By Susan Ciancio
Learning about and practicing the Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and charity and the Cardinal Virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude help us not only grow closer to God, but they help us become better people.
These virtues are easily taught to our children through our examples, through the sacraments, through biblical stories, through the lives of saints, and through Christ-focused lessons. That’s one of the goals of the Culture of Life Studies Program, and our lessons align with these virtues and help you teach them at home or in school.
As Lent is a time to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice and to grow closer to Him through spiritual reading and good works, we want to explore each of these virtues and highlight a few CLSP lessons that illustrate these virtues so that you can easily introduce them to your children and help them grow closer to Christ as well this Lent.
What is faith?
Faith is the power to believe the truths that God reveals about Himself and that are contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. This virtue is bestowed upon us at baptism, but we must cultivate it our entire lives, as there’s never an age when we are too old to stop growing in faith.
Blessed Carlo Acutis, who will soon become the first canonized Millennial, was just a young boy when he died, but his immense faith not only brought his mother back to the Church but countless others. You and your children can read about his incredible life in Blessed Carlo Acutis: Extraordinary in the Ordinary.
St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, is a beautiful example of someone who had a strong faith. Not only that, but he had an unwavering trust in God, and when God asked him to care for Mary and Baby Jesus, he gave his own yes. You can read about his life and how we can look to him as a spiritual father in St. Joseph: Pro-Life Saint, Hero, and Role Model.
What is hope?
Hope allows the possibility for us to trust in God, especially when it comes to things that seem difficult for us to achieve. As with faith, we receive this gift at baptism, but we must constantly work toward putting our trust in God.
St. Damien of Molokai is a beautiful example of this hope, as he gave hope to the people of the leper colony when he taught them about God and helped them see that they still had value even though they were ostracized and isolated on an island. You can read all about him and his works in When Heroes Become Saints: Saint Damien de Veuster of Molokai.
What is charity?
Charity, or love, is the ability to love God above everything else and to see others with God’s eyes, while treating them with the love and respect they deserve as human beings. St. Teresa of Calcutta, also known as Mother Teresa, is a beautiful example of charity toward others. She loved and cared for the sick, the dying, and those whom most people didn’t even want to look at. You can read all about her in our two lessons: Do Small Things with Great Love: St. Teresa of Calcutta and Serving the Poorest of the Poor: St. Teresa of Calcutta.
What is prudence?
Prudence can also be called right judgment, meaning that it leads us to making good decisions by taking into account God’s words and teachings. St. John Bosco worked all his life to make good decisions and to help troubled young boys make better decisions and get to know God. You can read about him in Unconditional Love and Respect for Everyone: St. John Bosco.
What is justice?
Justice is the virtue that teaches us to be fair in all that we do, even when we don’t want to. It means that we treat others with dignity as we work toward peace in our lives and communities. In other words, we do to others as we would have them do to us. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about this, and today we call it the Golden Rule. You can read about it in The Golden Rule and Love for Those Who Hurt Us and Living the Golden Rule.
What is temperance?
Temperance could also be described as moderation or restraint in our actions. We must have the self-control to identify the things that are bad for us and stay away from them. But there are also many things in life that are good, but they are not good in large amounts or they are not good for us at one particular time. In those things, too, we must practice restraint. This leads to us caring for our entire person—body, mind, and soul. St. Ignatius understood this, and from his teachings the Ignatian concept of cura personalis, or care for the whole person, has become a crucial way of living. You can read all about this and how to implement this concept into your life in St. Ignatius: Cura Personalis and St. Ignatius: Loving and Caring for the Whole Person.
What is fortitude?
Fortitude means showing courage or strength in our actions. We need this today, especially when people make disparaging comments about our faith or how we try to live a Christ-centered life. Fortitude gives us the ability to stand up and go against what secular popular opinion is and proclaim the truth of the faith. Dr. Jérôme Lejeune showed incredible courage throughout his life when he stood up for those with Down syndrome. He was the doctor who discovered that Down syndrome is caused by an extra chromosome, and he spent his life teaching that those with DS should be cherished and respected. When other doctors began using prenatal testing to determine if the baby had Down syndrome, thus giving mothers the opportunity to abort her baby before he was born, Dr. Lejeune spoke out and taught the evils of abortion. You can read about his amazing life in Dr. Jérôme Lejeune and Trisomy 21.
This Lent, let us all take time to grow in faith and to learn about the holy men and women whose examples lead us to an eternity with Christ.