Ordinary Men of Calvary Patrick Giroux Apr 26, 2025 IN A BOOK TITLED ‘ORDINARY MEN’, the author recounts how many of the individuals involved in the Nazi atrocities of WWII were perfectly ordinary people like you and me. This should give us all pause. If our generation were alive during that period of history, would we have acted any differently? There are no indicators that our generation is more virtuous than theirs — quite the contrary. This is, in fact, the aim of pursuing a good and virtuous life. Virtue is not an act, but a habit. If we strive to act well consistently in the little tests of life, we will eventually act well when the stakes are higher. Human beings do not rise to the occasion; they fall to the level of their training. Regarding the Passion of Jesus Christ, I find it fruitful to meditate on a similar question: if I happened to be alive during that time, would I have played a role in Christ’s crucifixion and death? If so, how? By seeing in each flawed c...
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Ordinary Men of Calvary Patrick Giroux Apr 26, 2025 IN A BOOK TITLED ‘ORDINARY MEN’, the author recounts how many of the individuals involved in the Nazi atrocities of WWII were perfectly ordinary people like you and me. This should give us all pause. If our generation were alive during that period of history, would we have acted any differently? There are no indicators that our generation is more virtuous than theirs — quite the contrary. This is, in fact, the aim of pursuing a good and virtuous life. Virtue is not an act, but a habit. If we strive to act well consistently in the little tests of life, we will eventually act well when the stakes are higher. Human beings do not rise to the occasion; they fall to the level of their training. Regarding the Passion of Jesus Christ, I find it fruitful to meditate on a similar question: if I happened to be alive during that time, would I have played a role in Christ’s crucifixion and death? If so, how? By seeing in each flawed ch...