THE VIRTUE SERIES.
JUSTICE PART 2
How do we practice the virtue of Justice?
Last week in this series called the
Virtues, the virtue of justice was explained. In this week's post we
explore this virtue further by exploring:
- How do we render to God what is His due?
- How do we pay our debt?
- Why do we need reconciliation?
- How is generosity linked to the moral virtue
of Justice?
When we fail to render to God what is
His due, namely our worship, obedience and undivided hearts, we needed to be
reconciled to Him. There was a debt that needed to be paid before we could
enjoy friendship with God. The following three scripture passages provide us
with a clue as to how God reconciled us to Himself.
- John 3:16: God so loved the world that He gave
His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins, and whoever believes
in Him may not perish but inherit eternal life.
- 2 Cor 5:18-21: Jesus became the offering for
our sins, and through Him we are made right before God.
- Romans 5:18-19: By Christ's act of
righteousness, we are made righteous.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
God our Creator and Father has
rights. Let us examine what we owe Our Heavenly Father and how we can pay
this dept in practical ways:
- Matthew 6:24: We
owe God our undivided devotion and service, which can be paid through
frequenting the sacraments, prayer and service to our neighbour.
- Mark 12:32-33: We
owe God our love with all our heart and neighbour as ourselves. We pay our
debt by attending Mass, prayer, sacrificial service and corporal works of mercy.
- I Samuel 15:22: We
owe God our Father our obedience. Our debt can be paid by obeying the 10
Commandments ( not the 10 suggestions), and the moral precepts of the
Church, all for the love of Christ.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church no
2095 teaches us that the virtue of religion disposes us to give to
God what we owe Him as creatures. It should be noted clearly though that
the virtue of religion does not mean religiosity or religious addiction.
In Genesis 3:1-7 the cause of our
separation from God and our need for reconciliation is Pride, as it is the
root of all sin, most notably original sin. We may ask why God did not just
cancel our debt, rather than sending His Son to die for our sins. God is
perfectly just at all times, and therefore, He could not contradict Himself and
turn a blind eye toward our sin. God is just and He is the origin of this
virtue. This means that our sins had to be dealt with appropriately in order
for God to be true to Himself. Our response to God's gift needs to be
acceptance and gratitude shown in our lives through love and service to God and
to our neighbour.
GOSPEL APPLICATION
The story of the 'widow's mite' in Luke
21:1-4 teaches us:
- Jesus commended the widow's giving because she
gave all that she had as compared to the others who gave from their
abundance and not their need.
- Generosity is related to the virtue of justice
because, in being generous, we imitate God, who continues to lavish us
with graces and gifts. Generosity involves going beyond what we are
obliged to give, but giving freely and lavishly as Christians empowered by
grace.
- Our time, talents, resources and bodies are
the main areas of life that be offered back to God in a generous way.
As we continue on our Lenten journey,
let us practice the gift of the virtue of Justice in our lives, so that we may
give God what is owing to Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 may help us to
recognise the generosity of God.
" For our sake, He made him to be
sin who knew no sin,
so that in Him we might become the
righteousness of God'
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