• Something is holy by virtue of being related to God.
• Our call to holiness (i.e. to be saints) is a
vocation given to us by
Jesus himself.
• A mark of holiness is to let Christ’s light shine through in our lives.

• For our part, we can accept the grace of Redemption
God offers us by:
– repenting of our sins
– believing in the Gospel
– living a life of holiness
• We grow in holiness in two ways:
1. living a life of virtue
2. cooperating with God’s graces

• The habitual and firm disposition to do good— the meaning of living a life of virtue—empowers us to perform good acts and give the best of our lives.
• The opposite of a virtue is a vice, a bad habit that is acquired by repeated sin in violation of proper norms of morality.

• Human virtues (aka moral virtues) are virtues we can acquire by human effort.
• The cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—are the source of the other virtues.

• Helps us decide responsibly
• Equated with common sense and wisdom
• Use of memory, foresight, imagination, and openness to learning to discover the right course of action in every situation

• Giving due to God and neighbor
• The four types:
–
– commutative : regulates relationships of exchange between individuals and social groups distributive : seeks fair distribution of the goods of creation
– legal : governs what individuals owe society as a whole
– social : applies the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the structures, systems, and laws of society

• Courage to conquer fears—even the fear of death—for a worthy cause
• The ultimate example of fortitude it martyrdom, dying for one’s faith

• Virtue of self-control
• Three parts:
– abstinence : tempers our desires for food and other pleasure-producing substances
–
– sobriety : moderates our desires for alcoholic beverages chastity : helps us control our sex drive in a way that fits our state in life

• Faith, hope, and charity (love)
• They are infused into our souls directly by God
• The Triune God is their origin, motive, and object

• Makes it possible for us to commit totally to God
• Must be lived and strengthened through practices like:
– prayer
– reading Scripture
– celebrating the sacraments
– studying the faith
– drawing on the faith of friends
– put faith into action:
• corporal works of mercy and
• spiritual works of mercy

• Allows us to desire the
Kingdom of Heaven and happiness in eternal life
• Christ’s own life is a model of hope

• Allows us to love God for his own sake and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of
God
• The “mother of virtues” and the only virtue that lasts into eternity
• Jesus by his words and deeds teaches that charity involves:
– obedience
– reverence
– sacrifice

• Growth in holiness is a difficult but not impossible task as long as we rely on God’s help, which includes:
– grace
– the seven gifts of the
Holy Spirit

• Grace is God’s favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to the call to holiness
• The benefits of grace:
– enables us to address God as
Abba
– adopts us into God’s family
– enables us to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity
– makes us heirs of Heaven
– enables us to live as God’s sons and daughters as Jesus taught
– unites us to our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ

• Sanctifying grace is the free and undeserved gift that God gives to us that blesses us in many ways and helps us to grow in holiness
• Distinguished from:
– actual graces: God’s intervention at the beginning of conversion or in the course of sanctification
–
–
– sacramental graces: specific gifts that come from particular sacraments graces of state : help God gives to particular ministries in the
Church charisms : special gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to individual
Christians to build up the Body of Christ

• Help us to live Christ-like lives
• Given to us at Baptism and
Confirmation
•
•
•
The Seven Gifs of the Holy Spirit: wisdom : looking at reality from
God’s point of view understanding : ability to uncover the deeper meaning of faith and the mysteries of God’s magnificent creation knowledge : grace to see how God is working in our lives, especially in moral decisions

• counsel (right judgment): ability to form our conscience in light of Church teaching
• fortitude (courage): strength to follow our convictions in the face of adversity
• piety (reverence): respect shown to the Lord through praise and worship
• fear of the Lord (wonder and awe): concern about the reality of our sin and to avoid alienation from God

• We are able to grow in holiness as members of
Christ’s Body in three general ways:
– practicing the virtue of charity
– celebrating the sacraments
– picking up the cross and following Jesus

• Created in his own image, God gave humans the capacities needed to be holy and to share in his own life:
– Human reason: power to discern with our intellects the laws God put into creation
– Free will: capacity to choose among alternatives and to use God-given talents to cooperate freely with God’s grace
– Conscience: capacity to distinguish between good and evil in an act that one is going to perform, in the process of performing, or has already completed
– Formation of conscience is a lifelong process

1. the object chosen: the matter of our actions/ what we do
2. the end or intention: the purpose for doing something
3. the circumstances: secondary factors surrounding the action (e.g. time, place, method of performing the act)

• Every person is obliged to follow his or her own conscience.
• However, sometimes conscience can be mistaken, so we must always aim to strengthen it.
• Following a wellformed conscience and making a moral choice based on it is an opportunity for growth in holiness.