"Virtue" and Its Many Senses in the Divine Liturgy

Today is March 26, 2025, Wednesday during the Fourth Week of Lent.

Within the Weekly Psalter, one will notice something curious for the office of Lauds (or, early morning prayer):

The antiphon before the Canticle of Judith (Jud. 16:15-21) is presented as "O Lord, great art Thou, and glorious in Thy strength" which derives from "Domine, magnus es tu, et praeclarus in virtute tua." 

What may surprise the modern reader is the parallel of the word "strength": VIRTUTE.

As anyone would notice, this word is the basis of virtue itself.  Few, I would imagine, would probably translate the word at first impulse as "strength" ("Goodness", perhaps?).  In today's world, our use of the word "virtue" is often associated (not incorrectly) with being a good person.

But there is more to the story of this word...  And it is important to know the lore behind important things.

The ancients, including the medievals, had a different view of what the term "virtue" encompassed [and to my knowledge, this view of the term remains baked into Catholic moral theology as a whole-- the worldly accommodations of more recent publications not withstanding].

Virtue has as its basis VIR, which in Latin means "man" (as in the sex/gender, not the species).

Virtue, classically understood, carries with it notions of strength, yes, but also bravery, fortitude, and all other forms of EXCELLENCE that are traditionally associated with men and, more narrowly, with men of war.  This narrowness is taken for granted because men of war were led by the aristocracy (another term that comes from the Greek arete for "excellence").  Men of excellence and distinction were to possess these attributes most of all, which the lesser men were to imitate.

Within the makeup of a virtuous Christian, however, the pagan virtues of old are held in check by the supernatural graces that perfect our natures.  This transformation could radically reconstitute us in a sense: thus, we see excellence in humility, not pride.  We see merit in forgiveness, not vengeance and vendettas.  We see excellence in self-sacrifice and meekness, not conquest of one's enemies and fame, etc., etc.

Ironically, as if by Providence, the same word "virtutum" during the Office of Lauds also comes up (far less directly) in the hymn for the ordinary of the Ferial Office:

"Let dawn our darkened spirits bless:

The light of grace to us restore

While day to earth returns once more."

[Mentis diescant tenebrae,

Virtutum ut lux redeat,

Terris diem cum reparas].

In this hymn, the term "virtutum" is rendered indirectly as GRACE.

So, by all appearances, we come full circle and the transformation of the moral life from one of this worldly "success" to an otherworldly belonging suddenly presents itself to the devout.

That said, when Catholics approach their own moral lives, they should not forget the full etymological history of the word "virtue" (just as they would not skip over the Old Testament because it has already been fulfilled).

It is well and good to be brave, to be strong, to not balk in the face of evil (all traits associated with the history of male-dominated military societies).  To this day, masculinity is not something to hide from or be ashamed of (after all, it is celebrated in the Divine Office above as a trait of God *THE FATHER*!).  And in times of war, which may come over the horizon, societies will once again call upon men to fight.

But in today's culture, where will such men be found?  This is not an original question to ask these days, but I am not raising it among the "Manosphere".  Rather, it is interesting that the Divine Office of all things raises this question specifically suggesting that the question of what virtue consists of is not something one can afford to misunderstand!

The secular world likes to talk on and on about "toxic masculinity" and I do not deny that excess is indeed possible and even likely among some men who pass more as brutes than creatures of reason.  But the masking of the history of the term "virtue", the suppression of its nuance and complexity, only to be watered down into the far more anodyne and anemic term moral or good (which only properly belongs to God by the way!) is a sleight of hand that can possibly betray the excesses of the feminine too.   (To this end, please consult the Catholic literary scholar Anthony Esolen's No Apologies: Why Civilization Depends on the Strength of Men. Regnery Publishing. 2022. ISBN 9781684512348).

Let us be moderate and prudent!  And to that end, let us know our Latin!

Godspeed!