Theology of the Mosaic

It’s time to go deeper in the way we foster virtue in our communities. Name any cardinal virtue (temperance, prudence, fortitude, justice) and almost everyone will describe these– still very important abilities– through the lens of discipline. As you may have noticed from the reflections page, I believe we can learn about virtue by studying mosaics.

The virtues reflect the idea that we’re all made in the likeness and image of God. Each of us are

like a singular tile in a beautiful mosaic. We become more who we were made to be through harmony with “the other” to reflect back this image of God. No one tile in a mosaic, regardless of how much gold is painted on it, makes a beautiful complex picture. Similarly we only become more ourselves through relationships and responsibility for others, without trying to possess or overshadow them.

But growing up, virtue was taught to me like a list of good and bad habits. No wonder it’s hard to convince people that a virtuous life is a happy life. If the virtue of chastity is reduced to a suppression of our desires it can create a breeding ground for abuse and power dynamics.

Sometimes we talk about integrating our desires in a healthy way, but the conversation typically falls back to a focus on self-mastery.

Unfortunately, we often obsess about vice. We obsess about ourselves.

I talked about Saint Bruno in the previous post, and fully believe that the self-denial he preached remains important to this day. But what is its context in the society where we live today? How does it help create the Christian encounters that are absent from society?

Instead, if we want to thrive in the modern world, we have to graduate away from what Charles Taylor calls the honor society (compliance, rank), and instead become the dignity society (discovering God through others, by regarding their differences as gifts in God’s image).

Virtues, less so about their moderation, should be about orienting our lives toward sacramental encounters. It’s about holiness (a process of becoming). And our success orienting ourselves toward becoming holy will have its ups and downs. That’s where we humbly ask God for forgiveness and help.

Saint Thomas Aquinas focused a lot on desires and whether they are “ordered” or “disordered.” Briefly summarized in modern English, it seems he was almost always making a distinction between “harmony” and “possessiveness.” So we can start with understanding our virtuous desires as a drive toward positivity and stability – not just of ourselves– for the greater good.

With virtue, the goal should become a co-creation. God gave us gifts and talents. He divinely created a unique identity for us, that through our Baptism, calls us to be a beacon of light in the world. The very existence of marriage in nature and in the Church is a de facto recognition that we are made for others. We become more ourselves through our relationships with others.

There’s a sort of completeness that cannot be obtained in life by solely being by yourself.

For example in marriage, the sacramental encounter is recognized by the freely given & total unity of two people, with all of their differences. The differences found in the bride and groom matter, as it gives life to their pursuit of virtue. And in their daily lives as a couple, regardless of whether the couple has sex or not, they are called to will the good for the other. The main difference between charity and chastity is the transformative desire to transmit love through the dignity of the physical human body. And, whether by giving birth or adoption, a couple can become witnesses to the fruitfulness of God’s abundant blessings on his family.

In many marriages, a time may arise when one partner experiences less interest in sexual intimacy. This does not diminish the sacramental nature of the marriage. Blessed by the Church, the success of the marriage ultimately rests on the couple’s ongoing commitment to encountering God’s divine love through each other.

Particularly after the grave sex scandals in the Church, fewer and fewer people believe the line that pornography contributes to harming the person on film. And it’s complicated. Just as there is evil trafficking in persons for this industry, there are also a lot of people who have sustained a taxable living and have newfound stability because of their OnlyFans account.

But whether it is harmful is entirely the wrong question. In what sense by watching videos are we orienting our lives to encounter the other person? Or does that action look inward, at the desires of the self? How do our actions seek the full dignity of the person on the screen?

Consider a cooking video on YouTube instead. By watching and learning, we gain valuable knowledge from the instructor. This interaction fosters a sense of connection and mutual growth, aligning more closely with virtuous behavior.

But even that misses the mark when we aim to make a virtuous society through co-creation. A self help course is still a focus on myself, or even asking what can I do to become a more virtuous person limits my ability for growth in holiness.

In Acts of the Apostles, Saint Peter is called by the angel to go visit the pagan Cornelius. The pagan, in all of his differences from the newly formed Christian community, was not appropriate to go visit. The angel assures him that what God has made clean, you are not to call unclean.

Peter relented and both men ended up learning unexpected lessons from the other. Saint Peter, already Pope at the time, continued his journey to holiness by being close to “the other.”

God reveals himself to us through others. Someone different than us. The differences are to be respected and admired, as they reflect God’s creativity. Our duty is to find a way to co-create with the other, and to take responsibility, willing the good for all those we encounter.

Although our lives are much more online these days, a life of virtue means going out into our communities and trying to create these Christ-like interactions.

Chastity, fortitude, prudence, and justice help us appreciate those moments more. We learn from one another, and inspired by a eucharistic transformation, now have the fuel to go out and contribute our gifts to the world. We focus on vice too much partly because it’s clearer. It is easier to judge. And it is easier to condemn than it is to orient a life of virtue.

Just as Bruno sought to create new Christian encounters for the society he lived in, we too have spiritual gifts to offer back, if we can dare to be better than before. We must reimagine a world of virtue fit for the times we are challenged with.