The Learning of a Heavenly Virtue
Posted on 08. May, 2009 by Deb in Observations, The Girl
Early Christian teachings focused on seven deadly, or cardinal, sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. In 410, Prudentius wrote of the battle between these sins and “heavenly virtues” in his epic Psychomachia. The Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the virtues in positive contrast to the sins. These virtues are: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness and humility. The 8th virtue, by the way, is justice. We tend to hear more about the sins, I think, especially in classic writers like Dante and Chaucer.
I mean to write about the virtue of patience today. But as it tends to do when left on it’s own, my mind twists and turns. I begin to wonder who first said that Patience is a Virtue. At least now I know, that it was Prudentius.
I have always considered patience to be an outstanding virtue, though it has never been one of my strongest. Patience is difficult to learn, especially in a society that values instancy. Being a child of the 70’s, I can recall life before microwaves and computers and cell phones. I had pen pals and books and remember waiting for dinner to be cooked. I have at times fallen into the trap of the instant. I worry, at times, that my children will never understand that sometimes the best rewards in life can be found when you wait for it them My oldest may learn this, however. As a Culinary student, she is finding that slow, old-fashioned cooking is much better than what is thrown into the microwave.
Patience, while not perfected, is a virtue appearing in my life more often. Adding meditation to my daily routine has helped foster that growth. So has the practice of abstaining from eating meat on Friday’s. Especially when my children make tempting dishes. I am learning I can wait for the leftovers on Saturday instead, savoring he flavors and the care that went into the dish. I must say, patience seems almost out of reach on days in which I get my nails done and have to wait for them to dry. And then suddenly, I am rewarded when I realize that my nails are dry. There are other rewards in patience beyond my gluttonous lust for foods and a cute manicure. The greatest of these is Love.
Love, you see, is a reward of patience that demonstrates why early philolsophers considered it a heavenly virtue. It just took me 41 years to learn.