As a parent, I most often hear myself repeating the same instructions, “Hurry up,” “Leave your brother/sister alone,” or the ever-favorite, “Get off of the…
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Tag: virtue
by Guest Blogger Virginia Lieto
I am a lover of virtue! There I’ve said it! I know that I am in a minority, because most people do not even think about virtue as they traverse throughout their day. I, on the other hand, live for virtue, because it is virtue that draws me near to Christ. I can’t think of a better place to be than near Christ. Maybe that is because I am also a lover of Christ: I want to be like Christ! I look up to Him; He is my role model.
Leave a Comment“But I don’t want to!”
I hear that complaint frequently from one of my children. It’s an age-appropriate response to a myriad of less-than-appealing tasks: cleaning up toys, getting ready for bed, trying certain foods, or ending playtime.
One of the best measures of maturity is willingly choosing to do things that we don't want to. Share on X
Most often, my response to my child’s complaint is a variation on the theme, “We all have to do things we don’t want to.”
After all, do I enjoy the many tasks I’m responsible for? Doing dishes four times a day? Changing poopy diapers? Administering discipline?
We choose to do unpleasant things because we know we must. We choose to do those things because we have foresight and know the consequences of our action or inaction. Sometimes because we’ve made a decision to love. Ultimately, we come to learn what’s good for us, and often that means self-denial.
Leave a CommentPrudence, justice, fortitude . . . Who doesn’t want to attain those virtues? Temperance, the fourth of the cardinal virtues, may be less appealing, but still garners respect.
Then there’s the virtue of humility, the tempering virtue of pride.
In my Catholic grade school, we played what was known simply as “The Religion Game.” Short explanation: it involved a person guessing a religious terms using clues provided by teammates. One of the vocabulary terms committed to memory was ejaculation.
Ejaculation: a short prayer meant to be memorized and repeated throughout the day
In those pre-pubescent days, before its utterance would elicit a round of giggles and snickers, this five-syllable word had the potential to propel a team into the winner’s circle. In the ensuing years, the use of these little prayers fell by the wayside.
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