What is the Meaning of Life?

What is the meaning of life? This is a question that has plagued mankind for millennia in his unending search for the truth about his existence. It is a question that can only be answered by philosophy and theology as these two areas of study deal with our understanding of God, the world He has created, and our place within it. It is a simple question with an equally simple answer, yet there are many in our society today who are unable to recognize this. Such is the consequence of a culture dominated by personal feelings and ideological subjectivism.

Ultimately, the true meaning of life is bound up within the very nature of man, for he was created to glorify God by living virtuously. Often defined as a good habit, virtue must form the foundation of every aspect of our lives if we expect our lives to be rightly ordered. Indeed, for a man’s life to be rightly ordered, he must live according to his nature, which is “to know the truth and to seek the good.”[1] In view of this fact, it is little wonder that modern society has experienced a steady decline in happiness and wisdom despite its rapid accumulation of scientific knowledge. Mere secular knowledge is not enough to bring man true or lasting happiness. For this, he requires the acquisition of virtue. A.G. Sertillange subordinates knowledge to virtue when he says, “virtue potentially contains intellectuality, for, since it leads to our end, which is intellectual, virtue is equivalent to the supreme knowledge.”[2] Thus, the truest form of knowledge, which alone can make one wise, is the knowledge of virtue, properly understood and applied to one’s life. I think, therefore, that it would be profitable for each of us to here conduct a self-examination with regard to our own practice of the three types of virtue—Intellectual, Moral, and Theological—focusing primarily on the various ways in which we may develop these virtues.

Intellectual Virtue

The three divisions of Intellectual virtue are Understanding, Knowledge, and Wisdom. Understanding is the ability to interiorize fundamental truths or principles. It provides the foundation upon which the virtue of Knowledge is based. Knowledge itself is the virtue by which we comprehend certain, objective truths, whereas Wisdom is the ability to integrate and apply our understanding of the knowledge we have acquired in practical and virtuous ways.

Intellectual virtue as a whole implies many things. Certainly, it means the ability to acquire much knowledge and understand various truths or principles. It is more than this, however. At its core, intellectual virtue is the ability to think rightly. All men possess the ability to think, and many have possessed it to a superior degree, but comparatively few men have possessed the wisdom to think virtuously. Yet to think virtuously is of the utmost importance for a man, for:

“we think … with our whole being. Knowledge involves everything in us, from the vital principle to the chemical composition of the least cell … How will you manage to think rightly with a sick soul, a heart ravaged by vice, pulled this way and that by passion, dragged astray by violent or guilty love?”[3]

Sertillange is correct in saying that the act of thinking is a process which involves our whole being and, as such, carries with it some significant connotations for the individual person. In essence, how I think is how I am. My identity is largely defined by the manner in which I reason, for it is reason which governs my actions as a human being. In view of this, it is not unreasonable to state that much of the contemporary decline of modern society is due, in part, to the unfortunate fact that people have lost the art of reasoning correctly. And they have lost the art of reasoning because they have lost the possession of virtue.

Sertillange also calls attention to what is arguably the most destructive error of our modern age; namely, the tendency to place feelings above reason, a philosophy which breeds only vice and unhappiness:

“All contemporary psychologists are in agreement here; the fact is plain to see, admitting of no doubt. The ‘psychology of the feelings’ governs practice, but also, to a large extent, thought. Knowledge depends on the direction given to our passions and on our moral habits. To calm our passions is to awaken in ourselves the sense of the universal; to correct ourselves is to bring out the sense of the true.”[4]

What do we see in 21^st Century America if not the exaltation of one’s own, subjective feelings at the expense of the objective truth or good? It is true that most people today do not even believe such a thing a truth, virtue, or goodness exists. We live in an age that has been overtaken by the philosophy of relativism. Yet on the same token, bizarrely enough, it is also an age in which factual scientific knowledge is upheld as the sole, objective standard on which we are expected to base our subjective moral decisions.

A dramatic change is certainly needed in our society if we truly expect to ever return to virtuous thinking. But of course, a society is made up of individuals and can only be changed one person at a time. If such is the case, then what better place to start if not with myself?

Moral Virtue

All moral virtue may be summarized as contained within the four cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude. Prudence, of course, is the ability to make wise and correct decisions. This ability informs the virtue of Justice to give everyone what is due to them. Temperance regulates our desires so that they are in accord with right reason, while Fortitude enables us to implement each of the former virtues with courage and perseverance.

As much as intellectual virtue is crucial for a man’s life to be rightly ordered, even more crucial is the possession and exercise of moral virtue. The type of virtue which governs man’s actions, Sertillange describes it as “nothing else than desirable good measured by reason and set before the will as an end.”[5] Whereas intellectual virtue enables man to think rightly, according to the order of reality, so moral virtue enables him to act rightly, according to the purpose for which he was created. This second type of virtue is perhaps the most lacking of the three in our modern age, as we are consistently saturated by sin under the guise of cultural goods and services i.e. abortion, gay rights, pornography on demand, vulgar language used to convey a point, the exaltation of self-indulgence, the denial of the transcendent, etc. Indeed, to the degree that moral virtue is lacking in a society, to the same degree will intellectual virtue be lacking, for all virtue is derived from God, and one form cannot truly be possessed without also possessing another.

Unlike intellectual virtue, moral virtue cannot be obtained through study. Knowledge can be obtained and applied to one’s understanding of morality but knowledge itself can never produce moral virtue. It can only be developed through a relationship with God, and a relationship must be maintained.

Accordingly, Fr. Garrigou Lagrange O.P. describes how the three stages of the interior life each correspond to a particular degree of moral virtue. Describing as “beginners” those who are just starting to develop their relationship with God, Garrigou defines the first stage as “the transition from the state of sin to the state of grace, whether by baptism or, in the case of those who have lost their baptismal innocence, by contrition and sacramental absolution.”[6] Thus, when we speak of evangelizing the culture with the intention of converting sinners, we are speaking of this first stage of conversion, wherein a person first acquires or reacquires moral virtue. Presuming that a soul can persevere in this first stage and not turn back to sin, it is inevitable that his relationship with God will be tested, for the first stage is often one of immense spiritual consolation, designed to attract the soul and shift its focus from sin to God. The danger of such a relationship lay in the fact that the soul will begin to expect consolations from God for their own sake. He will begin to converse with God simply for the sake of the pleasure he receives from his prayer, thereby undermining the basis of the relationship itself. In order to prevent this, God will eventually withdraw His consolations from the soul such that the soul is forced, hopefully, to grow out of its spiritual childhood into the second stage of the interior life, which Garrigou defines as the stage of the “proficients.”

“The mentality of proficients, like that of the preceding [beginners], must be described in function of their knowledge and love of God. With their self-knowledge there is developed in them a quasi-experimental knowledge of God. They know Him, no longer merely in the mirror of the things of sense or of parables, but in the mirror of the mysteries of salvation.”[7]

The proficient soul no longer perceives God in terms of mere consolation and sweet spiritual feelings. Rather, he has come to appreciate God in terms of the deeper truths and mysteries which He has revealed in His infinite love. With this deepening of his spiritual life comes a corresponding increase in moral virtue, for the more intimately he comes to understand Who God is, the more he will become aware of his own failings and imperfections, which in turn, he will then desire to correct. While this stage of the interior life is certainly a laudable achievement, Garrigou still likens it to a kind of spiritual “adolescence,” for the soul at this stage still loves God in terms of His mysteries and attributes. He has not yet matured to the point where he can love God as He is in Himself, apart from anything else besides.

This would be the defining characteristic of the third and final stage of the interior life, which Garrigou defines as “the perfect.”

“They know God with a knowledge which is quasi-experimental and almost continuous; not merely during times of prayer or the divine office, but in the midst of external occupations, they have a constant sense of the presence of God. Whereas at the beginning man had been selfish, thinking constantly of himself and, unconsciously, directing all things to himself, the perfect soul thinks constantly of God, of His glory, of the salvation of souls and, as though instinctively, causes all things to converge upon that end.”[8]

Analogous to spiritual “adulthood,” the perfect stage of the interior life requires the highest degree of moral virtue to achieve, for this is the stage wherein a soul loves God with his whole being and devotes his every thought, word, and deed to the task of making God known and loved by others. His communion with God is so intimate and profound that he can even maintain his connection with God in the midst of earthly cares and preoccupations. Nothing can shake his love for and trust in God, and the thought of sin, once alluring, he now finds utterly repugnant and rejects with all his strength. This is indeed that lofty stage to which only a few have ever climbed, and which requires an abundance of grace, time, effort, and perseverance in order to achieve.

Theological Virtue

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Faith, Hope, and Charity as the three, supernaturally infused, theological virtues. Given to us at our Baptism, these theological virtues are the foundation on which intellectual and moral virtue is based. Specifically, the Catechism states that “the theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character.”[9] It is impossible to exercise any other virtue apart from these, especially the virtue of Charity, which is the only theological virtue that we will retain after death. For, as Faith is the virtue by which we believe in God and the truths He has revealed to us, it follows logically that Faith will no longer be needed once we take possession of God in the Beatific Vision. So too, the virtue of Hope will no longer be needed once the ultimate goal of our Hope is attained in Heaven. Charity, however, endures eternally, for God Himself is love, and it is God to Whom we are united in Paradise. Unless, according to St. Paul, we possess this greatest of the three theological virtues in life, all other manifestations of virtue will be devoid of meaning.[10]

It is not difficult to understand how dramatically modern society has declined in moral and intellectual virtue once we are made aware of how lacking in theological virtue our society truly is. As we live in a world where atheism is extolled and Faith is mocked; where Hope is reduced to mere earthly pursuits; and where Love is regarded as nothing more than a biochemical reaction, it is little wonder that there abounds evil and confusion on an unprecedented scale. In light of this unfortunate fact is yet another reason why individuals like myself are in some sense obligated to develop theological virtue within ourselves and to exploit every opportunity to foster it in others

It is difficult to preserve the flame of Faith as a blazing fire when the winds of temptation and secularism are constantly laboring to extinguish it. It is difficult to cling to Hope in the midst of what appears, from a purely human standpoint, to be a losing battle against the tide of sin and deceit unleashed from the gates of hell upon a world which denies the existence of the former. Perhaps most difficult of all is to show forth authentic Christian Love to an ever declining humanity which has become enslaved by its own egotism. Yet practice these virtues we must, if we are truly to be called Catholic. The beauty of the Cross lay in God’s ability to take the most hopeless of all situations and turn it around for the ultimate triumph of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Going forward, I hope to grow in the theological virtues through sheer necessity, as it is impossible to maintain a solid spiritual life without them.

Conclusion

Having begun this discussion with the that first, fundamental question about the meaning of life, and having answered that question by examining the various types of virtue, which alone can make man happy, I think it would it would be beneficial here to close with a simple explanation of precisely why virtue is so necessary in the life of a man.

The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, from whom St. Thomas Aquinas drew many of his insights, is well-known for his statement that “man is a rational animal.” The intellect and the will are the two quintessential elements that separate man from the animals, and these two elements are precisely the reason that virtue is necessary for a man to think and act well.

Those who purport that man is really nothing more than a soulless, highly-evolved monkey fail to recognize that even our secular legal system seems to indicate the opposite. Put a monkey on trial for stealing a purse and no one will take the proceedings seriously. This is simply because an animal cannot be held accountable for its actions, seeing as it does not possess a rational intellect to comprehend its actions and therefore lacks an informed will to govern them. But place a human on trial for even a petty crime, and suddenly the entire dynamic changes. It is immediately understood that this person possesses the ability to think and to choose rationally and freely. He is therefore acquitted or punished based on the circumstances of the crime itself we well as his motivations and the surrounding circumstances of the occurrence.

It is by means of his intellect and will that man is differentiated from the animals. Because he is a rational creature, man can only find happiness in knowing the truth and seeking the good. While mere animal happiness is determined by the satisfaction of their bodily cravings, man’s happiness possesses a spiritual dimension which precludes the possibility of happiness apart from virtue. Only when society rediscovers this fact will it be able to recover from its present state of moral decline. This, therefore, is the reason that virtue is no necessary in the life of a man, because if there is no virtue, there is no happiness, either in this world or in the world to come.

[1] Professor John Kincaid, “Introducing Life at JP Catholic and its Promises and Challenges.” (lecture, John Paul the Great Catholic University, Escondido CA, October 1, 2014).

[2] A.G. Sertillange. The Intellectual Life: It’s Spirit, Conditions, Methods, 17. Washington D.C: Catholic University of America Press, 1987.

[3] Ibid, 20-21.

[4] Ibid, 21.

[5] Ibid, 23.

[6] Fr. Reginald Garrigou Lagrange O.P. The Three Conversions In The Spiritual Life, 82. Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books and Publishers, 2002.

[7] Ibid, 88.

[8] Ibid, 94.

[9] CCC, 1813. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

[10] 1 Cor. 13:2