Notes from Gathered for the Journey Six (6) essays David McCarthy

VI. Law and Virtuepp. 175Structure and Order of Creation—God’s SymphonyDillon and McCarthy end by returning to eleven-year-old Abigail and her pianopractice.The analogy suggests that the design of creation by Almighty God—theCreator—is like the structures of pitch and rhythm that allow music to come tobirth.―We determine what we are to do in our distinctively human way, through ourcommon life and our shared history…our capacity for knowing and doing thegood is rooted in how we learn to see ourselves and our world truthfully.‖ (175)We trust in ―the goodness of God‘s design, ―that ―we are ordered to ourfulfillment and our good through our freedom and free thinking. Natural law isthe order of human life through which we identify moral norms throughparticipating in God‘s order of creation.‖ (175)Virtues—Skill for fulfilling God’s WisdomWe can practice living well or poorly.Bad, sloppy habits at the piano keyboard, for instance, lead to dissonant andlimited musical experiences, thwarting both growth as a musician and deepeningof skill and accomplishment.Analogously, virtues are good habits that are skills to live well, and the ―freedomto move well toward our fulfillment.‖ We may, however, ―reinforce bad habits(vices) of sinful living and fail to develop the freedom to move well toward ourfulfillment.‖ (175) We can be trapped at ―spiritual chopsticks‖Vices thwart spiritual growth in holiness—and eclipse or—at the least—castshadows along the way toward communion with God.Natural law undergirding virtue assumes ―an order and design to creation that,with God‘s help, we can learn, practice and be shaped by, to become virtuosos ofthe moral life.‖ (175)Fundamental Moral Theology Page 46 of 54Class Notes – Father Michael Seger