Integrity

The church teaches that integrity is a gift of grace which enables a person to subject the body and the appetites of the senses to the soul and the power of reason. In paradise, the gift of integrity (or completeness) was freely given and implied freedom from sickness, suffering and death, as well as from negative concupiscence. The church further teaches that, although original sin destroyed immunity to concupiscence and that integrity can only be fully restored at the resurrection of the body, nevertheless by increase in grace and the virtues during life, an individual can gain more and more control over the disordered powers, thus reducing their harmful effects. They no longer have power over him, he can be free and act in that freedom for the good of mankind as a whole.

Perfect integrity and perfect humility are virtually coincidental. They require being one's self and not attempting to be someone else. In the Bhagavad Gita, we are told that it is better to do one's own task, however badly, than another's task, however well. Lack of integrity means that one may waste years of one's life attempting to be some other person, to possess someone else's spirituality. There may be an attempt at self-magnification by imitating the popular instead of thinking things out for one's self. The truly humble person is unlike everybody else in that he is himself and all individuals are really unique. It is not necessary to try to be different, on the surface of everyday life people may appear to be alike, with the same tastes, opinions and so on. The difference lies deep in the soul. Thus in Confucian philosophy, ch'eng - integrity or sincerity - is self completion, such that complete integrity in service to one's parents makes one complete as a son, complete integrity in one's service to one's ruler makes one a complete minister.

An [integral life]

is lived in response to the actuality of existence, positively accepting with gratitude all that life brings, disinterested but never uninterested. Moral integrity implies psychological and physiological completeness, with none of the parts predominating under the dominance of a particular impulse; the whole human being is integrated into the morally good fundamental option of love.