3. Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

4.  What is character?  What character traits do you think are the most important?

5. Character  Moral strength; a person’s moral views, qualities, and behavior patterns  Character counts At school At work For college For relationships

6.  Have you been asked for character references when applying for a job or for college? In a character reference, what would you want the person to say about you? Why?  If you were an employer what positive traits would you look for in the employees you hired? Which character traits would keep you from hiring someone? Explain.  If you had to choose, which would you probably vote for as president- a highly experienced political leader who seems to lack integrity or a trustworthy candidate who is not so experienced? Explain.

7. Virtue  Being strong good and brave  Force for good  Moral goodness, power or effectiveness, moral righteousness, often expressed in action

8. Divine Virtues  Faith Believe in God and the truths God has revealed  Hope Open’s our heart to new possibilities  Love Charity, greatest virtue, unselfishly do what is best for you and others

9. How do you acquire admirable virtues?  Practice makes perfect  Develop virtues by doing what is right  Work on our relationship with God

10. Choose one of the 3 divine virtues  Write a poem or song about what faith, hope and or unselfish love mean to you.  Or create an advertisement that encourages teens to live out one of the 3 divine virtues.

11. Human Virtues  4 main cardinal virtues 1. Prudence: good judgment Guides us to understand ○ Truly good in a situation ○ The right way to achieve it How can you be prudent? Approach moral problems with the appropriate care, caution and consideration Don’t base decisions mainly on feelings Don’t believe everything you hear

12. 2. Justice  Steady desire to give God and others what is due How can you be a just person?  Respect everyone’s dignity and rights  Be fair with people  Work toward everyone’s welfare  Keep in mind the common good  Practice the Golden Rule

13. 3. Temperance  Moderation and balance regarding the desire for physical goods and pleasures  Desires are meant to uplift not demean How should you keep balance in your life?  Love wisely, let your head inform you heart  Don’t overdo things  Control your desires Self-control is a characteristic of maturity

14. 4. Fortitude  Moral courage, determination, and perseverance; the virtue of being firm of spirit or having a steady will in doing good despite difficulties and temptations How can you be courageous?  Determine to do what is right no matter what  Be strong enough to ask for advice and help  Make the tough choices  Accept the consequences from mistakes….learn

15. Identify  In your groups write situations for 4 of the 7 virtues we discussed  You will try to stump other groups when you are done.  Make sure to include the answers on a loose leaf to be handed in.

16. She Stood Alone  Write an essay about the virtues that Prudence displays in the movie. Make sure to include specific examples from the movie of all of the virtues you see displayed.

17. Seven Gifts of the Spirit  Wisdom  Understanding  Counsel  Fortitude  Knowledge  Piety  Reverence for God

18. 12 Fruits of the Spirit  Charity  Joy  Peace  Patience  Kindness  Goodness  Generosity  Gentleness  Faithfulness  Modesty  Self-control  Chastity

19. Forgiveness  God offered us a chance for forgiveness for mistakes if we admit we were wrong and are sorry and promise not to repeat it again  Beautiful gift

20. Is there anything we can do that won’t be forgiven by God?  Only refusing God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness  Us not God

21. Why can it be so hard to forgive?  Someone has wronged us  What can make it easier? Remember that we make mistakes too We believe we are entitled to forgiveness

22. What does it mean to forgive others?  Sometimes we have to distance ourselves because of danger  Letting them know that their behavior is unacceptable- won’t be tolerated  True forgiveness tries to help the person understand wrongs and change  More than forgetting– holding accountable

23. Who is one of the most difficult people to forgive?  Ourselves  Difficult to accept that we have done something wrong or could have done better

24. Steps to Forgiveness  Recognize the action is wrong  Admit that we did wrong and ask for forgiveness from the one we wronged  Forgive ourselves  Get on with our lives. Remember we are good and can still do good works

25. How do we know if we are in need of forgiveness?

26.  Guilt: the act is wrong, you know it and you do it  Regret: the action is good, but something out of your control causes it to go wrong  Sorrow: Something happens to someone else you recognize it as a tragedy  Compassion: Something happens to someone else and it also happened to you so you feel as they do

28. Why Forgive?  Jesus told us: God forgave us and we should forgive others  Most human thing that we can do- because we all make mistakes  Feel another’s pain and need for forgiveness

29.  The more we practice virtue and do what’s right, the more all these gifts from God become part of who we are.

30. Handling Hardships  It is easy be strong when everything is going our way.  Our challenge of character is how we get through it

32. Forgiveness Reflection  Write about a time when you needed to offer forgiveness to someone. How did you feel? What was holding you back from forgiving? Were you able to forgive? If yes, how did you feel?