As we finish the second week after Labor Day, I hope that school and all fall activities are in more of a routine. As I watch my son and his wife, get my grandson Theo into routines, I am reminded why they are so comforting. There is something about knowing what is going to happen when and not wondering what is next, that keeps us calm. It is almost a habit. The habits we are trying to form using the virtues will become that habit or routine of doing good.
In Fr. Mike Schmitz’s podcast, The Catechism in a Year, on day 241 he is talking about the Cardinal Virtues, one of which is Justice (our virtue from this past week). Here is what he said, “Remember, we’re walking through all of these articles that set the stage for what it is to live a life in Christ, what it is to live a moral life and not just to be good, but to be like Jesus. This is the whole goal. Well, at the heart of it, we’re called to be his, to belong to him and we’re called to be like him. We’re called to have the heart of Jesus and to look at the world through the lens that Jesus looks at the world through and also to live and to love in this world the way Jesus lived and loved in the world. And so we’re going to talk about the human virtues. Justice is a cardinal virtue. And so we’re looking at the hinge virtues of justice…and so like we said the other day, virtues are not straitjackets. They’re meant to be the habitual disposition to the good, a firm attitude, a stable disposition, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a good moral life.”
The coming weeks we will be working on the hinge virtues of justice. Here we will see the things that help us be good people that understand justice as giving people what they deserve as we see them made in the image and likeness of God. These include respect, sincerity, trustworthiness, courtesy, etc. Our virtue next week might be a new word, affability. Affability means being approachable and easy to talk to. Sometimes, we better understand the virtue by looking at the opposing trait, for affability, that is being mean, cruel or unkind.
I hope that you are finding time to work on these virtues at home. I will never forget the time when my three-year-old son thanked me for cleaning the shower. He was just imitating his dad’s virtue of gratitude. Kid learn best by example.
Sept. 21 Donuts with Dads before school
Sept. 28 Parent Teacher Conferences
Oct. 10 Skating Party 6-8 pm