VirTrue - Helping Man Grow in Truth and Virtue

🎙️ VirTrue: Silence (Taciturnitas) Hook Have you ever noticed how uncomfortable silence has become? The moment the room grows quiet, we reach for our phones. We turn on the television. We start another podcast. We check our email. We speak just to fill the space. We’ve become afraid of silence because silence forces us to encounter something we’d rather avoid: ourselves. But here’s the surprising...

How many arguments have you had that never needed to happen? Not because someone was defending the truth. Not because justice was at stake. Not because anyone was protecting the innocent. Simply because neither person was willing to say, “You know what? Your way is fine.” Maybe it was how the dishwasher should be loaded. How the project should be organized. Where the family should eat dinner. Who...

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to swing between two extremes? On one side, you’re tempted to chase the things of this world. Money, Comfort, Recognition, Power, Success, Possessions, and the satisfaction of carnal desires. You know they won’t ultimately satisfy you, but you still find yourself pursuing them as though they will. On the other side, you look at the world around you and grow fru...

How many bad decisions in your life can be traced back to a moment when you thought: “I know better.” Not better than your spouse. Not better than your priest. Not better than your parents. Better than reality itself. You knew what the right choice was. You saw the warning signs. You received good advice. You understood the consequences. And yet you convinced yourself that your way was better. Eve...

Modern man fears almost everything except the one thing he should fear. We fear: * losing our jobs * losing our status * losing money * losing followers * losing comfort * losing approval * losing friends or family Yet we rarely fear offending God. And because we have lost the Fear of the Lord, we have lost wisdom. We live in a culture that believes freedom means answering to no one. We celebrate...

You already know what you should be doing. That’s the uncomfortable part. Most people are not suffering from a total lack of knowledge. They are resisting moving toward those goods. You know you should: * pray * repent * apologize * begin * finish * commit * speak * act * obey And yet your soul drags itself toward those goods like a teenager being asked to unload the dishwasher. Not because the go...

🎧 Intro You are being trained every single day to stop deliberating. Not accidentally. Systematically. You open your phone, and within seconds, you are absorbing: * outrage * headlines * political tribalism * AI assistant summaries * clips without context * emotionally charged commentary * strangers speaking with absolute certainty about things they learned six minutes ago And slowly, almost impe...

🎧 Intro Welcome to VirTrue where we work together to turn away from vice, and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue we’re going to talk about Counsel, or Consilium , which is a sub-virtue of Prudence according to the tradition inherited from Hugh of St. Victor and developed by St. Thomas Aquinas. This episode continues our journey through th...

🎧 Intro Welcome to VirTrue where we work together to turn away from vice, and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue we’re going to talk about Intelligence or Understanding, which is a sub-virtue of Prudence. This is our second episode in the Prudence season, following last week’s episode on Memory. Quick reminder, we are building the VirTrue...

🎧 Intro Welcome to VirTrue where we work together to turn away from vice, and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue we’re going to talk about Memory, which is a sub-virtue of Prudence. This is our first episode in our new season on the cardinal virtue of Prudence, so make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss what’s coming. We are creatin...

🎧 Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and grow in the virtues that lead to life everlasting through Jesus Christ. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today we are talking about the theological virtue of Faith, one of the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. This is our season finale. Over this season, we’ve explored the virtues that form the foundat...

🎧 Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and grow in the virtues that lead to life everlasting through Jesus Christ. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue we’re talking about Chastity, a sub-virtue of Faith and a key part of living according to the law of chastity. This virtue is often misunderstood. Our culture treats chastity as repression, weakness, o...

🎙️ Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue, we’ll be looking at the virtue of Obedience. Reading Recommendation Before we get started, I want to make a quick pitch for a friend of mine. Michael Lichens is the author of a fantastic book by the title of Weird Catholic Handboo...

🎙️ Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today we’re talking about Continence , a sub-virtue of Faith. 📖 Virtue Description Continence is the virtue by which you refuse to follow disordered desire, even while you still feel it. You still feel the pull. You still recognize the attraction....

🎙️ Podcast Show Notes 👋 Intro Welcome to VirTrue where we work together to turn away from vice, and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins 📖 Virtue Description Decorum, as a sub-virtue of Faith, is the outward expression of what we believe to be true about reality. In our closing prayer each week, we say, “Help us to keep you in everything that we think, say,...

In this episode of VirTrue , Jethro Higgins explores the virtue of Religion , a sub-virtue of Faith. Building on affection and reverence, this episode moves from belief into action through worship, prayer, and devotion. While modern conversations shaped by sources like the Pew Research Center and broader religious studies often reduce religion to a set of beliefs and practices , this episode resto...

This episode is brought to you by the Saintmaker from Sophia Institute Press . Integrate your whole life with this personal, spiritual, and professional planner. The Saintmaker has been life-changing for me personally and has been a huge aid in my own journey with the virtues. 👋 Intro In this episode of VirTrue , Jethro Higgins explores the virtue of Reverence , a sub-virtue of Faith that prepare...

🎙️ Intro Welcome to VirTrue where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today, we are discussing the virtue of Affection, or Affectus , under the theological virtue of Faith. 🌿 Virtue Description Affection is a rightly ordered desire for what is truly good. Under Faith, Affectus is the movement of the will toward G...

🎙️ Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue, we’re discussing the theological virtue of Hope (Spes) . If you’re watching on YouTube, you’ll see the green tie. That means this is the season finale of our season on Hope. And don’t forget the VirTrue Mug we are giving away...

🎙️ Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue, we’re discussing the virtue of Joy (Gaudium) . And don’t forget, during our subscription drive we’re still giving away VirTrue mugs to all new subscribers during the month of February. 🌿 Virtue Description Joy is the interior...

🎧 Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I am your host, Jethro Higgins. Today on VirTrue, we are discussing the virtue of Modesty (Modestia) . Subscription Drive Before we get started, I wanted to remind you that we are running a subscription drive through February. Any new paid subscription during February will r...

✨ Show Notes 🎙️ Intro Welcome to VirTrue, where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins. Today’s virtue is Confession (Confessio) Before we dive in, we need your help: We’re currently supported by only SIX paid subscribers (that's one paid subscriber every 3 episodes). If you’ve been blessed by this pocast, please con...

Saintmaker Before we get to the show notes below, I speak about the Saintmaker Catholic Planner quite a bit in this episode. If you’d like to explore it for yourself, click below. It’s been a game-changer for my spiritual life. It is so much more than a daily planner. It integrates your work life, family life, and spiritual life into a seamless, unified whole. 🌿 Virtue Description Sorrow for sins...

🎙️ Intro Welcome to VirTrue , where we work together to turn away from vice and adopt the virtuous life we are all called to. I’m your host, Jethro Higgins . 🌿 Virtue Description Today on VirTrue , we’re talking about the virtue of Heavenly Contemplation ( Contemplatio Supernorum ), a sub-virtue of Hope , which directs the intellect and will toward God and the eternal realities of Heaven. St. Tho...

Today on VirTrue , we’re talking about the virtue of Longsuffering (Long-ani-mitas), a sub-virtue of Hope , rooted in trust in God’s providence through prolonged trials. While patience helps us endure the DMV or traffic, longsuffering helps us endure life-altering burdens: a chronic illness, the loss of a child, a drawn-out injustice, or the weight of grief. St. Thomas Aquinas (ST II-II, Q137) des...