Virtue, the embodiment of moral excellence and righteousness, is the fruit of progress in the pursuit of holiness. It is the habitual choosing of the good, according to reason, enlightened by faith. However, once we have resolved to pursue virtue in our lives we often encounter obstacles on the path. These obstacles are less obvious vices that endanger our souls in several ways. They tempt us due to our natural tendency toward self-love and comfort. They grow in strength and fuel other vices each time we give in to them. Just as one virtue tends to develop other virtues, the vices follow suit.
Let’s look at five common obstacles to acquiring virtue so that we can be on our guard against these enemies of the spiritual life.
- Venial Sin
- Tepidity of Spirit
- The Abuse of Grace
- The Predominant Passion
- Human Respect
Venial Sin: A Detriment to Spiritual Progress
Venial sin, although less serious than mortal sin, poses a significant obstacle to attaining virtue. The Doctors of the Church see it as the first obstacle to Christian perfection, warning that its detrimental effects on the soul cannot be overstated. Venial sins, often committed through negligence, ignorance, or inadvertence, can hinder the reception of graces from God and keep us from our goal of intimacy with Him. Because all sin is an injury to God, wounding His heart, we want to do as the Spirit tells us in the Song of Solomon (2:15) “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards . . . “ staying on guard against even the slightest of sins.
When we stop and consider the effects of sin, we should acknowledge that not just mortal sins but also venial sins caused the suffering of Our Savior. No heroic act of love by the saints, nor all the praises and worship of the angels could expiate in themselves one venial sin. Christ’s passion was necessary to atone for every one of them, including those we consider to be light or harmless. For this reason, we want to avoid excusing even what we think of as “small sins.”
While mortal sin kills the soul and separates it from God, habitual venial sin results in a sickness of the soul reducing our capacity for the grace we need to lead virtuous lives. It can diminish spiritual fervor, lower resistance to evil, and cool charity in our hearts. These detrimental effects result in the darkening of the intellect, diminishing our ability to comprehend supernatural truths, discern reality, and take the proper path in a given situation. Ultimately, by ignoring the dangers of venial sin we become more vulnerable to committing mortal sin.
It’s important to remember, however, that we have a fallen nature wounded by original sin. When we see our tendency to sin, we must keep our perspective in balance. Though we are charged in Sacred Scripture to fight our battle against sin in such a way as to win, we must guard against becoming discouraged in our fight. Saint Frances de Sales reminds us we should maintain a certain humble acceptance that, from time to time, we are going to fall and should not be surprised by it. This is why we have the beautiful sacrament of Reconciliation. A good confession restores our relationship with God.
Therefore, while we want to develop a healthy hatred of all sin, and never think of any of them as “no big deal,” let us not be tempted to despair. God loves us and understands our weaknesses. As we give Him charge of our lives, He will use even our sins to develop virtues within us, such as humility, compassion for others, and greater trust in His mercy.
Tepidity of Spirit: A Barrier to Fervent Devotion
Tepidity, an aspect of the vice of sloth, is a lethargy of spirit that interrupts our progress on the path to perfection and causes apathy in our devotions. It is characterized by a reluctance to practice spiritual exercises with diligence and purpose, leading to a lack of fervor and a diminished commitment to the pursuit of holiness. This vice fosters a lukewarm attitude that leads a soul into deliberate faults, interrupting the flow of graces that God in His goodness, would have otherwise granted. Tepidity obstructs spiritual progress and causes the satisfaction and comfort normally derived from prayer and devotion to weaken and fade.
The saints see the tepidity of spirit as particularly destructive because it yields to the devil himself, who looks for every opportunity to weaken our spiritual zeal and conquer us through self-indulgence.
Once fervor in the love and service of God is lost, the soul becomes spiritually blind and increasingly vulnerable to the temptations of mortal sin. It is the tepid soul to whom Our Lord refers when He says the formidable words, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth,” (Revelation 3:16).
Tepidity of spirit may present in the following ways:
- A lack of intention or carelessness when approaching Confession and Communion (a sort of going through the motions without a desire for devotion)
- Habitual laziness toward God and others and increasing concern for self-gratification
- Justifying sins like selfishness, gossip, or little deceits
We can fight against this obstacle by asking for the grace of zeal and attentively fulfilling our spiritual duties, such as Holy Mass, verbal and mental prayer, and regular spiritual reading. Along with these essential acts of devotion, attending a spiritual retreat can also re-ignite the fire of charity and fidelity to Christ in our hearts.
Abuse of Grace: A Hindrance to Spiritual Growth
The abuse of grace, wherein we fail to make proper use of the divine graces bestowed upon us, poses a significant obstacle to growth in virtue. This abuse prevents the reception of spiritual assistance and favors from God, ultimately impeding our progress in Christian perfection.
Without grace, we can do nothing to merit eternal salvation. To refuse the grace of God is to reject His loving providence and His inspirations. These superabundant graces may include a calling to the Faith or a vocation, holy guidance – such as a prompting to pray or do a charitable work, the inspirations of wisdom that may fight against an impetuous sin or imprudent action, and other graces that bring forth transformative effects in us and those around us.
How do we abuse Grace?
God gives us the grace each moment to turn to Him and choose His will. We abuse this grace by ignoring or resisting that interior prompting. But why would we resist these gifts from above? Perhaps because God’s inspirations are drawing us in a direction we do not naturally want to go, a direction that may require sacrifice and the giving up of some personal comfort. Or we may resist because we are distracted, lacking interior recollection, or because we are fearful or have become slothful in spiritual matters.
This is important to understand because one of the infallible ways of meriting more grace is having just cooperated with the grace given. Therefore, when it is ignored or rejected, the ultimate consequence is the loss or withdrawal of that grace and the other graces that would have followed it. Our Lord warned of this in the Gospel,
“For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 13:12, 25:29)
Ultimately, the loss of grace distances us from God’s presence and subjects us to evil, placing our souls in danger. Therefore, we should pray for the virtue of docility to cooperate with all of God’s graces out of love for Him and the care of our souls. And we can ask Our Lady, who is full of grace, to assist us.
The Predominant Fault: A Universal Enemy
The predominant fault sometimes called the predominant passion, is a deep-seated defect that gives rise to many other more apparent sins or defects. It harasses the soul and hinders its pursuit of solid virtue. This interior enemy subjects the soul to its powerful control because it is either imperceptible to us or, worse still, perceived as a strength. This makes it one of the most difficult and dangerous obstacles to spiritual advancement.
The predominant fault is particularly detrimental to our soul because we tend to be attached to it. It is a default response or defense that is so familiar, that it has become second nature to us. There is often a sense of self-preservation at the root of it. For instance, we rejoice when we escape evil or obtain an immediate good, and we may find ourselves in despair when encountering the opposite. Therefore, when a desired good or the threat of pain presents itself, our natural response will likely arise from our predominant fault. If our response either gains the immediate good, such as the approval of others, or frees us from a perceived evil, such as interior suffering, it is confirmed within us to be a strength or even a virtue.
The enemy of our souls uses our predominant fault against us in many crafty ways. Therefore, we must discover this formidable foe to our spiritual progress and take steps to overcome it. Let’s look at a few examples of this obstacle to virtue to begin understanding how it hides from us or deceives us into ignoring and continuing in it.
Pride – We may have the deep-seated fault of pride, yet we may be convinced that we are magnanimous and committed to excellence, “I want to be the best at all I do.” “I feel I can help others because I have gifts in these areas.” These are both meritorious thoughts. But if pride is at the root, it deviously gives rise to judgment, a sense of superiority, and an exasperation with the weaknesses of others. There is a lack of humility and acknowledgment of our great need for God’s mercy and grace. Thus we fail to appropriately assess ourselves in light of God’s truth.
Vainglory – This vice may look similar to pride but is more concerned with the good opinion of others and being recognized as important. It may feign a false humility or even charity – feeling concerned about others and their feelings or needs, but it is always aware of what others may think and often makes decisions based on those presumptions. Vainglory may give rise to resentment and envy when we experience the loss of human respect, or we see it given to another.
Fear – If our predominant fault is fear, it may be experienced as a vague sense of some possible future pain that cannot be avoided. This vice may disguise itself as prudence or a concern for the people close to us. However, those with this underlying vice will lack peace of soul and struggle with anxiety, control, manipulation of others, and deception, in the attempt to avoid the pain they would experience if the thing feared were to come to pass.
Anger – Individuals with the predominant passion of anger may see themselves as virtuous defenders of justice. And indeed they may have a true gift in this area. However, their indignance is always felt as justifiable in any given circumstance and it is difficult for them to see they may be misjudging a person or situation. Without self-reflection, those with this fault will likely fall into the vices of wrath, complaining, detraction, rash judgment, and lack of compassion.
These examples illustrate that our predominant fault produces many ancillary habitual vices. It is, of course, important to fight these related vices. But if we do not understand and temper the predominant fault – the one from which our habitual vices spring – we will have difficulty moving forward in true virtue.
How to Determine Our Predominant Fault
While there is not a single formula that we can apply to determine our predominant fault, the following steps may help to get us started.
- Ask for Light: The first thing is to ask God to give us light to see ourselves. We can do this any time in prayer, but right after Holy Communion is an especially fruitful time to ask Jesus to show us our predominant fault and give us the grace to overcome it. The insight may come to us in a way that humbles us and we may want to shrink from it. Nevertheless, if we can remain steadfast when God reveals the truth about this insidious fault, we can immediately get to work removing it from our lives.
- Reflect: Another helpful step is to ask ourselves, “What do I tend to think about or be preoccupied with when I’m alone?” “Where do my thoughts tend to go naturally when I am not focused on something specific?” “What tends to make me happy or sad?” Do our thoughts lead us to worry and anxiety or anger? Do we feel threatened by the good fortune or success of our neighbor? Carefully consider these questions and examine the source of emotions.
- Consider Intentions: A third means of identifying our fault is to reflect on the dispositions or intentions of our hearts. For example, if the intention behind many actions is to preserve reputation, we can recognize that our predominant passion may be pride or vainglory. Or if it is to arrange matters to our advantage, it may be envy or greed. Or if we are busy doing everything except what we should be doing, it may be sloth.
- Consider Sensitivity: It is also helpful to examine what most strongly influences the affections of the heart. What angers, intimidates, pleases, disturbs, or disquiets us? What temptations do I struggle against the most?
These prayerful explorations should eventually reveal our predominant fault. We can then begin to watch for it in our thoughts, words, and actions, and work to subdue it before it grows stronger. Making a specific resolution to fight against our fault by anticipating when it is likely to tempt us is very helpful. Having made our resolution, we can pray throughout the day, asking for grace to overcome the fault and practice the opposing virtue. Finally, a regular particular examen is beneficial, so we can assess whether or not we are keeping our resolution. Overcoming our predominant fault is a difficult battle, but one that we can win by asking for grace and keeping our gaze fixed on Christ.
Human Respect: A Barrier to Authentic Living
Human respect, the fear of what others may think or say, often leads us to compromise our principles and values, hindering the cultivation of virtue. This obstacle prevents us from living our faith authentically.
Many of us struggle with the desire to please people or the fear of displeasing them. This is not always negative. If we are young we should want to please our parents, or married, to please our spouses. However, when the pleasing of others tempts us to choose against God’s will, this becomes a vice. For example, the vice of human respect is what brought about the death of Christ Who was handed over by Pilot to be crucified. Pilot wanted nothing to do with the death of Christ but gave in because he feared Caesar and wanted to appease the Jews.
People are fickle and cannot be made happy for long. The saints frequently discuss that the tyranny of human respect keeps us in a degrading, never-ending servitude. This tyranny of the imagined opinion of others causes us to forfeit God’s favor and deprives us of innumerable heavenly gifts.
Cultivating the virtues of humility and mortification is very effective in fighting the temptation to give in to human respect. If we are criticized or insulted for not going along, we can join our discomfort with that of our sinless Lord, Who was calumniated, beaten, and insulted for doing the will of God and bearing witness to the Truth. We can also pray for the courage to choose the will of God in the face of human disapproval, and that our only concern may be to please the One Who laid His life down for us.
Fight the Good Fight
The obstacles to acquiring virtue pose formidable challenges to the life of grace and the pursuit of spiritual perfection. They are the dangers that threaten to steal our salvation. When the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, he is often using these means to do so. Recognizing the destruction and harm caused by these vices should keep us in prayer, asking God for the grace to identify the enemies of virtue in our lives and to conquer them without delay. Through prayer, resolute intentions, and invoking Our Lady and the saints we will obtain the grace to take up the battle against these obstacles and advance on the path to solid virtue.
