If there ever was a time when moral courage was on trial, it is today. We can do much to foster virtues in our
youth, and in the process, strengthen these same virtues within ourselves. Virtues are the first stepping stones leading to mature character development. Practicing the virtues keeps men, women and children healthy in mind, body and spirit.
Virtues are the missing link in the fabric of societies all over the world today. Now is a good time to get back to the common sense of the virtues.
Why do virtues matter?
Virtues in society do what baking soda does for cake recipes. It makes them rise. Have you ever made a cake without any rising ingredient? It will flop, like society today, which is attempting to live, think, speak, see, hear and act many times without one thought to virtue. We seem to make important decisions based on other factors.
How many times have we dulled our senses, or dulled our consciences, or traded our once strong faith for a placebo of materialism, consumerism, or political or financial gain? So many times we trade the virtue in how we speak dress, treat others, or act, mistakenly thinking reasons other than virtues is what we ought to base our decisions on.
Where did we go wrong?
We took our eyes off the real prize.
Do we remember the days of our parents and grandparents, many of whom were not considered to be among the top one percent of wealth earners of their day?
Do we remember what it was like not to have what other children had in school?
Do we remember hand-me-down clothes or clothes bought from the local thrift shop?
These, among a host of other realities some may wish to forget as an embarrassment, can serve as the spark that fuels the materialistic and consumeristic drive to do and have better things.
What is the real prize for Christians today?
It is the same as it has always been. The real prize of Christians is our undying faith in Jesus Christ, who leads us IN VIRTUE to God, His Father, graced by His Holy Spirit, through the open door of the VIRTUOUS Blessed Mother Mary. We need to remember that it was God the Father who chose Mary as the way to introduce His Son to the world. This is more than the Christmas story.
Jesus is the perfect example of living the virtues: faith, hope, love, prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice. This is what we need to be teaching our children, and re-introducing in our daily living. All of the Beatitudes, taught by Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount, are based on the virtues.
Let us not shy away from teaching virtues to our children. Not one of us is perfect. We begin, or begin again, right where we are. Let us bloom where we are planted, in the garden of our homes, families, neighborhoods, schools and parishes. This is a positive step we can take to instill wholesome goodness in a world in want and need of virtues.
The Virtue of Virtues is now out in its second printing, and is available at:
https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/809142-the-virtue-of-virtues