Read: Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So, by their fruits you will know them. Matthew 7:17-20
Reflect: To be a good tree, we need to live a life of virtue. Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. The human virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and the will that govern our acts, order our passions, and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith. They can be grouped around the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The moral virtues grow through education, deliberate acts, and perseverance in struggle. Divine grace purifies and elevates them. Theological virtues dispose of our relationship to the Holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, their motive, and their object – God known by faith, God hoped in and loved for his own sake. It is easy to live in our fallen sinful nature. Sin is death. Sin keeps us from living in the Spirit, accepting our gifts, and bearing good fruit. God hates death. He is a God of life and of resurrection.
God saw all that He made, and it was very good.
Genesis 1:31
Respond: Today, I will contemplate the virtues of faith, hope, and love and practice random acts of virtue whenever I have the chance.
Smitten With Goodness 