HEBRON – Following the four cardinal virtues can lead to “the freedom to love,” but only if Catholics remember from their catechism studies what those virtues are and embrace them.
That’s the message from theologian and author Edward Sri in his book “The Art of Living,” the featured topic for Summer Gazebo Reflections at St. Helen, which kicked off on June 8 and continues biweekly through Aug. 31.
Facilitator Laura Roeske introduced the book and offered a silver lining for the rainy weather that sent the study group indoors for its first session. “Since we are inside, we can watch the beginning of the video by Dr. Sri that explains the book,” Roeske told the 30 participants as they introduced themselves and shared snacks.
“The cardinal virtues – prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice – are so important, so fundamental to the art of living,” said Sri, a Munster native who was a featured speaker at the Emmaus Missionary Discipleship Conference hosted by the Diocese of Gary last summer and the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024, in the video.
“We’ve lost the art of living, we don’t know how to deal with conflict, how to talk to each other, how to have a friendship, deal with marriage, workplace and parenting issues,” Sri suggested. “So many people didn’t see that model in their life for marriage and parenting.”
Sri said it was Pope Benedict XVI who first proclaimed that “We’ve lost the art of living.
“We need to read the Bible (because) we have lost the fundamental knowledge of how to build a great Catholic marriage, family, human community and relationships of love,” explained the late pope.
While the Catholic Church has the three great virtues of faith, hope and charity, said Sri, Pope Benedict XVI came up with the cardinal, or natural, virtues of prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice.
“Ninety percent of Catholics don’t even know these virtues,” while they have been kept alive in some European cultures, said Sri. “During the Enlightenment, people turned away from tradition and said, ‘We’ll just make our own way, and they lost the virtues.”
Sri pointed out that people wouldn’t get into an airplane with him as the pilot or let him perform surgery on them, because he isn’t trained to do those things. “Yet how many people jump into marriage without asking their partner if they have the virtue to love you?”
Virtue, stressed Sri, “gives us the freedom to love,” because once you live by the four cardinal virtues, you know what is right and wrong and act accordingly by instinct.
Most people who have learned about the virtues thought they were “about being a better person for ‘me,’ but not about living those virtues to improve marriage, friendships, parenting and all other relationships,” Sri said. “Through love we come to see that virtue is about having friendships and relationships, and I know I have to go after virtue in my life, not for me, but for the people in my life.”
Roeske prompted a discussion about how to implement Sri’s message and accept the four characteristics of virtue – consistency, easily, promptly and joyfully – in their life, asking readers to consider which of the four offers them the biggest challenge.
Sri’s advice is threefold: Educate yourself in the virtues, put much effort into implementing them by being intentional, and learn to rely on God’s grace.
Roeske asked the study group if they are able to see the cardinal virtues “as not just a way to make us better internally, but as a better way to live, and used the Blessed Mother as an example of someone who “found favor” with God. “Why did God trust her, even with his son?”
In upcoming sessions, Sri’s book will address each of the cardinal virtues separately, concluding with the virtue of religion, how to show honor to others, how gossip can tear down relationships and the responsibility for tithing and the care of the poor.
“I need to go more in depth on a lot of the virtues so I can find the art of living,” said Cathy Mezzacapo, of St. Helen. “I love participating in study groups like the gazebo reflections; I could always grow my faith.”
Suzie Kyprianou, of St. Mary in Kouts, said she was glad to return after participating in the gazebo reflections last year. “I am trying to deepen my faith,” she said. “As a nurse, I try to find the opportunity to show people what God is all about through my example and try to be understanding of young moms and families who are struggling, especially. Tonight, the teachings from my youth came back to me, even though we didn’t call them virtues. I thank God for my family, because I grew up in a home where my parents tried to teach me virtue.”
Summer Gazebo Reflections continue at 6:30 p.m. Mondays, June 22, July 6 and 20, and Aug. 3, 17, and 31. Participants can join at any time and attend when available. A copy of the book costs $10, and the video is available on “Formed.” For more information, call St. Helen at 996-4611 or email sthelenchurch@comcast.net.
Caption: Laura Roeske (left with back to camera) leads a discussion on the first few chapters of “The Art of Living” by Edward Sri at the first night of Summer Gazebo Reflections at St. Helen in Hebron on June 8. The 6:30 p.m. study sessions continue biweekly through Aug. 31, rain or shine. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
