The more we practice temperance, the stronger our will becomes. And the stronger our will becomes, the more we will desire the things of God. This is why cultivating and practicing the virtue of temperance is so important. But how might I live out the virtue of temperance? In this latest episode of the Connections Between Faith and Life series, Christina shares ways about how to cultivate and practice temperance each and every day. Watch here: “Living the Virtue of Temperance Each Day” In this episode, Christina focuses on: Identifying areas in which you may need to grow in temperance […]
virtue
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Good morning! I pray that this finds you and yours doing well in the midst of the continuing pandemic. This week’s addition to the Connections Between Faith and Daily Life YouTube series focuses upon how transformative cheerfulness can be in the world around us. This question was a part of the Say Yes to Holiness Winter Summit last week, so I went a bit deeper here into how cheerfulness might be the actual vaccine we need in the midst of the continuing COVID 19 pandemic. Enjoy watching, “Is Cheerfulness The REAL Vaccine We Need For The COVID 19 Pandemic?” This […]
Last month before I became sick I was able to have a most wonderful conversation with the great people at Families of Character, an organization committed to providing families the best tools to make home the most loving and unified place for children to grow. The goal is for them to understand that even if their family life feels off course or divided, change is always possible. As we prepare to head into the Fourth of July weekend–one of the most family focused holidays of our country, I thought this would be a wonderful time to share this episode with […]
October 4th marks the Memorial of St Francis of Assisi in the liturgical year of the Roman Catholic Church. On that day, we remember St Francis’ example of holiness as he struggled to become a sign and witness of Christ’s love and mercy in the world. When most people think about St Francis, they usually will consider his poverty of life, or his love and appreciation for the grandeur and beauty of creation. Or perhaps they know of Francis’ efforts to bring attention to Christ’s humility in the Incarnation which resulted in the now familiar Nativity scene, or in his […]
Was reading an article today entitled “The Evolution of Anxiety: Why We Worry and What to Do About It.” by James Clear, author of the book, Atomic Habits. Why am I highlighting an article concerned primarily with behavioral psychology and stress management? Because yesterday marked the beginning of the season of Lent for most of the Christian world. (I say most because my fellow Orthodox do not begin Lent for another week. But I digress…) So what does Lent have to do with stress? Well, the image above might give you a clue. Lent is FULL of things that we […]
Recently, I was sharing with a friend my excitement about the upcoming November 16th release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. His response was very subdued, and when I queried him as to why, he responded, “I’m just not interested in seeing the whole Dumbledore-Grindelwald love story on screen.” I quickly assured him that I highly doubted that such a thing would happen, particularly since J.K. Rowling is the one writing the screenplay. Although my comments seemed to mollify my friend enough that he was willing to go see the movie, his reaction caused me to reflect that perhaps […]
Almost 20 years ago, there was a movie called, Pay It Forward. The movie chronicles how a 12 year old young man is given an assignment to think of a way to change the world and put it into action. The result was the launch of a goodwill movement known as “pay it forward” in which people did acts of charity for random people in anticipation of their someday receiving charitable acts from others themselves. The idea of “paying it forward” is a great way to look at the the process of working to grow in daily virtue. Because the […]
One of my profound joys is the reading of a phenomenal story. Especially if it is one that echoes the Story, and thereby the very reading, it has the potential to transform the mind and heart of the reader. A definite example of this kind of story is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It will be the 20th anniversary of the release of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, next month. Unfortunately, due to the change in the title of the first book in the seven book series, many people came to understand, […]