The cultivation of virtue in pursuit of the highest ideals of human living can be traced all the way back to the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Prior to the coming of Christ, perhaps the best articulation of virtue was offered by Aristotle. He taught that the attainment of happiness consists in virtuous living and contemplation of truth. In order to contemplate truth, the soul must have command over all rational and emotional powers. The cultivation of virtue is the means to that end.
Christianity recognized the natural goods discovered in the great thinkers of the ancient world and unpacked the deeper meaning of virtue infused by God’s saving grace. Fr. Ambrose Gardeil, a French Dominican, wrote beautifully on St. Thomas Aquinas and moral theology. He offered profound insight into the life of virtue. In The True Christian Life, he distills the ultimate goal of the life of grace as, “the intimate indwelling of God in the souls of the just.” This means that the very divine life that God lives within himself is brought to life in the soul. The grace of God elevates human nature so that virtuous living takes on a supernatural character. The theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity are infused in the soul and the moral virtues of prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude are divinized. God’s divine life dwells within the Christian soul “so that he may stir up and provoke” his own divine activity within us. By the grace of God, human action takes on a supernatural character. This is the work of God alone and we only aspire to be willing subordinates to his work. God merely waits for our free acceptance of this gift.
What this means is that our moral life must be interpenetrated by our spiritual life. The moral life of each one of us is best understood in terms of the pursuit of virtue in all our activities. Morality is grounded in the idea that one must choose good and avoid evil. Virtue means moral perfection and is acquired through effort. The task is to seek excellence in every chosen activity on a daily basis. Perfection only exists truly in God, who is the plenitude of perfection in every way imaginable. Therefore, the perfection of virtue in each person is only possible through transformation in Christ, by his grace.
This is the belief that informs our mission to live virtuous lives and invite our students and their families to cultivate virtue throughout the school year. Student planners for junior high and high school are infused with virtue education. The design of the planners includes a new virtue each week. As students track their assignments, they will have an opportunity to focus on one particular virtue each week. These planners are published by Open Light Media. As a school for the whole family, we hope that parents will also benefit from this resource. Our educational efforts are accomplished in partnership with you.
The garden and elementary students will focus on one virtue each month, since it is developmentally more appropriate for them. Through the grace of God, we will together pursue a life of virtue and lasting happiness.
Garden and Elementary Virtue Sequence
September - Orderliness
October - Docility
November - Prayerfulness
December - Faith
January - Perseverance
February - Industriousness
March - Meekness
April - Magnificence
May - Good Counsel