fr. groeschel

Fr. Groeschel Has Hope for JPII Generation

By Henrietta Gomes
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 1/25/07)

Franciscan Friar of the Renewal Father Benedict Groeschel was not referring to foreign policy or the war in Iraq when he said that “the United States is in a desperate condition.” Rather, Father Groeschel spoke about virtue and the lack thereof during a talk at Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria on Monday night.
“The United States has moved from virtue to vice,” he said, lamenting the climate of the current secular culture. “No longer is virtue taught in public schools. It’s not publicly celebrated.”
The priest recounted a time when people were “raised on virtue and the example of virtues.” He rhetorically asked, “What happened?” During a standing-room-only address, which followed a Holy Hour, Father Groeschel gave the answer. He spoke of the history behind philosophy and psychology and how what was once meritorious moved in an opposing direction. Father Groeschel, a clinical psychologist, referred to the development of “atheistic psychology” that stemmed from the French Revolution, a time of political and social change where vice and wickedness was exalted, and virtue had been jettisoned. The degeneration of the culture is due in part to these significant and perilous changes in psychology, which removed itself from fostering virtue.
Gradually the glorification of evil took precedence over morality, the priest said, and it spread west. Shedding light on the modern day, Father Groeschel, one of the nine founders of his community, said, “Look at the media.” He criticized cable television stations such as MTV and Comedy Central, which celebrate promiscuity and blasphemy. “I’ve never seen those things, and I don’t want to,” he said.
Referring to those channels and other aspects of the media, the priest said, “We have a republic in decline. I’m absolutely convinced. This republic is in serious decline.” A culture thrives on “how well it prepares its children to live life.”
The downfall is fairly obvious, he said, because, “We are giving our kids garbage, poisonous garbage.”
Virtue, the priest said, “is gone and you pay the price because human beings cannot live together without natural virtue.” The natural virtue, of which he spoke, is necessary for life. Father Groeschel described it as “the stable quality of the personality that causes people to do good and avoid evil.” He also noted the importance of Christian moral virtue, which transcends natural virtue and strives for the goal of entering eternal life.
“Things are a lot worse than you actually believe,” said Father Groeschel, who is an adjunct professor at the Institute for Psychological Studies in Arlington. Many evil occurrences in American history, such as slavery, could have been avoided if virtue had only been nurtured, the priest said. “What horror could have been spared if people had been virtuous enough to tell the truth?”
Some people, he said, are incredibly courageous. Praising the work of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, he recounted a time when Harvard University had decided to award her with an honorary doctorate. “Giving Mother Teresa a doctorate is like making Jesus a monsignor,” he joked. She courageously spoke on chastity and the beauties of virginity to a highly secular audience, the priest said. After the crowd listened intently, she received thunderous applaud. During his 90-minute address, the priest asked, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if the religions of the United States began teaching virtue?” He continued, “We need a psychology of virtue. Wouldn’t it be a different country if the religions preached about virtue?” Father Groeschel encouraged his audience to be courageous and speak out about virtue. “I deeply criticize myself because I did not speak enough about virtue. I often spoke about vice,” he said.
Father Groeschel, known for his dry humor and wit, did not leave his audience without hope. He praised the younger “JPII generation,” the young adults and teens, who are filled with “enthusiasm and faith.” Because they are immersed in an unvirtuous time, he called their faithful witness and behavior “totally mysterious” and said, there is “no anthropological explanation of their existence.” However, he said, “It’s the work of the Holy Spirit.” Father Groeschel concluded with a prayer for hope and virtue. Following the talk, a book signing was held promoting his new work, The Virtue Driven Life.