For Aristotle, there is a chain of reasons for everything you do. Why do you work? To have enough money. Why do you need money? To have enough food. Why do you want enough food? Eudaimonia. Or in other words, happiness. Happiness here and now. But the Christian notion of virtue is for a different purpose. It serves to transform us into the image of God. Of course there is a happiness in it. But even if there is none. Even if we must suffer. There is an everlasting joy that we will be granted. There are rewards in heaven for the virtuous. ...

It seems to me that as I pursue a single virtue, the closer I get to its “essence” the more that I find myself needing and developing all the virtues. I started wanting to ensure I never lose my temper. Then I realized that to keep going I needed to not complain. Then I realized I couldn’t complain, not even in suffering. Then I realized that not complaining required me to (a) not criticize people (b) not express discomforts I wasn’t fixing. ...

Who is “Poor in Spirit”? You’ll find a huge variety of responses. The most popular: someone who recognizes their own spiritual poverty. In other words, the humble. But it doesn’t say those who recognize, it says those who are. Why would people that have a poor spiritual life be happy? Francis De Sales and Peter Kreeft have a different take: “The poor in spirit, who are detached from riches, are the opposite of the avaricious” Back to Virtue, Peter Kreeft p. 90 ...