During this last week of Lent, also known as Holy Week, we invite you to continue the traditional disciplines of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Please remember that Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence. In our Faithful Witness Series, we offer a reflection by our Restorative Justice Ministry. The Christian Virtue of the week is the virtue of gravitas or strength and purpose.
When I was a student at The Catholic University of Louvain, I would often travel to Cologne. My favorite place to stay was a Dominican monastery that housed both Dominican sisters and brothers. Upon my arrival I would always find Sister Eusebia waiting for me. The first thing we did was go to the kitchen to have a cup of coffee. This social moment was always short-lived. As soon as I finished my coffee, she would grab my hand saying: “Let’s go to the chapel, we have so much to pray for.” And off we went to the chapel to pray the rosary together.
Sister Eusebia oversaw the monastic kitchen for most of her life. She was not highly educated, not well-read, and not very sophisticated. But she possessed a certain gravitas. She had a spiritual weightiness to her. She knew exactly what mattered and what did not. She had a rock-like steadiness in her work and in her faith. And everything she did, she did with purpose and intentionality.
Sister Eusebia modeled a virtue that stands in sharp contrast to our current society which avoids almost anything that requires depth, patience, commitment, or serious thought. Society tempts us to do nothing but skim the surface of life. Our culture is marked by frivolity, distraction, and the constant pursuit of entertainment and superficial happiness.
As Christians, we are called to resist this temptation and to embrace the forgotten and often maligned virtue of gravitas. Gravitas is our Christian challenge to a world that often treats life with triviality.
The Christian Virtue of Gravitas
The Latin word gravitas simply means gravity or weight. The Romans lauded the virtue of gravitas which was equated with restraint, dignity, and responsibility. Christians made this Roman virtue their own. Saint Ambrose, the celebrated 4th-century bishop of Milan, held that people’s inner virtue was manifested by their outward composure and deportment.
Today, we define the Christian virtue of gravitas as a responsible, serious, and dignified way of life that is rooted in faith. It is realized only and alone by God’s grace. And it has as its goal the further glory of God and the up building of God’s people.
The virtue of gravitas can only be attained when our love of God is at the core of our very being which is the fruit of deep prayer. This important virtue allows us to carry the weight of our individual calling with honor and purpose and to recognize the profound dignity of every person.
Jesus, as the very embodiment of gravitas, is a perfect example for all of us. He lived his life and endured his passion with dignity, seriousness, and purpose. He was not swayed by popular opinions or distracted by trivial concerns. He was very much aware of the price he would have to pay for his mission, and yet he moved toward the Cross with supreme gravitas born of a profound love of God and neighbor.
Some Suggestions to Cultivate Gravitas
- Cultivate Awe of God: by acknowledging the mighty power of God.
- Nurture Integrity: by ensuring your words and actions are consistent with your Christian values.
- Serve Others: by purposefully cultivating a strong sense of service.
- Stay Grounded: by remaining steady in stressful situations through prayer and focusing on what really matters.
- Be Decisive: by acting resolutely when needed, after prayerful consideration.
- Nurture Silence, avoid Noise: by speaking with clarity and intentionality and by avoiding gossip, complaining, or filling silence with unnecessary words.