious gift of life,” he said. But as the words passed his lips, he could not hide the emotion behind them. His eyes filled with tears as he honored the birth of a newborn child. Over the years my father has become a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and in his eyes. If you told him to keep a straight face as he gazed upon the newborn, you would’ve been asking the impossible from him. However, his response to the preciousness of the beautiful baby was not unique only to him. For, the proud mother and father were also taken back by the miracle in their arms.

The response which people give to the value of a newborn is a tender and moving sight to behold. It would be difficult and uncomfortable to conceive of treating a newborn baby with indifference and a cold heart. It is of vital importance that we apprehend values; that we are disgusted when man neglects to do so and inspired when he succeeds in doing so. The apprehension of values is the core of being. Without it there would be no dialogue between subject and object. It would be impossible for man to coexist within the world around him and likewise, impossible for him to seek transcendent knowledge.

Man responds to the world of values because it is of fundamental ontological importance that he do so. Neutrality and indifference rob the universe of the joy behind a baby’s first laugh, true love’s kiss, a tender embrace before a loved one dies. Grasping values is essential to our being and our nature. If we do not grasp values, we are failing to let our being flourish to its fullest extent. Dietrich von Hildebrand writes in his chapter on Gratitude in The Art of Living, “If the capacity for apprehending objective values were to be taken from man, he would be cut off from the innermost life of the cosmos” (pg. 106).

Consider how depressing it would be to live in a world in which everything were utterly neutral, in which everyone was indifferent. There is no joy or hope to be found in a world where everything is a subjective illusion. Why would I be joyful at the birth of a newborn baby if the event does not possess any deeper meaning than reproduction? If the material world is the only dimension of the universe, why would I hope that something or someone could prevent my beloved’s inevitable death? Hildebrand writes, “The inconceivable barrenness, the absurdity and nothingness of a world in which there is no objective value and disvalue, can hardly be imagined” (pg. 105). This inconceivable abyss of nothingness would frighten the skeptic on his death bed, afraid of the unknown and his finite ending. If he finds no deeper meaning during his life, the end of life carries no weight, only despair; his existence is coming to a complete stop. The abyss inhales faith and hope; exhales doubt and despair. Belief in this abyss of nothingness strips man of his meaning and substance, leaving behind only emptiness.

This is the abyss our culture lives in, when we prefer an illusion to the world of values. Yet, I venture to believe in a reality which possess intrinsic splendor, beauty, and mystery. The splendor, beauty, and mystery of a newborn baby experienced by my tearful father.

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Quotes: Pages 105-106. Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1965).

hope the art of living tragedy

Hope against hope

6:00:00 AMUnknown

As I sit here pondering the possible outcome of my final grades and GPA, I hope against all odds that my scores will exceed what I probably deserve. The reality of the situation is that I could have tried a lot harder in my classes. Yet, even though my lack of effort might be reflected in my grades, that does not stop me from hoping that I remain on the Dean’s List. This trivial example of hoping for better grades than one has earned is but a simple instance of hope. It is common to find in our human experiences that in the face of unfavorable ends I still hope for more agreeable yet seemingly unattainable ends. The experience of hoping for goodness in the midst of evil, light in the midst of darkness, health in the midst of illness, and life in the midst of death, is something we’ve all experienced.

If unexpectedly my beloved was struck with a fatal illness I would hope against hope that he would be miraculously healed. I would throw reason out the window so to speak and hope for an unlikely turn of events. Dietrich von Hildebrand in the Art of Living would say that such truly desperate situations “force me to transcend the rational sphere and to trust in the blinding light of a suprarational reality in which my hope is grounded” (pg. 93). No one can deny that this reaction is common and natural to us. Moreover, when we hope we are implicitly presupposing that we are not hoping in vain. We hope that something or someone has the power to make a difference. But, who or what are we placing our hope in? It seems that we do not place our hope in nothing but in Someone. Hildebrand believed that this “suprarational reality” in which we ground our hope is God. Hildebrand goes on to attest that when we tremble for the life of a beloved person, we transcend not only ourselves but the whole earthly reality and turn to an infinitely powerful Being.

We do not and will not accept the reality of evil as final (pg. 96). We revolt against even unquestionable and undeniable odds.

When I was a child I clearly remember the moment I was first told that my brother’s best friend had died. He was only 18 when he was diagnosed with cancer. It had only been a month since he was diagnosed and I was sure, as sure as any 11 year old could be of anything, that he would live. It seemed to me that everyone in the whole universe was praying for his healing and recovery. When my family received word that he had died, I didn’t believe it. In that initial moment I could not even cry because I had hoped against the indisputable odds that he would live. Even in that moment of knowing that he was dead, I still hoped. I wasn’t sure anymore what I could possibly be hoping for but I continued hoping…

Hildebrand perfectly phrased my 11 year old experience in the following way, “In hope...while seeing that, humanly speaking, a situation is doomed, I refuse to ‘close’ time, to ‘petrify’ the situation, to ‘freeze’ it in its tragedy” (pg. 97). After hearing the tragic news of my friend’s passing, I paced back and forth in my room angrily speaking to non-existent listeners, “He can’t be dead. He can’t be dead. He’s not dead. He’s not...he can’t be.” My attitude was defiant, I refused to allow the reality of the situation to have the last say in the matter. I wished to revolt against the certitude of death. My experience of hope was much like the hope I often read about in fairy tales. The prince is told that the curse is unbreakable and his princess will sleep forever. He searches every spell book looking for an antidote or cure, something telling him that true love’s kiss will lift the curse. He will not accept that his true love is dead. He will not let the story end in tragedy. Like the desperate prince, I would not accept that my friend was gone.

In hope, we transcend earthly, finite limitations, we liberate ourselves of the attitude of “it’s all over” and trust that this darkness will be changed into light, that this death is a passage toward resurrection (pg. 97). Hildebrand believed that when we hope we are responding to God, we are seeking the intervention of the Infinitely Good and Infinitely Merciful.

Hildebrand states that even when a theoretical atheist hopes, he has become a practical believer. “For in such moments he believes implicitly in the goodness of an infinitely powerful Being who can avert an evil or cancel a threat” (pg. 94).

A military leader once said that he never met an atheist on the battlefield. In desperate circumstances mankind hopes. Mankind hopes that, over and above the complex set of natural causes, there is a factor, a something, a Someone, that can avert the danger and overcome the evil.

We all have recourse to hope in times of trial and despair. Yet the question remains in our hearts: in Whom do we hope?

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Quotes and Paraphrases: Pages 94-97. Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1965) 48-49.

good goodness intrinsic good

To Love Goodness

6:00:00 AMUnknown

Despite all the characteristics and similarities which my mother and I share, I will never live up to her beautiful and radiant example. Although the way in which the corner of our eyes crinkle when we smile may be the same, my mother possesses a humble meekness which is all her own. When I think about my wonderful mother all I can focus on are our differences: how I wish my voice was as sincere, how I hope that someday I’ll be as confident, how I wish, if only I was still as naive, innocent, good,...as she still is.

I have learned over the years of striving to live up to my mother’s praiseworthy image that if it were not for the differences between us I would not have the same degree of profound respect and love for her. Her goodness which radiates through the tone of her voice, her smile, her actions surpasses my own feeble attempts at goodness. For, all the moments I can not relate to my mother, are the moments where I strive to better myself to become more like my mother, to essentially love better. It seems I tend to merely like what I can relate to but I love what I can not always relate to. My friend tells me that she too, often argues with her parents and I find the fact that we sin in common very relatable and agreeable. Yet, my friend’s example does not inspire me to better myself despite that fact that I find her relatable. However, when I witness my mother avoid watching a television show that I myself would not have avoided watching, I marvel at her integrity, a integrity which I sometimes lack. I may not be able to always relate to my mother’s attributes but her example inspires me to gain those attributes which I sometimes lack. I may like my friend’s relatableness but I love my mothers ideal goodness. There is a greater depth and profundity to the respect I have for my mother because she is an example of the goodness which I aspire to achieve.

If my mother sought to become more relatable to me and morally stoop down to my level I would no longer have a source of motivation to better myself. Her goodness which transcends my own is a beacon in the dark which beckons me to transcend my mediocrity. Her goodness is crucial in my life, for by it I can clearly see the imperfections of the world around me. How tragic would our lives be if amidst the chaos, selfishness, and suffering there were no moments of true goodness radiating from moral human beings as a source of hope. When a stranger risks his life to save his fellow man from great peril, most would respond with, "there's hope for humanity!" Without these clear examples of goodness could anyone even be moral?

Too often there are lesser goods and even things which are very much morally wrong which distract me and entice me. However, at the end of the long day of temptations, sinning, and losing hope, the goodness I find in my mother remains and I respond. I respond to her goodness with love. It seems that the two go hand in hand. Dietrich von Hildebrand in The Art of Living beautifully describes this as such;

"Love is, as it were, flowing goodness, and goodness is the breath of love" (pg. 48).

Hildebrand appoints goodness as the queen of all virtues. Goodness is at the very center of the moral life and is its most sublime fruit.(pg.48) There is no better way to respond to goodness, ‘the fruit of fruits’, the fruit from which all other fruits grow, than with love. When I love my mother, she stands before me: precious and noble. Not because of her attributes or characteristics but because she, as a human being, possesses intrinsic preciousness and contains value in and of herself. My love for her is not wrapped up in a specific word spoken. On the contrary, my love for her is a gift of my heart to her. Due to my great love for her I wish to protect her, cherish her, and heap only good things upon her (pg.49).

Consider the many moments in our lives when you are grateful for the example of goodness expressed by another. Whether it is the doctor who sincerely cares for the health of your dying child or the man before you in the drive thru who pays for your meal. Now consider how many times you have responded to goodness in general. It seems that we take goodness for granted and fail to respond whatsoever, let alone respond with love. Often we complain about the morally corrupt state of our neighbor, our society, our country, our world. We hypocritically chastise and blame those who we believe to be the root of immorality and corruption.

In the words of one Michael Jackson song "start with the man in the mirror." When we witness the goodness of another we must respond with veneration, gratitude, obedience and love. Likewise, we must respond to the morally good action. It is when circumstances are covered in darkness and you are steeped in the thick mud of temptation that the intrinsic beauty of goodness must be affirmed, defended, and protected. J.R.R. Tolkien's readers would have been appalled if on the way to Mount Doom to destroy the ring, Frodo would have given up, and succumbed to the tempting powers of the ring. Tolkien's stories would not have had the same impact upon his readers if there were not sources of goodness which radiated through the darkness: examples like Galadriel, Gandalf, Frodo and Samwise. That which radiates goodness should be responded to with gratitude and love. It would be shameful if I did not respond to the goodness of my beloved mother. Surely, it is tragic when one spits in the face of goodness.

What would this world come to without goodness? When dark and evil times come to pass who will be there to ensure that goodness still remains?

Image 1: source

Image 2: source

Quotes and Paraphrases: Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1965) 48-49.

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