Virtues

January's Virtue

The Redemptorist Virtue for the month of January is...

january

Virtue: FAITH

Patrons: Sts. PETER and PAUL

Text: "I am the light of the world" Jn 8:12

Faith is God's first gift to us. Faith has many facets and definitions, but it is, above all, our response to the revelation of God. God has revealed himself to us in many ways, but the fullness of his revelation is in Jesus Christ (see Heb 1:1-3). Everything about Jesus reveals God to us: his words and works, his signs and miracles, his death and glorious Resurrection.

During January you might try the following suggestions:

first, set aside time for enlarging your knowledge of God's revelation.

"This could include a planned reading of the Scriptures or a study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Next, open yourself in prayer to the Holy Spirit. Alphonsus says:

"Let us never cease asking with the apostles, 'Lord, increase our faith.

— Finally, examine how you are living by faith.

In the words of Alphonsus, "It is not enough only to believe all that our holy faith teaches us; we must also direct our lives in accordance with our faith."

Thanks www.redemptorists.com

February's Virtue

The Redemptorist Virtue for the month of February is...

february

Virtue: HOPE

Patron: St. ANDREW

Text: His hope he set on me, so I will rescue him; protect him for he knows my name.

holdingbible Hope is centered on God. Through this virtue, we confidently expect the fullness of glory, our eternal destiny, the face-to-face vision of God. For the early Christians, the anchor was the favorite symbol of hope (see Heb 6:18-19) because it symbolized strength and stability. It reminds us that the stability of our hope comes not from ourselves but rather from our gracious God and our risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

Saint Alphonsus was convinced that we do not sufficiently realize that God has made great promises to us and that we can be sure God will be faithful to those promises.

During February you could feature the act of hope in your prayers, saying often during the day: "My God, I place my hope in you." You could also frequently make a conscious effort to let go of fears and worries that beset you and place your trust in God, whose love and care rule your life.

Thanks www.redemptorists.com

Virtue for March

The Redemptorist Virtue for the month of March is...

march

Virtue: LOVE of GOD

Patrons: St. James the Greater, Apostle

Text: "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul and with your whole mind." St. Matt 22:37

The centerpiece of the spirituality of Saint Alphonsus is the "love of God." Reflecting the teaching of the New Testament, Saint Alphonsus identifies two aspects of this virtue called the love of God: God's great love for us and our love for God in return. God's love, manifested especially in the gift of his Son Jesus, is freely and generously lavished upon each of us. The central message of Saint Alphonsus is, Remember how much God loves you!

This priceless gift of God's love for us deserves a response of love on our part. But how can we respond to God's love? There are countless ways, but Saint Alphonsus recommends the way of Jesus himself: "I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me" (Jn 6:38). For us, too, doing the will of our heavenly Father is our way of showing our love for God. This response to God's love must enter the nitty-gritty circumstances of our daily lives.

During March, constantly ask your-self: What is the will of God for me today?

Thanks to www.redemptorists.com

Virtue for April

The Redemptorist Virtue for the month of April is...

april

Virtue: Love of Neighbour

Patron: St. John

Text: "This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.

A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends." St John 15: 12-14

The teaching of Jesus about the great law of love includes not only love for God but also, in an essential way, love Love of Neighbor for neighbour. (See Mt 22:34-40 and Lk 10:25-28.) Alphonsus emphasized the reason for this gospel insistence on loving one's neighbour: "Why, there-fore, must we love our neighbour? Because he or she is loved by God! We must love all whom God loves!"

On the practical level, Alphonsus provides two positive and two negative considerations for practicing this virtue. On the positive side, he first encourages the spirit of peace. Though the followers of Jesus Christ, he noted, are from different nations and climes and are of unlike temperament and character, they can live peacefully together, "for love would induce them to practice mutual forbearance." Second, Alphonsus stresses almsgiving. This refers to the religious duty to help the poor and needy—not only out of our abundance but even, if necessary, out of what we consider essential for ourselves.

On the negative side, he strongly cautions against rash judgment. "If you desire to practice the beautiful virtue of charity, strive to reject every rash judgment, every distrust and unfounded suspicion of your neighbour." In addition, he warns against uncharitable speech, for there are many people "who cannot move their tongues with-out wounding someone."

True Christians will avoid calumny and detraction and will always try to say only what is good about their neighbour.

During April, focus on how much God loves you.

In addition, become conscious of your comments about others.

Thanks to: redemptorists.com

May's Virtue

The Redemptorist Virtue for the month of May is...

may

Virtue: Poverty

Patron: St. Thomas

Text: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Mt.5:3

Jesus identified with the poor. (See Mt 25:35-40.) Alphonsus insisted that we can begin to understand gospelpoverty only when we begin to experience "the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9).

Alphonsus' writings and preaching reveal his conviction that gospel poverty (what he calls "poverty of spirit and a spirit of poverty " ) demands detachment of the heart from material possessions and worldly power. He encourages us to gain perspective by meditating on death as "the day of loss," when riches and possessions will be no more. He used to encourage young Redemptorists to "clean out their closets " at the time of retreat so they would not clutter up their lives with extra things. Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from this!

This month, why not go through your "riches " and choose one treasure to give away. If you find this too difficult, perhaps you can find a way to use that treasure to help another or to bring joy to someone.

Thanks to: redemptorists.com