Tag: Virtue

Friendship: It was I Who Chose You

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Friend of Jesus

Friendship as defined by Jesus through the writings of the Apostle, Saint John:

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another. (John 15:13-17).

Let’s unpack this statement, one point at a time. Read more…

Blog Tour Set! I’m Blessed and Humbled!

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Blog Tour Ad

I am blessed and humbled to have such great, and talented friends, who have agreed to review my new book available on Tuesday, August 25th. That’s just two weeks from today! Let me introduce you to my friends.

Oh, did you see that box titled, “YOU!” in the picture? Well, you will have many opportunities to join in on the fun! Read more…

Do You Accept God in Your Life?

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

God

Do you accept God in your life?

It’s a very simple question. My guess is the answer is “yes” or you would probably not be wasting your time reading this post. I want for you to give your answer more thought. Go deeper. Would the answer still be yes, after answering the following questions?

  • Do you accept all of Christ’s teachings, as delivered by Him? Or, do you pick and choose what you think is relevant to accept as appropriate for the 21st century?
  • Do you believe and accept that Christ’s moral teachings are unchanging; meaning… Read more…

Accepting the Unacceptable: What to Do?

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

diversity

Accepting someone else’s reality can be difficult; especially when someone else’s reality does not jive with our own. What are we to do? How are we to behave when we see what we deem to be unacceptable behavior, and/or hear inappropriate speech?

People’s perceptions (realities) and points of origin will differ, resulting in a need for diversity; the accepting of another’s reality. The need for diversity could stem from a myriad of origin points: race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, culture – just to name a few.

We must understand and accept another person’s reality, to practice the virtue of acceptance. No one is asking you to condone sinful behavior. However, we must remember to love our neighbor as Christ loves each of us. As Saint Augustine originally coined in Letter 211 of his writings, we are to have “love for mankind and hatred of sins.” To do so is acting in a Christ-like manner.

Here is a perfect example: Read more…

Acceptance: Unlock the Doors!

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

keys

Acceptance is a two-fold virtue: accepting yourself and accepting others. How difficult is it for you to acknowledge and accept your own limitations and weaknesses? How difficult is it for you to accept the same in others? Do you hold others to a higher standard than yourself, because you expect more from others than you do of yourself?

Finding acceptance in our lives requires that we first unlock the door to the interior self. It is there that we commune with God. We discover and come to accept who we are, as God has created us to be: in His image and likeness. In looking at the interior self, we assess our strengths and weaknesses; our possibilities and limitations. We acknowledge our sins. Within the depths of the interior self, we come to accept… Read more…

Poverty Alleviated: It’s Up to You!

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Munificence 4

Poverty Can Be Eliminated

Poverty can be eliminated if we, to whom much has been given, were to share with those less fortunate. Everything that we have comes from the providence of God. Nothing that we think we own, do we actually own, for it could all be taken away in the blink of an eye. Everything belongs to God, and we are merely the stewards of his benefaction. Saint Francis de Sales says:

…our possessions are not our own; God has given them to us that we may cultivate them, and it is His will that we should render them useful and fruitful. 1

Therefore, what we do with our surplus matters in the eyes of God. Do we use it for the benefit of others, or do we consume it for ourselves? Read more…

Giver? Me? What’s in it for Me?

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Munificence 2

Why be a giver?

You might be thinking, “Why should I part with my hard earned money and give it to someone else? No one’s done any favors for me?” The short answer is that you do it because Jesus commanded you to when He said “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). How can you love your neighbor as yourself, if you allow your neighbor to do without while you live comfortably? You, in essence, love yourself more than your neighbor.

We are all in this together. We are all on the same journey, heading hopefully to the same place – eternal life with Christ. Are you ready to stand before Christ for your particular judgment and answer these questions?

Read more…

Give Freely: Munificence, A Little Known Virtue

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Munificence

Give freely from your wealth to alleviate the suffering of the poor; that is the easiest way to define the virtually unknown virtue of Munificence. A person truly practices Munificence when he/she uses his/her wealth to alleviate the suffering of the poor, while acknowledging the merit of poverty for oneself in regards to eternal life. Remember, you can’t take it with you!

As with the virtue of Magnanimity, with Munificence, intention matters. The primary purpose must be to alleviate the suffering of the poor; to address poverty. If the primary purpose for donating from one’s wealth was for a tax deduction, then the person would not be munificent, albeit generous.

As a society, we should be… Read more…

Good to Great: Actions Give Praise to God

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Magnanimity

Going from good to great sounds daunting, doesn’t it? It need not be so. To be magnanimous or noble-minded, to be great, simply means that we need to recognize the talents that God has given us and use them to the best of our abilities for the benefit of others. That added extra phrase, ‘for the benefit of others,’ marks the clear distinction of intention between self-sacrificing love for one’s neighbor and self-serving love. Where do you start?

Take an honest assessment of your talents. Perhaps you are a good listener. If so, be magnanimous with your time and give a listening ear to those in need. Perhaps you are a good communicator/teacher. If so, share your knowledge with others. God gave each of us talents, differing talents, which is a good thing. Read more…

Generous to a Fault: St. Francis of Assisi

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

st-francis-of-assisi

Generous to a fault – Have you ever heard that phrase? It describes a person who gives until he has nothing else to give; he gives from the heart for the benefit of others. He gives in a self-sacrificing manner, making the gesture magnanimous. The saints are great examples of people who do things for the right reason, with the right intention – that of self-sacrificing love. Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most magnanimous saints, according to Father Romano Guardini:

The perfection of expression can be seen in the saints. God appears in them. But since man is the image of God, and God is the model of man, this manifestation also reveals the essential nature of man, of every man. He becomes truly himself. How did St. Francis of Assisi become truly himself? By not… Read more…