When the Holy Apostle Paul speaks about the building materials in this passage of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, he is talking about the various Christlike virtues which we received in Baptism. Having received them infused into us by the Holy Spirit, it is our responsibility to put them into action, to make them grow and flourish in our lives. It is a if we are gardeners, who have been given the highest quality seeds and young plants, and it is our responsibility to arrange and plant them, and to nourish them so that they grow into a beautiful landscape. Paul compares himself to an architect, and we use the same image if we thus compare ourselves to landscape architects, designing our pleasing terraces, rooms and groves for the glory of God.
We have received the material for free, but we must now build upon the only foundation that anyone can use for a lasting work: the Lord Jesus. We have received the material from Heaven, and we must make our earth conform to Heaven, much as the sea or a lake is blue because it reflects the sky.
In the Lord Jesus, we have very certain knowledge of the virtue of Heaven, namely Love. In this world, because we live in time, the single light of Charity is refracted, so to speak, into also the virtues of Faith and Hope.
So that we can live in this world, fulfilling the obligations and functions, which our circumstances demand, there is a further refraction of the one Light of God (Whom we know as the Christ) into the four virtues upon which our whole earthly life depends: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. Prudence helps us determine the appropriate action at the appropriate time. It helps us order our lives rightly according to the Will of Heaven, so that we make time for prayer according to a sensible rule, while fulfilling our other duties as well.
These seven virtues are the principle materials, which we must use to build on the One Foundation. Of these virtues, Prudence plays a central role, because Fortitude and Temperance answer to Prudence as to their leader. Fortitude, generally, governs our anger, moderates our desire to indulge in resentment and helps us lay aside anger in the interest of forgiveness. Temperance, on the other hand, moderates our desire for pleasure, so that we do not eat too much, drink too much, sleep too much, indulge in too much entertainment, etc. Over both Fortitude and Temperance, Prudence plays a vital role, because, of course, some measure of anger is often appropriate and necessary. Anger, although greatly corrupted into a passion, was given to us as a natural energy. It remains useful to us as long as it is directed towards uprooting sin and evil in our lives. In the same way, Prudence moderates Temperance as well, because some level of pleasure is appropriate and necessary in our lives too. We must attain the right measure, not too much and not too little. Too much will cause us to become attached to pleasure and lose our way in the empty entertainments of the world. Too little, on the other hand, will tend to cause us to become embittered, depressed and cynical, doubtful of the goodness of God and the goodness of His intentions in our regard. Just the right of amount, determined by Prudence, raises our minds and hearts from temporary goods to the everlasting good things of Heaven.
These are the materials with which we must build on our Foundation, the Lord Jesus. To build well with them means to take a serious look at our lives and see what is lacking in us as far as the life of these virtues is concerned. Once we see that we lack a certain virtue, we pray for the increase of it and set ourselves to practice it in concrete circumstances. We make resolutions to practice our virtue in specific cases in the course of the day. Then, we examine ourselves regarding those virtues at the end of the day. This is process of building on the Foundation that Christ has given us in Himself.
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