Wind Beneath The Wings2

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vir tues F or a H ero’ s Jo urn ey

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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A survey conducted by Mc-Cann-Erickson Philippines on Metro-Manila youth reported that among students two thirds say they are average performers. They give little value for excellence and a passing grade is the objective. Less than half complete their high school requirements “most of the time.” Only one third complete their assignment “all the time” (McCann-Erickson Philippines 2002)

Wind Beneath the Wings: Virt ues For a H ero ’s J ourney 

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A recent UNESCO report ranked the Philippines 74th in the Education Development Index, falling below Mongolia, 61st; Vietnam, 65th; Indonesia, 58th; and China, 38th. The Philippines performed poorly in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2003, ranking 41st in Science and 42nd in Math in a field of 45. The shortage of classrooms and teachers is becoming more serious every year.

Best Universities in the world 2008 2007 1 1 2 2 3 2 254 401-500 276 398 401-500

School Name HARVARD University YALE University University of CAMBRIDGE Ateneo de MANILA University University of the PHILIPPINES DE LA SALLE University

Country United States United States United Kingdom Philippines Philippines Philippines

Reference: http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/20 08/overall_rankings/fullrankings/

Wi nd B eneath th e Wi ng s: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ne y 

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Some of the young people are exceptional persons who are truly prepared to make a positive contribution in this world. But the remainder forms a big block that will face life after school in a stagnant mediocrity

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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Among the youth, standards of morality are negotiable. Social acceptance rather than principle has become the norm of behavior (McCann-Erickson Philippines 2000). The paradox of the time is that we have taller teenagers but shorter characters.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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It is said that young people are indifferent to the world. “Dead-ma.. Walang pakialam.” Not because the world has required too much from them, but because it has demanded so little. The world has robbed youth of their hero’s journey.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney “Wasted”. Because of new technologies, young people are more disposed to isolate themselves now into a private world defined by personal computers and digital phones.  Young people cannot clearly see that life has meaning only by embracing a world wider than their own. 

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney  The temptation is

much stronger to simply live a sloppy life.  To stay mediocre. “Mababaw.” “Cheap.”

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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They may venture into something of worth. But generally they seem to have no confidence that they can bring about any valid and enduring change in the world. So they get stuck at just “trying hard.”

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues For a H ero’s J ourn ey 

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“Pokeman” is that video game sensation that became a worldwide craze at the close of the 20th century. The movie earned $ 25 million in the U.S. alone in its first two days at the box office.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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The toys and the cards have become an addiction. Why were kids drawn to this imaginary world of battling pocket monsters? “Kids fall in love with Pokemon because it represents youth as dignified and important, something young people desperately want” (Time, 20 December 1999).

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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“The noble man devices noble plans and, by noble deeds, he stands, “says Isaiah the prophet (Is 32:8). Nobility has nothing to do with royalty. Nothing to do with “class.” It has something to do with “growing in divine grace.” It means living up to one’s dignity as a child of God.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Virtues For a Hero’s Journey 

St. Paul urges the early Christians: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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That which habitually disposes a person to do the good is called Virtue. Habit comes from the Latin “habitus”, meaning “character”.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero’s J our ne y 

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A habitual disposition means a settled tendency of behavior. A habit is a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition that shows itself in a regular or increased facility of performance.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero’s J our ne y 

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Human virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and the will that guide our conduct and order our passions according to reason and faith. They are acquired by human efforts and are both the seed and the fruit of morally good acts (CCC 1804).

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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Passions, or feelings, “are emotions or movements of the sensitive appetite that incline us to act in regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil” (CCC 1763). They are natural components of our psyche as human beings.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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Passions are neither good nor evil in themselves (CCC 1767). “Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case” (CCC 1768). Passions can be perverted by vices or taken up into the virtues.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues For a H ero’s J ourn ey 

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Heroism or martyrdom testifies to the role of the heart. It gives an insight into the purpose and power of passions. It suggests that our noblest feelings are our essential and extraordinary guides to greatness.

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Only a powerful love could lead, for instance, a teenager to override his impulse for personal survival and offer his life to save a drowning friend. Seen from the head, such self-sacrifice is irrational. Seen from the heart, it is the noblest choice to make.

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Experience has shown us many times how a person of obvious intelligence can do something so downright dumb. Being intelligent does not guarantee a smart life. Scholastic achievement has little to do with emotional life.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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To know that a person is “summa cum laude” is to know that he is of superior achievement as measured by grades. The distinction does not tell us anything about how he reacts to the vicissitudes of life.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero’s J our ne y 

The brightest can fall down the pit of unruly impulses. People with superior IQs can be very poor pilots of their private lives.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

Hamlet remarked to his friend Horatio: “Give me that man/ That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him/ In my heart’s core, aye, in my heart of hearts/ As I do thee.”

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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The pop distinction between the “head” and the “heart” refers to the two different ways of knowing. The head is the rational mind and the heart is the emotional mind. These two must operate in a balance, intertwining their own ways of knowing, to guide us in life.

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The goal is the BALANCE of passions, not their suppression. Every feeling has its value and significance. Life without passion would be a dull wasteland. What is wanted is appropriate emotion, passion that is proportionate to the circumstance.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ne y 

There are many passions. The most fundamental of which are:  LOVE • The tendency towards a desirable good which is present or absent. • DESIRE when the good is absent .

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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HOPE when the good is attainable. JOY is the delight produced by the presence or possession of the desired good. DESPAIR is turning away from a good that is possible to attain

Wind Beneath the Wings: Virtues F or a H ero’s Jour ney 

HATRED 

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The aversion against an evil which is present or absent. HORROR when the evil is foreseeable. FEAR when there is the anguish that the threatening evil cannot be overcome.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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SADNESS is the sorrowful experience produced by the presence of evil. ANGER is the resistance against a present evil. BRAVERY is the tendency to overcome it.

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Love is the most central passion. “All other affections have their source in this first movement of the human heart toward the good. Only the good can be loved. Passions are evil if love is evil and good if it is good” (CCC 1766).

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There are four cardinal human virtues. They are called “cardinal” because they are the hinges or pivots around which all the other human virtues are grouped. They are:  Prudence • Disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstances, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it (CCC 1835). • It is called the “charioteer of the virtues” because it guides the others by setting the boundaries.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

Justice 

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Consist in the firm and constant will to give to God and neighbor their due (CCC 1836). It is justice that disposes man to respect the rights of each other, to establish harmony in human relationships, and to promote the common good of society.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

Fortitude 

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Ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good (CCC 1837). It is the virtue that strengthens man’s resolve to resist temptations, to conquer fear of trials and death, and to sacrifice one’s life for a just cause.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero’s J our ne y 

Temperance 

Moderates the attraction of the pleasure of the senses and provides balance in the use of created goods (CCC 1838).

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

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It is the virtue that ensures the mastery of the will over instincts and keeps all human desires within the limits of what is honorable.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Virtues For a Hero’s Journey  The human virtues are rooted in the three theological virtues. “Theological” because these virtues relate directly to the “theos,” God.  These are the virtues that give the human virtues their special Christian character.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Virtues For a Hero’s Journey 

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FAITH – we believe in God and believe all that he has revealed to us and to that Holy Church proposes for our belief (CCC 1842). HOPE – we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it (CCC 1843). It is connected with future. CHARITY – we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. It is divine love.

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The Hebrew root for faith is “aman.” The adverb form is “amen,” meaning truly or certainly. It suggests being sure and solid. To have faith is to say “amen.” That is to, to proclaim that one holds on as true and certain what has been said. To say “amen” is to have faith.

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Kareem Abdul Jabbar, that once famous basketball player for the L.A. Lakers, lost his Bel-Air mansion in a fire. He said after that fire: “My whole perspective changed after the fire.”

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I think it’s important now for me to spend time with my son Amir and appreciate other things beside basketball. There are a lot of things that are more important. Like friends.” (Chicago Tribune, 26 May 1983).

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

The Christ Response  

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Jesus was a man of passion. He wept over the death of Lazarus his friend and raged against the money changers in his father’s temple. He knew how to cry and shout, because he was deeply passionate to his cause. Be it the cause of warm friendship or of true faith.

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He demanded same passion from his believers. He wanted fire burning in their hearts for his kingdom. He inspired them to do noble things.

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He made it clear that to follow in his footstep is to walk the extra mile and give the extra tunic. He listed them to a hero’s journey. There was no place for the mediocre. To achieve his vision, they had to be men and women of virtue.

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Jesus knew that bad things do happen to good people. His own life was a struggle that seemed unfair. When Pilate wanted to throw Jesus into prison, Jesus told him: “You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above” (Jn 19:11).

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He saw his persecution as being part of a divine plan of God. He believed and hoped that love was in control.

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As you face difficult questions and situations in life, what constitutes the courageous position for you? For what truths and values would you sacrifice your life? On the other hand, what choices and actions in your life do you feel would show moral cowardice?

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LIVE THE FAITH. It was Forest Gump, in that Oscarwinning movie, who said: “When you go to the zoo, always take some food to feed the animals. Even though the signs on the bars say “Don’t Feed the Animals.” After all it wasn’t the animals that put signs up there.”

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In this free country, Christian as it may claim to be, you will be told not to force your faith on anybody. Don’t push it on others. Let them figure it out on their own. But it doesn’t mean you can’t share your faith.

Wind Beneath the Wings: Vi rtues F or a H ero ’s Jour ney 

It doesn’t excuse you from witnessing to your faith, because the world is hungry for the gospel of Christ. Even though it says “Don’t Feed,” take some food when you go.

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Not all will be called to a martyr’s glory. Pope John Paul II once said that “to die for the faith is a gift to some. But to live the faith is a call for all.”