Tag: Virtue

Celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Week

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Kindness 4

Once again, it is Random Acts of Kindness week. It is always held around Valentine’s Day, as kindness is associated with the virtue of love. I’m a big fan of Random Acts of Kindness Week, because it always brings me and others great joy to do something nice for someone else, expecting nothing in return.

Here are seven suggestions, for seven days in the week, on how you can participate in Random Acts of Kindness Week. Maybe you could try one suggestion each day:

  1. Surprise the love of your life with a special meal; perhaps it involves home cooking your love’s favorite foods, or perhaps it is dinner at your love’s favorite restaurant. Either way, the love of your life will be made to feel great.
  2. Refrain from scolding your children/spouse and exert patience along with kindness. Sometimes it is better to be kind than to be right.
  3. Call… Read more…

Seek Virtue This Lent!

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Seek Virtue

Rather than giving up chocolate, only to devour the solid chocolate Easter Bunny on Easter Sunday, seek virtue this Lent. Rather than giving up drinking alcohol, only to pop the cork on the Champagne this Easter Sunday, seek virtue this Lent. Rather than giving up television, only to sit in front of the TV all day Easter Sunday watching your shows on demand, seek virtue this Lent.

So many times, year after year, we temporarily give up something we love as a sacrifice for Lent in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. I suggest taking a different and possibly more… Read more…

Clothe the Naked. Shelter the Homeless.

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Homeless Child

Clothing those in need and sheltering the homeless are considered “corporal” acts of mercy because they physically impact the human body. Everyone has a need to be physically clothed and sheltered from the weather. They have a human right to these things; to act otherwise, would be disrespecting the dignity of the human person. Expressing such indifference towards the naked and homeless indicates that we do not live up to Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).

In this Year of Mercy we are given ample opportunity to extend acts of mercy to those in need of clothes and shelter; ample opportunity to “love our neighbors as ourselves.”

What Can You Do to Help the Homeless?

Read to learn how you can help…

Reading to Children: Tops on My List!

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Reading to the Children During Catholic Schools Week

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Yesterday, I got to meet with 120 children at Saint Pius X Catholic School in Greensboro, NC. As part of the Catholic Schools Week festivities, I read my new book, Adventures of Faith, Hope, and Charity: Finding Patience to the Kindergartners, as well as the First and Second Graders. My thanks go out to Ann Knapke, Principal and Christina Foley, Librarian for a well planned visit. The students asked great questions during the Q&A periods. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them about virtue; especially the virtue of patience.

What are we as adults doing to teach our children the virtues? Our behavior, as adults, serves as living examples to them. Many of you come to my website seeking advice on how to change your own behavior to become more virtuous. That’s a great place to start, but let’s not forget our children in the process. Read more…

Politics and Religion Intersect!

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

politics-religion

It’s that time again folks, where politics and religion collide! Today marks the beginning of the 2016 Presidential electoral process. The great state of Iowa, the first in the nation, conducts their Iowa caucuses today, to determine who will get Iowa’s electoral votes for the Democratic and Republican parties. Now the race is really on!

Have you been watching the political news? The Republican candidates are cutting each other’s throats with trash-talking and degrading language. One candidate is famous for spouting racial, cultural and gender bias against the citizenry. The Democratic candidates are no holy saints either. They try to set themselves apart from each other with negative “policy” commentary that somehow spills over into personal insult.

What’s the kicker? Read more…

Grandma and Timmy’s Hope

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Grandma

Timmy was waiting by the front window for Grandma to arrive. “Will she remember me?” thought the little four-year old. Timmy remembered Grandma’s sweet perfume, and soft cheeks. He loved her laugh. He was bursting at the seams waiting for her arrival. Then, he saw the car pull up in the driveway. Daddy ran around from the driver’s side and opened the passenger door. There was Grandma! The wait was over!

Timmy ran out the front door and dashed into Grandma’s arms. He hugged her tight, never wanting to let her go. “Grandma, it’s so good to see you,” Timmy said excitedly. “I’ve missed you!” It was only after getting his hug, that Timmy noticed something different about his Grandma. Read more…

Saint Paul: From Sinner to Saint

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

St Paul

From Saul to Saint Paul

 

Saint Paul, whose Feast Day is celebrated today, serves as the perfect example of a person who turned away from sin and turned toward God. Before his astounding conversion, Saint Paul was known as Saul. As Saul, he participated in the stoning (and killing) of Saint Stephen, our first Martyr of the Christian faith. Saint Paul is well known as originally starting out as a persecutor of the early Christians, as he was a zealot for the Jewish faith.

 

In his efforts to remain true to the Jewish faith, Saul departed Jerusalem for Damascus, in search of men and women who had sworn allegiance to Jesus. Saul wanted to bring them back to Jerusalem in chains (Acts 9:1). However, Jesus had other designs… Read more…

Mercy in the City – Book Review

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Mercy in the City

Mercy in the City by Kerry Weber:

 

Mercy flows in abundance during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to share with you my review of Kerry Weber’s book, Mercy in the City. Kerry is a young, single woman living in New York City. This book tells her true life story of her attempt to perform all of the Corporal Acts of Mercy within one Lenten season.

 

In this book, we traverse through the season of Lent with Kerry chronicling her adventures. She shows us how to… Read more…

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

martin-luther-king

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – A Man of Peace

 

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of peace, receiving the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent efforts to bring racial equality to the forefront of American society. He organized peaceful protests, as in the case of Rosa Parks, where he was known to have said:

“We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.”1

Martin Luther King Jr.’s rhetorical skills, calm demeanor, and peace loving nature, combined with his theological training,… Read more…

All Life is Worth Living

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Life Worth Living

Life is Precious

 

During the Christmas holiday, I was listening to an old Bishop Fulton Sheen episode that was on television, while working around the house. I heard him make a comment that shot directly to my brain: “All life is worth living.” He made this comment decades ago, as if a foretelling of something that we would need to focus on today. He made this prophetic comment well before abortion became legal, or euthanasia became popular; or before the death penalty became the preferred means for seeking justice. I began reflecting on his comment. I began by asking myself some questions:

Read more…