(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)
He stated, “A capital vice is that which has an exceedingly desirable end so that in his desire for it, a man goes on to the commission of many sins, all of which are said to originate in that vice as their chief source” (Summa Theologiae, II-II, 153, 4). Here St. Thomas emphasized the disposition or the habit which inclines a person to sin. Therefore, the capital sins or vices are indeed “capital” and grave because they are the source of particular actual sins, which may be mortal or venial; in turn, the repetition of actual sins, particularly mortal sins, leads to the spiritual corruption of the person, whose life is permeated by the vice.
The traditional list of capital sins, as specified by Pope St. Gregory the Great, are as follows: pride, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and sloth. Interestingly, St. Thomas listed “vainglory” instead of pride to highlight that pride is the source of all sin without exception. Nevertheless, we will now focus briefly on each of the capital sins; the classic definitions in moral theology are quoted from Father Dominic Prummer’s Handbook of Moral Theology.
Pride is “an inordinate desire for one’s own excellence.” Pride is said to be “complete” when a person is so filled with it that he refuses to subject his intellect and will to God, and to obey His commandments. Such a person has contempt for God and those who represent Him. In a sense, a person with complete pride makes himself a god.
However, pride may also be incomplete: Here a person does not reject God or his superiors; rather, he simply thinks of himself too highly.
Associated with pride is “vainglory,” whereby a person has an inordinate desire to manifest his own excellence and to receive praise. Of course, every person should be proud of accomplishments and be thankful to God for the ability to perform well. However, such a disposition differs from the person on “the ego trip” who is motivated to do something simply for future praise and recognition, or always has to talk about “I did this” and “I did that” so as to impress people and receive their praise.
Pride is a very dangerous vice, as St. Thomas noted, because a person is so susceptible to it due to the woundedness of original sin. It can easily creep into our lives, grow quickly without recognition, and take hold, infecting all that we do. St. John Vianney taught, “Pride makes us hate our equals because they are our equals; our inferiors from the fear that they may equal us; our superiors because they are above us.” Spiritual remedies for pride include regular and thorough self-examination, the practice of humility and meditation on Christ’s humility and service.
Avarice “is the inordinate love of having possessions or riches.” A person, motivated by greed, is preoccupied with having and having more. A greedy person attaches such value to wealth and possessions that the accumulation and retention of them become the major goal of life and take priority over everyone and everything else. Greed comes in different forms: For instance, some are greedy with material things, always wanting more and only giving the surplus, the “little tip,” the something that will not be missed. Some are greedy with time, only doing what will benefit them in some way. Some are greedy in their relationships, collecting people for status or using people for advantage. A person easily becomes hard-hearted and blind to the needs of those less fortunate. Sparked by greed, a person can take on a sense of self-sufficiency, complacency and independence of God.
To combat greed, one must be thankful in prayer each day for the many blessings enjoyed, examine how well those blessings are used within one’s means to help those less fortunate and remember that when one dies, all is left behind. A person needs to meditate on the many teachings and examples in Sacred Scripture which warn against greed. Our Lord said, “Avoid greed in all its forms” (Lk 12:15) and noted, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mk 10:24).
A person should meditate on the example of Jesus in particular: St. John Vianney taught, “Avarice is an inordinate love of riches and the good things of this life. Jesus Christ, to cure us of it, was born in extreme poverty, deprived of all comforts. He chose a Mother who was poor. He willed to pass as the Son of a humble workman.” Yes, when we die and face judgment, we stand before our Lord with empty hands; what is important at that time is a soul filled with love for Him and inscribed with good deeds.
