Chapter 9

DiscipleshipThrough Discernment and Virtues

Introduction
This chapter reflects on discernment as part of how one lives out Catholic discipleship.
Discernment is not just an act of moral decision making, but also a part of how become better
disciples of Christ. It is a life long journey of growing in virtue, which is what the Christian
discipleship and commitment entails.

Learning Objectives
25. Understand discernment as part of the development of the human person
26. Synthesize discernment and its sources with virtue ethics
27. Deepen the Catholic faith commitment through discernment and virtues

Exposition
Discernment is what we do when making decisions. Thus, they are connected to our
individual actions. However, discernment is more than just act-based. It is a process also
becoming a better person—a more virtuous person. How we develop habits and virtues as part of
our character will impact future decisions and inclinations, as well as what direction our moral
growth will be oriented towards:

Moral action is self-constituting: it tends to reinforce the state of feelings, capacities,

skills, and anticipations expressed by the actions themselves. When action harnesses
the flexibility of our ranges of operations and skills to turn old skills to new tasks or
to reinforce skill development in a new direction, this self-constituting thrust can lead
decisively to growth. This effect will be a subtle shift in our feelings, capacities, and
inclinations for subsequent knowledge and action.122

Developing and cultivating our virtues thus help us be more consistently ethical, hopefully
helping us “miss the mark” less often.

This consistent loving and ethical behavior is what discipleship entails. Discipleship is
often understood as following Jesus Christ; this is also often tied to the particular Scripture
passage where Jesus asks others to take up their cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24-26, Luke
9:23). Taking up one’s cross means many things; traditionally it has been understood to mean a
form of hardship or sacrifice. However, it is not often a large or obvious sacrifice that needs to be
122
Kenneth R. Melchin, Living with Other People: An Introduction to Christain Ethics Based on Bernard Lonergan,
Series in Ethics (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1998), 68.
carried through life, but rather the consistency in doing the good in the everyday, even in the
little things. Our daily lives are filled with many decisions, ranging from the extraordinary to the
mundane. Can we continually and consistently do the good, even in the small decisions of our
everyday lives? Can we be disciples in picking our vocation and career, as well as be disciples in
how we meet people when we ride the bus or train to school or when we buy our food from the
school canteen?

We have so far dealt with discerning individual actions. For this chapter, then, we will
discuss how discernment can and should help us becoming better persons throughout our entire
life, helping us hone the virtues and “skills” needed to continue to do the good we ought to do in
life. We will now turn to virtue ethics, a moral philosophy that is concerned with both doing the
good and becoming a better person.

Virtue Ethics

Most people know of consequentialism and deontological ethics as two common ways of
making decisions. Consequentialism, as the name suggests, is a form of decision making that
focuses on the consequences the decision maker is aiming for as the ultimate criteria on choosing
what action to take. Deontological ethics, on the other hands, focuses more on universal
principles or rules as the criteria for making decisions. To illustrate this difference, take

Christian discernment is neither purely consequentialist nor purely deontological.

Though principles and consequences are criteria to be considered in discernment when choosing
a specific moral action in a specific moment, discernment takes more into account, such as how
the person is developing. Rather than just deontological ethics or consequentialism, Catholic
moral theology needs another form of moral philosophy to engage Scripture and Tradition in
discernment.

Joseph Kotva makes a case for virtue ethics in Christian moral theology. Due to the
growing awareness of the incompleteness of modern ethical theories, as well as our historical
consciousness and a perception of that society is in moral crisis, there has been a growing
renewal of interest in virtue ethics.123 Each person “needs to respond to each situation’s specific
features,”124 and to respond to a situation requires understanding all realities of a person, not just
the rational, logical aspect, but also such things as emotions and other seemingly abstract
realities that people experience. The theories today do not take into account these other realities,
and thus, not only gives an incomplete picture of moral life, but also encourages a false
dichotomy between the two, where taking into account of anything other than the rational and
logical may become “misleading and dangerous, or at least subordinate to rationally calculated
action”125. Thus, when people are confronted with these other realities, many either ignore them
or else consider them for the wrong reasons.

123
Joseph Kotva, “The Return to Virtue Ethics,” in The Christian Case for Virtue Ethics (Washington, DC:
Georgetown University Press, 1996), 5–13.
124
Kotva, 9.
125
Kotva, 10.
 Virtue ethics, as an ethical framework that focuses on the development of the person to
be able to make such complex decisions, complements and supports Catholic Social Teaching as
it “appropriates the moral vision of the New Testament well.”126 William Spohn, a Jesuit moral
theologian, claims:

Why choose virtue ethics to be the optic for examining the story of Jesus? First of all,
it is necessary to select one form of ethics. It is impossible to give an account of
Christian moral life without opting for some form of moral philosophy. Every
theology contains a philosophy as an inner moment, because it must operate from
some model of human experience.

Spohn also argues that virtue ethics is able to engage Scripture, helping people understand the
moral vision that Jesus wishes to impart through the attention to Jesus’ character and how the
“story of Jesus shapes the moral character of individuals and communities”127. This is particularly
evident in how Jesus always calls for a radical conversion of the heart, how he always acts for
repentance and a change in the people’s ways, not just on the level of actions or through
following rules, but through certain virtues and internal dispositions, such as mercy, love,
gratitude, and trust128. Thus, the focus is on the person, which is also what Catholic Social
Teaching also gives much emphasis on. Virtue ethics and Catholic Social Teaching also both
focus on helping develop people in order that they may respond well to the moral challenges they
face, rather than simply giving a set of rules to follow or consequences to look out for.

Virtue ethics thus helps a person discern through the development of virtues and going
beyond the tendency to reduce complex ethical dilemmas down to rules and consequences. It
also emphasizes that who we become is just as important as making the right decisions and
articulating the moral precepts which we as a society strive to live by.

The Virtues

There are many virtues that virtue ethics espouses, which can allow for human
flourishing, but this paper will focus on the four proposed cardinal virtues of James Keenan.
Keenan notes that Martha Nussbaum highlights the fact that virtues were used by the Greeks in
order to provide the standards for what is right or wrong, and that “virtues, not principles, are the
source for understanding normative conduct.”129

126
William Spohn, “Virtues, Practices, and Discipleship,” in Go and Do Likewise: Jesus and Ethics (London,
United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic, 2000), 27.
127
Spohn, 28.
128
Spohn, 31.
129
James Keenan, “Proposing Cardinal Virtues,” Theological Studies 56, no. 4 (1995): 711.
Sample photo of virtues in virtue ethics and their respective vices.

However, it is very difficult to answer the question: what virtues make a person morally
good? Keenan notes the difficulty stems from two reasons: the claims of culture, and the claims
of the individual130. Culture can affect the determination of what virtues are focused on in a
certain community, depending on the needs, aspirations, and practices of a certain milieu, and
even where they live. Also, it would be unfair to reduce the embodiment of moral excellence to
simply one archetype—as history will show, morally excellent people differed from each other in
many different ways due to their backgrounds, experiences, professions, and so on: to be
virtuous means to be oneself. Due to this difficulty, Keenan focuses, not on the “specific,
culturally articulated [virtues of] a morally excellent person, but rather the basic qualities of a
minimally virtuous one131”—hence the focus on the cardinal virtues. Keenan also does not
purport to have specific and detailed articulations of the virtues which every culture will

130
Keenan, 712.
131
Keenan, 714.
necessarily agree upon; rather, he focuses on a description just “formal enough so that each
culture could fill each virtue with its specific material content and apply it practically132”. The
virtues will help people understand and talk about the humanity that everyone shares, as well as a
way to talk about morality across cultures133.

Keenan thus proposes justice, fidelity, self-care, and prudence, as a new set of cardinal
virtues that ought to be developed in a person in order to help him or her understand how to
handle conflicting goods—ourselves, our community, and society at large—and the many ethical
dilemmas we face, as we are relational uniquely (self-care), specifically (fidelity) and generally
(justice)134.

Justice asks people to treat each other equally—give what is due to the other—regardless
of race, class, and so on. “Justice is about ordering all our interior dispositions so that the claim
of equality originates from within” rather than from external laws.135 Even if we may not know
certain people or communities, for example, justice acknowledges that these people still have a
claim on us and do have certain inalienable rights simply because they are also fellow creatures
of God.

At the same time, fidelity calls us to sustain the special relationships we have with
family, friends, and loved ones. Keenan uses the word fidelity to describe the love we have for
our community. While there is tension between justice and fidelity, it is nevertheless important to
acknowledge and develop the relationships we have to specific people alongside other people
who we may not be acquainted with but are nevertheless still connected with as human beings in
society.

Self-care also acknowledge that love and justice for the self is also as important.136
Today’s society often forces many people to push themselves to the extreme, valuing overwork,
sacrifice, and busyness to the detriment of the self. However, we are called to do otherwise—to
rest when needed, to take care and nourish ourselves physically and spiritually. “Some Christian
activists may balk at self-care…but we have every reason to believe that the historical Jesus took
care of himself…we can say that it was precisely because Jesus knew the virtues of fidelity,
justice, and self-care that the agony in the garden was so painful. He was a man who loved God,
humanity, his friends, and himself; his conflict, like all true conflicts, was to determine which
relationship made the greater claim on him.”137

These three virtues are not hierarchical—one is not less of a priority than the other; each
of the three have equally competing claims, and are thus integrated by prudence (phronesis), a
practical wisdom that takes into account all three relational virtues in living out a morally good
life. “Prudence is always vigilant, looking to the future not only trying to realize the claims of
justice, fidelity, and self-care in the here and now, but also calling us to anticipate occasions

132
Keenan, 715.
133
Keenan, 715.
134
Keenan, 723–24.
135
Keenan, 724.
136
Keenan, 723–28.
137
Keenan, 727–28.
when each of these virtues can be more fully acquired.”138 This moral wisdom of prudence is not
something that is acquired overnight. It takes practice and over time, a keen sense and intuition
for what is most needed at the moment, not just for oneself, but for society at large. This is
practiced by reflecting on one’s decisions and evaluating its consequences to see if it was indeed
the more loving and prudent decision.

Euboulia, Synesis, Gnome, and Epikeia

Prudence as a virtue is helped by other virtues. Three of these assistive virtues worth
mentioning are epikeia, eubolia, synesis, and gnome. Epikeia is the virtue that means
“reasonableness.” This virtue acknowledges that no human law is perfect. Though laws are
meant to be apply to many and most situations, they cannot take into account all possible
situations, simply because they are human laws. Catholic moral teaching stresses that if a person
happens to find themselves in a situation where there is a need to set aside the law to uphold the
common good, disregarding the law (i.e. civil disobedience) might be the moral thing to do. This
is how many changes in civil law have happened in the past—people have protested through
civil obedience in order to change what were unjust laws. Our very own People Power
movement in 1986 that toppled a dictatorship through non-violent means was an example of civil
disobedience and the virtue of epikeia at work.

Eubolia is the principle that helps one apply universal precepts to more concrete
situations. Using one’s reasoning and one’s experience, eubolia is what helps the person bring
the general idea down to the level of the specific situation the person is in in order to understand
what the general idea means in the particular context.

Synesis is a principle that assists prudence in identifying which concrete means is suitable
for the moral action, according to what is available.139 Synesis helps the person judge whether an
action would attain the intended goal and whether that action is the best way to attain said goal,
according to the laws and practices available.

Gnome, on the other hand, is a special awareness or intuition that inclines one to make
good decisions. “Eventually one is predisposed to act [in a virtuous manner]…gnome provides
that predisposition.”140 It also helps the person decide when the laws and practices available are
unhelpful or do not apply; in short, it helps people identify when the virtue of epikeia needs to be
exercised because the law is unjust or unhelpful in upholding what it was supposed to uphold.141
Many new situations will arise in the future due to the advance in science and technology; in
these situations, our current laws and rules will not be adequate to respond to the needs and
concerns of the people in these situations. Thus, gnome helps a person navigate through these
new situations where current knowledge and laws may not apply.

138
Keenan, 728.
139
Peter Murphy, “Prudential Gnome, Right Judgements and Diagnostic Tests,” The Linacre Quarterly 73, no. 2
(May 2006): 191.
140
Murphy, 193.
141
Gunter Virt, “Moral Norms and the Forgotten Virtue of Epikeia in the Pastoral Care of the Divorceand
Remarried,” Melita Theologica 63, no. 1 (2013): 20.
Courage and Hope

The last, but certainly not the least virtues that we should discuss are courage and hope.
We are often bombarded with news of war, calamities, and corruption. Everyday we see both
local and international news that can often make us cynical and despair. What is the point of
trying to do the good when it seems like it would not make a dent in the deep problems of our
contemporary situation? At times our cynicism and despair are fueled by fear—fear of the future,
fear that we will not have enough, fear that others will get ahead while we are left behind.

Two virtues assist us in facing such despair and cynicism head on: courage and hope. If
prudence, fidelity, self-care, and justice help us decide what to do, it is courage and hope that
help us actually do it. Courage is not being rash or impetuous. It helps us be bold but at the same
time not be reckless. Courage or fortitude, a cardinal virtue, helps us acknowledge that we are
afraid, but that there is a greater value at stake that has a greater claim on us. Despite the many
obstacles we face, courage helps keep us going in spite of the fears that may hound us and the
risks. Often, we are willing to do the good as long as it is comfortable. However, when the risks
increase—when there is a risk of our reputation being “ruined” or a risk of even bodily harm—
do we still continue doing the good? This does not mean that we seek out death or harm—as
mentioned earlier, self-care is an important virtue. However, are we still willing to do the good
even if there is a possibly of harm? Jesus himself knew that there were possible consequences to
his preaching and ministry and yet he continued to care for the marginalized, which ultimately
led to his being arrested and killed. Those who speak out against corruption in government, such
as many of the journalists and activists in the Philippines, know full well that it might mean
being gunned down by assailants, yet they continue to do their job; many of these journalists and
activists would end up dying for their work. Courage is the virtue at work in many of these
people.

Hope, on the other hand, allows us to dare for a better future. It is not simply optimism—
optimism believes that everything will always turn out well and good and that good will always
triumph; hope, on the other hand, understands that there will be times that the good loses, but
nevertheless believes that the good will ultimately triumph in the end. Hope, as one of the three
theological virtues together with faith and love, understands that Kingdom of God is already here
and in process. It takes seriously God’s promise of salvation and goodness on earth and moves
people to active participation in God’s work today. Hope does not simply desire a specific
outcome; it anticipates delivery from the current situation, yet does not reduce this to a one exact
want—thus, it is possible that a person’s desire did not come true, but the person still continues
hoping.

Hope is not just passive acceptance but an active and dynamic commitment towards that
good. Christians continue working towards this good, even when the present may seem bleak,
because of the conviction that God has already begun his work through Jesus Christ, and that the
Kingdom of God is already here, manifested in the different structures and actions of people who
do the good.
Conclusion

This book ends with virtue ethics as a way of focusing one’s discernment—we do not
simply discern right actions from wrong actions using a one step iteration. Rather, discernment is
a life-long process, one that does not just help us figure out individual decisions, but also helps
the person in becoming—becoming a better person and helping the person habituate good
discernment practice.

Cultivating virtues thus helps us be better in the long run and not just in the here and
now. Moral living requires fortitude and perseverance, as well as hope in the future. Though
there are debates about whether or not virtues can be taught or cultivated, Catholic moral
theology believes that it is possible to develop virtues in a person through much practice,
learning, and self-reflection. This is a life long process; we do not become perfectly virtuous
overnight. Rather, we hone ourselves, developing habits and practices that affect how we might
make decisions, especially in crucial and impromptu situations, where we may not have much
time to reflect or get all the information we need.

All these virtues, while something to be developed in our lives over time, are also gifts.
These are graces from God that help us in becoming better disciples in Christ. In developing
these gifts we are not only developing the virtues needed to be able to do the good, but are also
able to become our best and truest selves. A common Christian saying, from the early Church
father Irenaeus, says that the glory of God is men and women fully alive and flourishing; through
these gifts that we develop, we hopefully flourish further, with the rest of creation, towards the
Kingdom of God.
Guide Questions

1. What is virtue ethics?

2. Why are the virtues important?
3. Which virtues do you think should you cultivate further? How will you do so?
Bibliography

Keenan, James. “Proposing Cardinal Virtues.” Theological Studies 56, no. 4 (1995): 709–29.
Kotva, Joseph. “The Return to Virtue Ethics.” In The Christian Case for Virtue Ethics, 5–13.
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Melchin, Kenneth R. Living with Other People: An Introduction to Christian Ethics Based
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1998.
Murphy, Peter. “Prudential Gnome, Right Judgements and Diagnostic Tests.” The
Linacre Quarterly 73, no. 2 (May 2006): 190–93.
Spohn, William. “Virtues, Practices, and Discipleship.” In Go and Do Likewise: Jesus and
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Virt, Gunter. “Moral Norms and the Forgotten Virtue of Epikeia in the Pastoral Care of the
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