30 Stories , 30 Virtues

Author : Jose Mario o. Mandia

The human virtues constitute the foundation for the supernatural virtues. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “[h]uman virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good. The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love.” I found an opportunity to distill some of the most important human virtues in a series of articles that appeared in O Clarim, Macau’s trilingual Catholic Weekly, from 10 June 2016 to 20 January 2017. I have retained the content of the articles as they were published. Thus, the reader will find constant mention of the article “from last week” or “next week.” I hope that this book can provide some simple tips on how to practice these virtues and encourage the reader to try them out in his everyday life.