The Collect for the 30th Ordinary Sunday, also in the 1962 Missale Romanum for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, was in the ancient Verona Sacramentary and the Gelasian Sacramentally:
“Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, da nobis fidei spei et caritatis augmentum, et ut mereamur assequi quod promittis, fac nos amare quod praecipis.”
Current ICEL translation (2011): “Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise.”
Father asks God in prayer to increase in us the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, bestowed on us in baptism.
Speaking of the theological virtues, Josef Pieper (d 1997) wrote that the supernatural life can be described as having three main currents. First, we have some knowledge of God surpassing what we can know about Him naturally because He reveals it to us (faith). Second, we live in the patient expectation that what we learn and believe God promises will indeed be fulfilled (hope). Third, we make an affirmative response of love of God, whom we have come to know by faith, and also love of our neighbour (charity).
Natural human virtues are acquired through education and discipline and elbow grease. The three theological virtues, faith, hope and charity, are given to us by God. They are infused into us with grace at baptism. They perfect and elevate every virtuous thing man can do naturally.
Looking at the positive development of the theological virtues, faith logically precedes hope and charity, and hope precedes charity. Considering their negative unravelling and loss, we lose charity first of all, and then hope and, last of all, faith.
The theological virtues can be considered individually, but they are intimately woven together. St Augustine (d 430) says: “There is no love without hope, no hope without love, and neither love nor hope without faith” (Enchir 8). The goal of the virtuous life is to become like God (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1803). Living the theological virtues concretely reveals God’s image in us, as well as the grace He gives us as His adopted children. We are all called to be saints.
Living faith works through charity. Furthermore, “faith apart from works is dead” (cf James 2:14-26). “The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which ‘binds everything together in perfect harmony’ ” (CCC 1827). Charity is love that seeks the good of the other, even unto making personal sacrifices.
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