The 8 Spiritual Diseases: Understood Through Looney Tunes
Many people are familiar with the 7 Deadly Sins, but outside of Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians, many do not know of the 8 Spiritual Diseases. The 7 Deadly Sins were actually derived from the 8 Spiritual Diseases by Scholastic theologians in the Middle Ages. These theologians combined Vainglory and Pride into just Pride, viewing Vainglory as a "species" of Pride, thereby reducing the number of sins to seven to coincide with the 7 Virtues. These 7 Virtues are the 4 Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance) and the 3 Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity) combined. Using the motifs of Looney Tunes characters and the teachings of the Catholic Church through Christ Our Pascha: Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, we will explore the 8 Spiritual Diseases. In the Eastern tradition, these are viewed as the primary passions that "blind the eye of the soul," (Nous) and understanding them is the first step toward spiritual healing...