"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
1 Corinthians 13:13
When I got the idea to spend my summer immersed in teaching my children the practice of virtue, I assumed, I would merely be reaffirming what they already knew and ensuring that is was practiced more regularly. The reality is: children are selfish human beings. They are born with original sin and struggle against its effects from the time they begin talking, sometimes earlier. It is nothing rare to find a toddler whose favorite word is "No!"
As soon as we embarked on our mission to practice a greater level of charity at home it seemed almost as if we got worse!! Isn't that how it always is? They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, I wasn't about to give up. I almost got discouraged thinking, what is it going to take to get my children to treat one another with true charity? I did realize, however, that it was the start of summer break, and a rainy start at that. We were together much more than ever and stuck in the house.
The first day of summer break, I was still in teacher mode and found myself planning a family meeting, white board, schedule and all. We said certain prayers focusing on charity and then began discussing ways we can practice charity toward: God, others, and ourselves. I let them come up with the answers and they did great. It was cute seeing Cecelia get into the spirit, raising her hand when she had something to say....and boy did they have something to say! They were completely involved and excited about our new venture.
The end of the next day we gathered together before bedtime and discussed how we did that day. Each one of them volunteered an apology to someone else, before I even suggested it. We ended the day singing Ubi Caritas, meaning Where There is Love. How idyllic that first week was! We kept up with the prayers, but the evening meetings have dwindled with the later summer bedtimes.
My children still fight, argue and insult. I would be a fool if I thought that would end completely. However, I do notice a slight shift toward a sense of camaraderie. Constant reminders throughout the day and forced apologies are a daily occurrence.
The biggest difference is that the thought is there. Am I being charitable? This question is amongst us in every interaction. Sometimes we are fortunate to think it before we act, sometimes after. But the idea is to strive to do better tomorrow than we did today, to do better in the next hour than we are doing right now. I have seen my children turn their bad attitudes around in seconds by deciding to "start over" from this moment on. I am happy with how things are going. It's not a goal with an end, at least not in this world, it's an ideal to strive for.
The biggest factor that helps us improve is prayer. God will help us if we ask Him. He is bigger than any difficulty, and stronger than any weakness.
Cheers!
Gina.
