Their examples inspire us and remind us of the way we want to live. We learn most about the virtues, therefore, not in a book but by spending time with others whom we want to imitate-t hose who have more life experience or are living more virtuously than we. Indeed, living the virtues is an art, not a science. Let’s make sure we give priority to filling our heads with what matters most, including the lives of the saints.Īnother crucial way we learn about the virtues is regularly seeing them lived in the people around us: friends, parents, teachers, coworkers, and priests.Īll education is ultimately about imitation. Our minds can take only so much information into our souls each day. It certainly will do much more for our growth in virtue than filling our minds with the latest score, the latest news, or the latest trend on social media. Her example encourages us to remain faithful and learn, like her, to find Jesus in the darkness.įilling our minds with stories of the saints gives us an array of concrete examples for how to put virtue into practice in our daily lives. She knew that faithfulness to daily prayer was far more important than any feelings of divine intimacy she might experience in prayer. She went through decades of darkness in her spiritual life and still persevered and found Jesus at a deeper level in that darkness. When we experience a few weeks or months of dryness in prayer, we can be encouraged by the example of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta. His example can inspire us to say a short prayer of offering to the Lord every time we turn on our computer at work or start a project at home. We can learn from Saint Josemaría Escrivá, who began each project with prayer and offered his work to God as a gift of love. She realized they were wounded people and just needed extra patience, care, and attention-something others in the community didn’t always want to give them. In fact, she went out of her way to spend time with those people and loved them. We can, for example, learn about how to deal with difficult personalities from the example of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who consistently rose above her natural feelings toward the more difficult personalities in her community. They give us a picture of how we can live virtuously in our daily lives. But there are two main ways to learn about the virtues that are worth underscoring: reading the lives of the saints and living in Christian community.įirst, the saints offer real-life examples of virtue in action. We can do this in many ways: reading the Bible and the Catechism, reading good books about the virtues, and reading good novels by wise authors such as Jane Austen, who presents such a clear picture of the virtuous life. That’s why educating ourselves in the virtuous life is so important. If we aim at nothing, we’ll hit something. The more we learn about the virtues, the clearer picture we will have for what we want to aim for in life. And that’s the first step for growing in virtues: educating ourselves about them (see CCC 1810). Whether we are seventeen or forty-s even years old, we can still play catch- up and form our minds with the correct vision for a virtuous life. The good news is that it is never too late to get started. With this deficit in our personal formation, we each might wonder, “How can I personally grow in virtues if I don’t really know what they are? And how can I pass them on to my children?” Our culture trains people to make money, manage businesses, and develop sundry technological innovations but does not deliberately pass on the basics of the virtues: what they are, how they work together, how to develop them, and how to overcome vices. But most of us were not given what authentic Christian communities have always seen as so vital to pass on from generation to generation: the great tradition on the virtuous life. Many of us went off to university, where we learned a lot of information and got training so we could land a job. When we were older, we were exposed to more complex science, literature, and history. We learned the alphabet and multiplication tables. The indescribable gift of Jesus in the Eucharist unites us with each other and with our Lord may these resources further your spiritual growth and renewal as we wait to be back together at Mass.Most of us did not grow up with specific training in the virtues. Please stay up to date on the availability of Mass and Confession at your parish. Your parish leaders have additional resources to suggest for you. Sacraments, other people, life events etc. The Teaching of Christ (Sacred Tradition)
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