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In a pure person perception all reality is alive as Word
and Spirit.
TheWord is the source of countless ideas, the Spirit the progenitor of
countless virtues.
The source of the words and melody forming the song
of Creation.
Principal Virtues include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, righteousness and truth...... These are described by
St Paul as the 'fruit' of the Holy Spirit.
The greek word for 'fruit' in the New Testament is 'karpos'.
In normal greek usage, the term 'karpos' could also refer to human
progeny, as well as the fruit of fruit trees. To understand the
nature of the 'fruit' the context is important - you understand the nature
of the progeny by understanding the nature of the progenitor. Jesus
was refered to as the 'fruit' of Mary's womb, and the 'fruit' of his
ancestor King David's loins, stressing that Jesus was fully human.
In the case of the nature of the Virtues, the progenitor is the Holy
Spirit - the third person of the Trinity.
Rather than seeing impersonal emotions or behavioural patterns (the
legacy of a western materialist mindset), the Primitive Church quite
reasonably understood the virtues to be living spirits, often perceived as
feminine (see Wisdom), and that holiness was vital
to cultivating a relationship or communion with them. (see Shepherd
of Hermas)
The virtues could be seen in the context of active combatants of vice
in the realm of human experience, as angels
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those who will
inherit salvation
See also VirtueSpace
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