Virtue (εΎ·) is a factor that makes human beings more dignified. People can be divided into those who are virtuous and those who are not. The virtues considered important to Christians are the theological: (faith, hope, love), the three evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, obedience), and the four cardinal virtues (wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance). The Apostle Paul exhorts us: "Finally, fill your minds with everything true, noble, good and pure, everything that we love and honor, and that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise (Phil 4:8).
How, then, is virtue formed within us?
"A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts but to give the best of themselves. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all their sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions" (Catechism of the Church 1803).
He recalls the director of the 'God of Study' program, who has made several attempts to get students to study. He has explained the program but with little success. You have to make them want to do it. So he created a motivational program and gave a lot of advice. But it lasted for a very short time.
In the end, it was 'making habits' that made children study. A study at the University of London found that repeating the same thing for 66 days can make it a habit. Based on this, he created a habit calendar and had them fill in the blanks day by day for 66 days.
The results were very surprising. The children who started learning study habits turned into study-loving children after 66 days. We have Lent, a 40-day habit-forming period. If you can fight and overcome vices for 40 days, you can survive for 3 years the time of Jesus' public life. And if you can survive three years, you are well on to making it a habit for life.
If you begin a program of 6-weeks wanting to quit the use of alcohol, the first two weeks will be hell. For the next two weeks, you have to fight the thought: 'Why do I have to suffer like this?' For the last two weeks, it's more like: 'Oh, it's easier than I thought?' But when you become arrogant, you fall apart. If you can endure that for three years, you will become a person with the habit of abstinence.
The author of the book Grit, Angela Duckworth, was often told by her father, that she didn't have the 'smarts' and wouldn't succeed. However, at the age of 43, she received a prestigious award, that was awarded to only 20 from all over the world.
In psychology, 'grit' refers to 'the power to endure to the end when one reaches the limit'. The ability to persevere to the end creates a habit, and when it becomes a virtue, you have reached your desired goal. To develop grit, she says, make a 'habit of getting things done, even the little things."
For good health, just a simple exercise is enough to start with— the set plan must be completed 'unconditionally' to the end. "If you don't succeed, it's not because you don't have the capability, it's because you gave up," she says.
Let's start with the habit of making the sign of the cross when we go to bed and wake up. The day will come when prayer becomes a virtue and part of life.
