Celebrating the Virtues of the Saints
Saints are holy and human people who lived virtuous lives dedicated to God and to the message of the gospels. They are not people with “super powers,” but people who constantly centered their lives on God. They received grace at baptism, just as we do. They realized if they wanted to follow God, they would have to practice the virtues and live their lives with the help of God’s grace every day.
In order to learn from the saints and try to imitate them, each month we will recognize and celebrate the virtues found in the lives of nine of our saints. All the virtues are rooted in the three Theological Virtues, which are from God. According to the Catechism, a human virtue is a habitual and firm inclination to choose the good. A virtue allows an individual, not only to do good acts, but to give the best of self. They are acquired by human effort, and with God’s help, virtues form character. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts and help maintain a relationship with God. The Cardinal Virtues are the four major virtues around which all other human virtues are grouped.
Examples of the human virtues can be found in Jesus, who is the Way the Truth and the Life. They are found in the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, the Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit and in the Seven Virtues (those virtues which oppose the Seven Deadly Sins.)
We, just like the saints, are called to live holy lives, to be saints. We are called to respond to God’s grace in our lives and to learn to live virtuous lives and choose what is right and good in each situation. We are called to let God’s grace help us discover the presence of God in our every day living and to see all other people as God sees them, just as the saints do.
Resources:
New American Bible
Building the Builders: Faith Formation in Virtue
Sr. Patricia Helene Earl, IHM, Ph.D
Publisher: National Catholic Educational Association
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Publisher: United States Catholic Conference
The Loyola Treasury of Saints
David Self
Loyola Press
Saints, Our Friends and Teachers
Lee Palencar
Twenty-Third Publications
The Saints’ Guide to Happiness
Robert Ellsberg
Doubleday
Encyclopedia of Saints
Our Sunday Visitor
Saints and Feast Days
Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio
Loyola Press
Celebrating the Virtues of the Saints
Saints are holy and human people who lived virtuous lives dedicated to God and to the message of the gospels. They are not people with “super powers,” but people who constantly centered their lives on God. They received grace at baptism, just as we do. They realized if they wanted to follow God, they would have to practice the virtues and live their lives with the help of God’s grace every day.
In order to learn from the saints and try to imitate them, each month we will recognize and celebrate the virtues found in the lives of nine of our saints.
All the virtues are rooted in the three Theological Virtues, which are from God. According to the Catechism, a human virtue is a habitual and firm inclination to choose the good. A virtue allows an individual, not only to do good acts, but to give the best of self. They are acquired by human effort, and with God’s help, virtues form character. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts and help maintain a relationship with God. The Cardinal Virtues are the four major virtues around which all other human virtues are grouped.
Examples of the human virtues can be found in Jesus, who is the Way the Truth and the Life. They are found in the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, the Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit and in the Seven Virtues (those virtues which oppose the Seven Deadly Sins.)
We, just like the saints, are called to live holy lives, to be saints. We are called to respond to God’s grace in our lives and to learn to live virtuous lives and choose what is right and good in each situation. We are called to let God’s grace help us discover the presence of God in our every day living and to see all other people as God sees them, just as the saints do.
Resources:
New American Bible
Building the Builders: Faith Formation in Virtue
Sr. Patricia Helene Earl, IHM, Ph.D
Publisher: National Catholic Educational Association
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Publisher: United States Catholic Conference
The Loyola Treasury of Saints
David Self
Loyola Press
Saints, Our Friends and Teachers
Lee Palencar
Twenty-Third Publications
The Saints’ Guide to Happiness
Robert Ellsberg
Doubleday
Encyclopedia of Saints
Our Sunday Visitor
Saints and Feast Days
Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio
Loyola Press