What Are The Virtues?

“What is a virtue? A virtue is the habit of doing good, making it easy and delightful. A virtuous person is free and happy! Everyone is made to be virtuous because everyone is made to be happy. But because of sin and our human weakness , we need help and practice to attain this freedom, harmony, and balance of the virtuous life.. At our Baptism God infused the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity into our soul. These virtues give us the capacity to participate in the divine life, to become children of God. The theological virtues are the highest virtues and guide and give life to all the other virtues. 

Here at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic School, we are in collaboration with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in building a truly formative experience for your children.  The Sisters created this wonderful Education in Virtue adventure to show our children that they were truly created by God for the good.  St. Gregory of Nyssa said that… “the goal of the virtuous life is to become like God.” St. Paul, in his letter to Peter, encourages us… “ to make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue.”  At Presentation, we find the good and celebrate it; from jeweled kindergarten crowns to 8th grade knighthood ceremonies, we give our students encouragement and affirmation as they express their faith in virtuous action.

We focus on the three theological  virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity;  the four cardinal or pillar virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance; and the daughter virtues of these pillars to create a rich study of 38 total virtues.   Our children know–virtue by virtue– “what it looks like,” and “what it sounds like.”  This knowledge and positive understanding gives a solid foundation from which to launch academic studies, faith formation and physical growth.  

Our parents enjoy the Education in Virtue series as it provides “a consistent lexicon for us to use with our children.” In fact, many of our parents wish they had experienced this as children themselves!  Our teaching staff praise this effort as providing structure for regular encouragement and direction.  Our children find ways to recognize virtuous behavior, both in themselves and each other.  The end result is that our children know that they are meant for the good, capable of loving kindness, and held to a standard of discipleship.  This extends naturally into our community and beyond.  In this way children see the true fruits of the Holy Spirit.