Piety – affection for good

Religion is man’s relationship to God, our goal, the ideal of perfection. Therefore, all virtues belong and all good deeds to piety. So why should it be said still about the particular goodness of purity, religion? After all, however, we also know this concept from the general conversation. We say that someone is more or less pious. We understand that this includes many different responsibilities. But he goes here even an essential, inner attitude that can’t be easily guessed.
After all, we have three words in Slovak that have different colors of meaning: pious, pious, the piety of the disciples. Christianity is a religion of spirit and truth. Therefore Christian piety is above all internal property. If it is strongly external, we are talking more about faith, holiness. God willing, people often go to Church, bow before the cross. However, “Pious,” “bigoted,” is already an ugly sound. The external manifestations of piety are exaggerated, disproportionate, ridiculous, even if they are well thought out.
St. Thomas Aquinas defines righteousness according to his inner attitude as “affection for the will to all good man.” So it is not about individual deeds but the whole perspective. If someone is an avid athlete, we are sure that we can count on it whenever there is a sporting event. A music lover will not miss an excellent concert.
We assume a godly man to follow him we can turn whenever it’s about something good. If it supports the poor, to work in a Catholic association, 0 liturgical celebrations, a genuinely pious man is willing to help where he can. He takes it for granted. Because the highest good is God, a holy man, he is inclined to contact him as often as possible.
Prayer comes first in piety. Thus, piety is an important virtue. St. Thomas advises her for this right after the “divine” virtues before the so-called moral virtues.

External and internal piety
Godliness is an inner quality of the soul that is not externally visible. And yet, it manifests itself in some way. If she didn’t show up, she would even be very doubtful. Certain external forms are common in the Catholic Church piety. To what extent are they necessary and valuable? The lead to this question is different. Reform movements have always opposed extravagance. Richly decorated churches, gold ornaments, ceremonies, processions, incense all seem unnecessary to some people and even harmful. It is said to divert attention from sincere, inner piety in spirit and truth. We will not return to the old, long overdue dispute over external and internal purity. The main rule
is apparent. The whole man who composes must serve God from the soul and the body. Thus, in righteousness, the manifestations are internal One outdoor. Jesus Christ, the invisible God, was born visibly on earth and founded the Church, which is hidden and visible, cares for the souls of individuals and the transformation. Human coexistence. Therefore, its actions have a social character. In one moral handbook, we read the correct one, though a complex definition of righteousness: “It is a supernatural virtue. Here one expresses the obligatory respect for God, the originator, and the goal of the whole supernatural order. This man experiences his relationship with God in Christ in a symbolic expression. » For we cannot imagine the invisible God except in figurative terms: Father, Creator, etc. We can’t contact him directly yet. Therefore, we express our feelings and decisions with a symbol, an external image of inner thinking: in words, lifting or clapping hands, bowing, kneeling, etc.
This need for symbols has always been closely linked to religion and art. In the history of nations, we observe how art is created in the ceremonies of various cults. So they apply for ceremonies similar rules as for artists: outdoor the statement must be genuine, dignified, and proportionate to the internal content. We talk about oratory, where a slight inner feeling accompanies the outer gesture. Arne Novák called the opposite by strangulation, expressive immaturity. The idea should be strong enough to get a reasonable outside force to the statement. Western and Eastern Catholic administration contains a lot of forms of external piety. The Church kept them in a skeletal way. We do not deny that there is a danger of superficial forgiveness. Those who perform the ceremonies no longer need the spirit that animated their creators. It seems better to leave the external forms after that. Russian clergyman Theophane Zatvornik replies with great emphasis on this objection: “Do not abandon, but revive!” Poor is a view of the so-called modern Christians who cross themselves under the coat so that they will not see who will kneel in the Church steals and so clumsily that it arouses a smile. Who wrote about prayer, of course, as much as possible focused on emphasizing inner attitude and feelings man. The so-called ceremonies, ceremonies are left to experts in the liturgy. This division is practical, but the two that belong together must not be forgotten. The one who he prays with all his heart, he bears, as Origenes says, «on your body a picture of what is happening in the soul.» ” Notice,” writes St. Basil, “how the power of the soul affects the body, but also that how inner-thinking depends on the body! »
The beautiful liturgy elevates the soul. Genuine, honest, dignified behavior in the church is an effective apostolate that does not force it. It’s like saying, “Come on to see how we are serious about our relationship with God and faith! ” It is, therefore, essential to take care when raising children to behave appropriately in prayer, to shake hands, standing or kneeling. He argues that the child does not pray but plays in an outdoor theater. Indeed, it cannot end education for prayer by teaching about external forms. However, the path to the soul leads from the outside world.