Many of us struggle to focus during our prayer, work, conversations, or leisure time. Enter the virtue of constancy. This little-known virtue is key in learning to focus and to fight temptations to procrastinate, multitask, and chase after distractions.
Do you prepare for Mass?
We prepare for so many things—work, school, a birthday party, a vacation—so as to do or enjoy those things as best we can.
Likewise, we need to prepare to celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass. It is…
“Previously, I think I had a more individualistic perspective on the virtues. Prudence, fortitude, temperance, justice—these were noble qualities each person needed to be a good Christian. But the emphasis was on the self: one needs to grow in virtue for the sake of his own moral and spiritual progress” (The Art of Living, pg. 2).
When we think of gluttony, we probably picture somebody stuffing themselves to excess or guzzling down a huge bottle of liquor. But the sin of gluttony encompasses more than overeating or overdrinking. Pope St. Gregory the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas describe four other ways in which we can commit this sin.
If you asked people to relate their experiences of art to their Catholic faith, you’d probably stop most of them in their tracks. In the medieval period, art had a clearly religious tilt. This could be seen especially in the breathtaking cathedrals, with their statues, stained-glass windows, tapestries, and other ornate decorations.