This morning I read a thought-provoking blog from a well-known deacon in the Church who wrote about the challenges of Church and culture and the interwoven nature of the two. He stressed that one of the reasons he was writing on this topic was because “the younger generation is watching.”

That’s a scary prospect, when we consider what children are exposed to today and what becomes assimilated as acceptable behavior, and while we may understand it as behavior unworthy of our Catholic faith, our children are still in the process of “becoming,” and need effort invested on all sides in their moral and faith formation.

That’s why the teaching of Catholic virtues is important in the religious education classroom.  Virtues are described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as “a habitual and firm disposition to do good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts but to give the best of himself” (CCC, no. 1803). 

Catholic teaching identifies seven virtues, including three theological virtues which serve as the foundation for four Cardinal virtues. The three theological virtues are faith, hope, and love (charity), and “the greatest of these is love.” They relate directly to God and are gifts of God we receive in Baptism. The four Cardinal virtues, which are considered human virtues, are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

The language used in Catholic teaching to explain the virtues and their relationship to each other is sometimes daunting, such as in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or writings of the Holy Fathers, but is worth tackling to help us, as religious educators, develop a fuller understanding of the simpler explanations in student texts. A greater understanding can only help us to be more effective in teaching students about the importance of virtues.

I have found the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults to be very helpful.  It is an adaption of the Catechism of the Catholic Church developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It relates Church teaching, as far as possible, to United States culture, affirming the positive elements and challenging the negative. Each chapter begins with a story of an American saint or other outstanding Catholic who belongs to a community of witnesses to the Catholic way of life, and also includes questions for discussion, meditation, and prayer.

The USCCA points out, “From the earliest days of the Church when St. Athanasius wrote the life of St. Anthony of the Desert, it was clear that telling stories about saints and holy people encourages others to be like them and is an effective way of teaching Catholic doctrine.”

That’s something easily done in a religion classroom and fits right in with one of the principal marketing practices for video games – community building. Let’s face it, given youth’s fascination with video games and anything screen-related, we are up against a formidable source of influence. We could take some lessons from their best practices for getting kids hooked.

In addition to the lessons in teacher guides, how may we cultivate Catholic virtues in the classroom?

Build Community – If sharing the lives of holy women and men with students provides them with models to emulate, evaluate how often you can manage it in the classroom. Additionally, these stories offer a consistent reminder that they, even as youth, are part of the communion of saints, comprised of all the members of the Church through all time including those now in the Church or those who have died and are either in Heaven or Purgatory. Remind students, visually as well as with words, that they belong to the family of God. 

Create Saint Teams – As time and lesson plans allow, group students into teams under the name of a saint, maybe saints of a particular month or season. If old enough, have students work together to learn about their saint, discover the saint’s virtues and create a presentation on those virtues to share with the class. For younger students, use reading groups to read the story of a saint to the group and allow them to draw pictures about what they’ve heard and then talk as a group of the saint’s virtues.

Visual Displays – Tapping into the reality that children are inundated with and attuned to visual communication, consider using the language and definition of virtues as they are presented in the student texts to create single-word posters to keep on display in the classroom, or have students create symbols to represent each of the virtues, keep them on display, or turn them into class books. 

Pray for Virtues – Add to your classroom prayers an opportunity for students to ask God for an increase in the seven Catholic virtues, or additional human virtues such as patience, humility, mercy, and kindness. Asking God for help is an excellent practice to cultivate in students, helping to develop the virtue of humility and faith for their journey ahead.

About the Author
Mary Clifford Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to ten, is a Catholic journalist, editor, and author who has served the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey; Burlington, Vermont, and RENEW International in the areas of religious education and communication.

 

---

Product Highlight

Family Life Second Edition

This program is the newly updated edition of RCL Benziger’s leading K-8 supplemental program that addresses key concerns of today’s Catholic families. Family Life includes child safety education in every grade level, promotes virtuous living, and strengthens Catholic identity.

The Family Life program reinforces the Catholic virtues and values that your students attain with their education. Family Life is an essential component of your school-based religious education program and meets Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards and benchmarks.

 

LEARN MORE!