Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1546119
NEW INCLINATIONS: WHAT DO I LOVE? With recreated legs, you can now walk, but where do you go? Given in Baptism, God's theological virtues flow forth from his sanctifying grace. Faith, hope and charity act as your new GPS, helping to identify the goal towards which you must walk: God himself. Without the theolog- ical virtues, your intellect cannot see God, and your will cannot choose God as your final good. Simply put, faith inclines your intellect to know God, and hope and charity incline your will to love God. In a sense, the theological virtues act as a new center of gravity. Due to original sin, your center of gravity shifted inward, focusing first and foremost on "me." You became your own god and did "what was right in [your] own eyes" (Judges 21:25). In Baptism, God infuses your soul with faith, hope and charity, shifting your center of gravity back to him. When you make acts of faith, hope and love, your new life pulls you to where you must go. Thus, when asked, "What do I love?" Baptism allows you to answer clearly: "I am interiorly directed to God by faith, hope and charity; knowing him, trusting him and loving him above all else." However, there is still a problem: you need even more help because, though you have a new nature and new incli- nations, you do not have the strength to move or act rightly on your own; you need new actions. NEW ACTIONS: WHAT CAN I DO? You are a child in the family kitchen. Stand- ing on your own two legs, you feel a tug from within towards the cookie jar atop the refrig- erator, but you are too small to reach it. Know- ing the cookies are good and loving them, you stretch your arm towards the heights, hoping to get them. As soon as your arm extends, you are swept into the air. Your father has suddenly held you aloft, and you reach into the jar and claim the treat. For new actions, God pours three more gifts into your life: the infused moral virtues, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When God gave the infused moral virtues at Baptism — supernatural prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude — he elevated your natural habits, helping you to act towards union with Christ. However, when you act from the supernatural virtues, you are the driver of this action. This is like rowing the oars of a boat: your effort is aided by grace. To help you easily act towards union, God gifts you with the great- est grace: himself. At your Baptism, when you received the theological virtue of charity, you also received the presence of God himself. Charity in your soul makes you a temple, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Further, with the Holy Spirit, the Giver, come his gifts. These are the gifts that enable you to be moved by the Holy Spirit. Like the Father lifting his child, or like the wind that fills the sails of the boat, the Holy Spirit propels you to move with new supernatural ease. Acting from the gifts, you aren't the driver, moving by your effort and reason; rather, you cooperate by allowing yourself to be moved directly by the Holy Spirit. Thus, to the question, "What can I do?" after Baptism, you can answer, "I can act supernat- urally by the virtues, presence and gifts of the Holy Spirit." ⊲ 8 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2026 | DENVER CATHOLIC " In Baptism, God infuses your soul with faith, hope and charity, shifting your center of gravity back to him." Photo by Ashley Ortiz