Day 242: The Virtue of Faith

Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith, "man freely commits his entire self to God." For this reason, the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work(s) through charity." CCC 1814

Today's reading from the Catechism is about the first of the theological virtues: faith. The Catechism Compendium summarizes what these virtues are:

The theological virtues have God himself as their origin, motive and direct object. Infused with sanctifying grace, they bestow on one the capacity to live in a relationship with the Trinity. They are the foundation and the energizing force of the Christian’s moral activity and they give life to the human virtues. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. (#384)

The virtue of faith is a gift in "which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us" and we fully commit ourselves to do His will. This is a living faith, not intellectual assent alone, but instead "faith working through love" (Gal 5:6) because as Scripture testifies, "faith apart from works is dead" (Jas 2:26). 

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

We have faith in God. We hope in God, regardless of where life leads us. We love him. Unless we have faith, there is always going to be a skeptic that lives inside us. But when we have encountered the living God and hear what he reveals, our questions come not from cynicism or skepticism but from wanting to understand... Faith requires action. We are saved by grace - God's free gift - through faith working itself out in love. (p. 248)

Day 241: The Cardinal Virtues

Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage." These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture. CCC 1805

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the cardinal virtues. The human virtues are "stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith". The cardinal virtues quotes above are "acquired through human effort" and "make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life" (CCC 1804). Each of these virtues contributes something of great value to leading a moral life and becoming a virtuous man. Probably my favorite of the explanations of these virtues is the one on prudence. As the Catechism notes:

It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rules and measures. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue, we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid. (CCC 1806)

The Catechism Compendium gives a good summary of the other three cardinal virtues:

Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give to others their due. Justice toward God is called “the virtue of religion.”

Fortitude assures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It reaches even to the ability of possibly sacrificing one’s own life for a just cause.

Temperance moderates the attraction of pleasures, assures the mastery of the will over instincts, and provides balance in the use of created goods. (#381-383)

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

The moral life is a life of freedom. To embrace responsibility and choose to live according to the Commandments is to ultimately live a life of freedom and of happiness... A virtue is not about occasionally doing what is good. What makes a person virtuous is not sometimes telling the truth or being prudent or temperate... A person who has virtue does what is good without being forced to do it. But it takes human effort. We have to discipline ourselves, bear fruit in trial, and embrace God's grace. (p. 246)

Day 240: Erroneous Judgment of Conscience

Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one's passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct. CCC 1792

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses erroneous judgment of conscience. The source for this can be one of those quoted above, or even come from what is called "invincible ignorance" (CCC 1793), but "such ignorance and errors are not always free of guilt" (CCC 1801). Regardless, we have to seek the proper formation of our conscience, as the Catechism notes:

The Word of God is a light for our path. We must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. This is how moral conscience is formed. (CCC 1802)

The Catechism Compendium gives this summary on erroneous judgments made by moral conscience:  

A person must always obey the certain judgment of his own conscience, but he could make erroneous judgments for reasons that may not always exempt him from personal guilt. However, an evil act committed through involuntary ignorance is not imputable to the person, even though the act remains objectively evil. One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience. (#376)

Finally, the Catechism Companion, Vol II has some commentary on this:

Someone who purposely does what his conscience tells him is wrong "would condemn himself" (CCC 1790)... Sin can also deaden our conscience. God is the one who helps us see and hear... Even if we did not know, an evil action is still evil, and we must continue in the process of forming our conscience. All of us are called to become virtuous because we are called to be free. (p. 244)

Day 239: The Formation of Conscience

In the formation of conscience, the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord's Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church. CCC 1785

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the formation of conscience. It can be a lifelong process of forming our conscience through education and making judgments formulated by reason (CCC 1783). Such "education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart" (CCC 1784). In short, we can educate ourselves through Scripture and the teaching of the Church. All of us will face some moral conundrums at some point in our lives, making our "judgment less assured and decision difficult" (CCC 1787). In all such cases, these rules apply as summarized by the Catechism Compendium:

There are three general norms: 1) one may never do evil so that good may result from it; 2) the so-called Golden Rule, “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them” (Matthew 7:12); 3) charity always proceeds by way of respect for one’s neighbor and his conscience, even though this does not mean accepting as good something that is objectively evil. (#375)

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

We also are born with broken hearts and dimmed intellects, so the formation of conscience is very important because sin pulls us toward wanting to follow our own way. We are to learn what the good is, what God's law tells us about the right way to live, but then we have to actually choose it in our day-to-day life. It is not just an information transfer, but a transformation. (p. 242) 

Day 238: Our Moral Conscience

Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters." CCC 1782

Today's reading from the Catechism is about our moral conscience. That is, the interior voice we all have calling for us "to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil" and where we are "alone with God whose voice echoes in [our] depths" (CCC 1776). Those who truly exhibit a lack of conscience would be a sociopath or psychopath, something I presume the Church would classify as being disordered. 

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what a moral conscience is:

Moral conscience, present in the heart of the person, is a judgment of reason which at the appropriate moment enjoins him to do good and to avoid evil. Thanks to moral conscience, the human person perceives the moral quality of an act to be done or which has already been done, permitting him to assume responsibility for the act. When attentive to moral conscience, the prudent person can hear the voice of God who speaks to him or her. (#372)

I know that CCC 1782 quoted above has been used and abused by some folks to challenge Church moral teachings, usually erroneously citing the "spirit of Vatican II" or some such nonsense. Yet, as the Catechism Companion, Vol II notes:

Just because we have a sense that something is right or wrong does not make it so. Our conscience can be malformed, numbed, or deafened. God wants us to have a well-formed conscience... Conscience reminds us that we need to seek to be forgiven and that there are good things to be chosen. (p. 240)

If we wish to become virtuous, we need above all "a well-formed conscience" (p. 241). 

Day 237: The Morality of the Passions

In the Christian life, the Holy Spirit himself accomplishes his work by mobilizing the whole being, with all its sorrows, fears and sadness, as is visible in the Lord's agony and passion. In Christ human feelings are able to reach their consummation in charity and divine beatitude. CCC 1769

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the morality of our human passions. We are not Vulcans, like in the television show Star Trek, but human beings with emotions that tend to govern or at least influence our actions. These passions are part of how we are created and help make us who we are.  "In themselves passions are neither good nor evil... effectively engage reason and will [and should] be governed by reason" (CCC 1767).

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what these passions we have are:

The passions are the feelings, the emotions, or the movements of the sensible appetite - natural components of human psychology - which incline a person to act or not to act in view of what is perceived as good or evil. The principal passions are love and hatred, desire and fear, joy, sadness, and anger. The chief passion is love, which is drawn by the attraction of the good. One can only love what is good, real, or apparent. (#370)

Back to the Vulcans of Star Trek, while they made fascinating fictional characters for the show, one of their goals of which was called kolinahr, or the complete purging of emotions from the mind, is not what we as Christians are called to do. No, we are to govern our passions by reason, and chief among them, love, we should have for God and our neighbor (Mk 12:30-31). 

The Catechism Companion, Vol II puts it like this:

The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us bring the passions, intellect, and will together to form a person who is holy. Freedom is found when not only our intellect apprehends the true and our will is choosing the good, but also when our desires and passions are oriented toward the good and we want to actually do the right thing. The goal is not to eliminate our desires but to reorient and transform them. (p. 238)

Day 236: The Morality of Human Acts

It is therefore an error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the intention that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress or emergency, etc.) which supply their context. There are acts which, in and of themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions, are always gravely illicit by reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury, murder and adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it. CCC 1756

The Catechism discusses the morality of human acts in today's reading. Since human acts are freely chosen, they "can be morally evaluated" and thus "good or evil" (CCC 1749). Too often in modern society, whether something is "good or evil" is stripped down to ideology, preference, or utility. Objective truth and morality are discounted. Whether an act is morally good depends upon "the object itself;  the end in view or the intention; [and] the circumstances of the action" (CCC 1750). All of those must be morally good for the act itself to be morally good. 

I like how the Catechism Companion, Vol II, puts it:

For example, for a book to be good, it needs good writing, well-developed characters, and a good plot. If one of those is missing, it falls short and is not good. (p. 236)

The upshot is that "the end does not justify the means" (CCC 1753) and "one may not do evil so that good may result from it" (CCC 1756). The expression that "the road to hell is paved with the best of intentions" expresses this too, because a bad intention can make an act morally evil.

Day 235: Human Freedom in Salvation

Freedom and sin. Man's freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man failed. He freely sinned. By refusing God's plan of love, he deceived himself and became a slave to sin. This first alienation engendered a multitude of others. From its outset, human history attests the wretchedness and oppression born of the human heart in consequence of the abuse of freedom. CCC 1739

The Catechism discusses human freedom in the economy of salvation in today's reading. We have the freedom to choose God or to reject Him. Our eternal destiny hinges upon the choices we make in this life. Too often in modern culture, we confuse freedom with the "right to say or do everything" we wish, apart from God, focusing only on our interests, which leaves us "imprisoned within [ourselves], disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth" (CCC 1740). We can freely choose the abuse of our freedom that God has given us, and live a life in sin, or turn to God and embrace true freedom in Christ, "for freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1).

The Catechism Compendium summarizes the place human freedom has in the plan of salvation:

Our freedom is weakened because of original sin. This weakness is intensified because of successive sins. Christ, however, set us free “so that we should remain free” (Galatians 5:1). With his grace, the Holy Spirit leads us to spiritual freedom to make us free co-workers with him in the Church and in the world. (#366)

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

Due to the Fall, there was a darkening of the intellect, so we can know, but we do not always know fully or clearly. There was also a weakening of the will, so we can choose, but we do not always choose with strength... By our nature, we are still good and still retain God's image, yet that image has been marred and broken. Our freedom has become wounded... The moral law is not a straightjacket as much as it is a set of good guideposts that give us the ability to live with freedom and joy... We need God's grace and the power that comes from him. This corresponds with our freedom, giving us the capacity to do what we ought to do. (p. 234) 

This painting by Rembrandt shows St. Paul held in prison. The real threat to human freedom is not physical chains but sin, and thus in Christ, St. Paul is free indeed (see CCC 1740). (p. 235)

Day 234: Freedom and Responsibility

Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will, one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. CCC 1731

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the Church's understanding of what true freedom is and the responsibility it entails. For many modern Americans, focused on freedom, the responsibility that comes with it can be overlooked. As Christians, we believe that the more we choose to respond to God and do good in our lives, "the freer one becomes," because "true freedom [comes] in the service of what is good and just" (CCC 1733). We have the freedom to choose to do good and also to do evil. Yet choosing the latter "is an abuse of freedom and leads to "'the slavery of sin'" (Rom 6:17).

The Catechism Compendium summarizes the understanding of the relationship between freedom and responsibility:

Freedom makes people responsible for their actions to the extent that they are voluntary, even if the imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or sometimes cancelled by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, inordinate attachments, or habit. (#364)

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

Who we choose to be earlier in life is who we ultimately end up becoming later in life. There is sin on earth because we have the capacity to say yes or no to God. In heaven, our freedom has been perfected... If we are going to exercise our freedom, we also have to be willing to take responsibility. (p. 232)

Day 233: The Beautitudes

The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love. CCC 1723

Today's reading from the Catechism is on the Beatitudes (Matt 5:3-12), which "are at the heart of Jesus' preaching" (CCC 1716). They give us faithful a proper model for Christian living, and "they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations" (CCC 1717). Each of us is disposed to desire happiness in our lives, and the Beatitudes respond to that because "God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it" (CCC 1718).

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what eternal happiness is:

It is the vision of God in eternal life in which we are fully “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), of the glory of Christ, and of the joy of the trinitarian life. This happiness surpasses human capabilities. It is a supernatural and gratuitous gift of God, just as is the grace which leads to it. This promised happiness confronts us with decisive moral choices concerning earthly goods and urges us to love God above all things. (#362)          

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

True happiness is not the fleeting happiness of mere pleasure. We want to know not just the words in the Bible, but God. For, as St. Thomas Aquinas said, "God alone satisfies" (CCC 1718)... We get to choose between good and evil, life and death. "True happiness is... in God alone" (CCC 1723). Where we spend our time and our money is where we place our hearts. We have many moral choices and need to ask, "What gets my heart above everything else? Is it going to be the Lord - or anything else?" (p. 230)

Finally, Dr. Brant Pitre has a good video on the Beatitudes:

Day 232: Man is Made in the Image of God

"Christ... in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation." It is in Christ, "the image of the invisible God," that man has been created "in the image and likeness" of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God. CCC 1701

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses that man is made in the image of God, as Scripture reveals in Gen 1:26-27, and what that means for us. The Catechism Compendium summarizes what is at the root of human dignity:

The dignity of the human person is rooted in his or her creation in the image and likeness of God. Endowed with a spiritual and immortal soul, intelligence, and free will, the human person is ordered to God and called in soul and in body to eternal beatitude. (#358)

Because we have been made in God's "image and likeness" and remarkably are the "only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake" (CCC 1703), we are "obliged to follow the moral law" which "makes itself heard in [our] conscience" (CCC 1713). We still desire good, "but [our] nature bears the wound of original sin" and as a result "man is divided in himself," which can only be healed through Christ (CCC 1707).

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

From the very beginning of our existence, from the very moment of our conception, human beings are destined for eternal beatitude, for heaven... Even if a person does not choose heaven, that is what God made us all for - to be united with him for eternity... Though humanity fell through original sin and human beings do evil, in our nature we are still good and want the good. Jesus came to set us free from the Devil and sin so we could live. He earned that for us, and "his grace restores what sin had damaged in us" (CCC 1708). (p. 228)

Day 231: Our Calling

Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord. Following Christ and united with him, Christians can strive to be "imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love" by conforming their thoughts, words, and actions to the "mind... which is yours in Christ Jesus," and by following his example. CCC 1694

Today's reading from the Catechism is about our calling to "deny [ourselves] and take up [our] cross and follow [Christ] (Matt 16:24). This includes recognizing the dignity we have as sons and daughters of God, living out our calling to witness Christ to the world through our lives. In this, the Christian moral life is bound up with both faith and the sacraments. As the Catechism Compendium notes:

What the symbol of faith professes, the sacraments communicate. Indeed, through them the faithful receive the grace of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which give them the capability of living a new life as children of God in Christ, whom they have received in faith.

“O Christian, recognize your dignity.” (Saint Leo the Great) (#357)

I really like the commentary the Catechism Companion, Vol II has for this:

We hear the Gospel proclaimed, are brought into communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through the sacraments, and are called to live new life as partakers of the divine nature and children of God. Our high call comes from God himself and from the dignity that he has given us... We fall, but the Lord sustains us, giving us grace through the sacraments and prayer. Jesus has gone ahead of us, living in loving obedience to his Father, and we are called to follow in his footsteps toward heaven. (p. 226)

Day 230: How We Live (Part 3 Introduction)

Today there is no reading from the Catechism, but instead a discussion between Fr. Mike Schmitz and Dr. Mary Healy introducing Part 3. Tomorrow begins the actual reading of the text!

In the video, Fr. Schmitz & Dr. Healy introduce us to the importance of living each day what we say we believe in our walk with Christ. The Catechism Companion, Vol II notes:

In this third part of the Catechism. it comes down to our daily choices: Do I really believe what I say I believe? The first section of pillar three is about our vocation, life in the Holy Spirit. God never gives us a commandment that he does not empower us by the Holy Spirit to carry out... Ultimately, the moral life is God calling us to the impossible. But what is impossible for men is possible for God. Every time we fall and then get up, it's a victory for the Kingdom. This part of the Catechism gets down to the concrete reality of our daily choices. Keep going. Be all in for Jesus because it is a complete adventure. (p. 224)

Ok,  the intro is done, and tomorrow Part 3 begins!

Day 229: Christian Funerals

For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life, the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the definitive "conformity" to "the image of the Son" conferred by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and participation in the feast of the Kingdom which was anticipated in the Eucharist - even if final purifications are still necessary for him in order to be clothed with the nuptial garment. CCC 1682

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses that final act we all will face one day: Christian funerals. It is "the end of [our] sacramental life" and commitment of our souls to the hope of resurrection in Christ Jesus. Everything we do in life is supposed to orient us as Christians to "take up [our] cross and follow [Him]" (Matt 16:24-26) with this final moment in mind. 

The Catechism Compendium summarizes the relationship between the sacraments and the death of a Christian:

The Christian who dies in Christ reaches at the end of his earthly existence the fulfillment of that new life which was begun in Baptism, strengthened in Confirmation, and nourished in the Eucharist, the foretaste of the heavenly banquet. The meaning of the death of a Christian becomes clear in the light of the death and Resurrection of Christ our only hope. The Christian who dies in Christ Jesus goes “away from the body to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). (#354)

Funerals can be tough on everyone, especially when they are completely unexpected and/or at a young age. For Christians, they should also be a reminder of our ultimate end in this life, and hope for the hereafter as we go to "be home with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:8). 

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has some good commentary on this:

The Christian meaning of death is revealed when we look at how Jesus died, a death marked by grief and struggle. Sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked the Father to take the cup from him, but he embraced his Cross with trust in his Father. The homily during a funeral Mass should not be just a eulogy about the person. It should shed light on what death means for a Christian since Christ has risen from the dead. It invites the congregation to pray on behalf of the person who is in the casket. (p. 222)

Day 228: Blessings, Sacramentals, and Popular Piety

Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life. Among the sacramentals, blessings occupy an important place. They include both praise of God for his works and gifts, and the Church's intercession for men that they may be able to use God's gifts according to the spirit of the Gospel. In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular piety, rooted in the different cultures. While carefully clarifying them in the light of faith, the Church fosters the forms of popular piety that express an evangelical instinct and a human wisdom and that enrich Christian life. CCC 1677-1679

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses sacramentals in the Church, blessings, and popular piety among the faithful. All of these are geared towards focusing our hearts and minds on Christ through the liturgy. 

For the last of these, the Catechism Compendium gives a summary:

The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in the various forms of piety which accompany the sacramental life of the Church, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, and the rosary. The Church sheds the light of faith upon and fosters authentic forms of popular piety. (#353)

Among the laity, especially, the Rosary is probably the most popular form of piety. Since at least the 2nd century and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, the faithful have also venerated the relics of holy saints as being "more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than gold." Hence why they are incorporated in the altars of every cathedral throughout the world. 

Finally, speaking of the Rosary, Paradisus Dei has a great series filmed in the Holy Land that can be viewed on their website, Formed, and some episodes are even on YouTube.

Day 227: Summary of the Sacrament of Marriage

The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life. CCC 1661

Today's reading from the Catechism is an "In Brief" that reviews what has already been covered on the Sacrament of Marriage for the past few days. Again, I have nothing more to add, so I will try and keep this short.

The Catechism Compendium summarizes nicely for what ends God instituted Matrimony:

The marital union of man and woman, which is founded and endowed with its own proper laws by the Creator, is by its very nature ordered to the communion and good of the couple and to the generation and education of children. According to the original divine plan, this conjugal union is indissoluble, as Jesus Christ affirmed: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9). (#338)

The Catechism Companion, Vol II has a simple line, which speaks much truth:

In the family we learn how to love. (p. 218) 

Short and sweet, you could say. Yet it is profound. Most of us learn about life and how to love from our parents and family primarily. Love for God, love for family, love for our neighbor. In a family that has not become so dysfunctional, where the image Christ intended is distorted by sin, this is true. We see the effects of that in the first human family after the Fall (Gen 3-4), are given examples of sin on families such as King David's disgraceful behavior to Uriah, mostly, but also to Bathsheba (2 Sam 11-12), even though she was willing. In the New Testament, we find parables such as that of the Prodigal Son and his brother (Lk 15:11-32), but also find the hope that faith in Christ families can be spiritually restored (Acts 16:31).

Pictured are Louis and Zelie Martin, the holy parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, who were canonized in 2015. They model for us Christ's love for the Church (see CCC 1661). (p. 219)

Having both once yearned to take Religious vows, they followed God's true calling of marriage for their lives, having multiple children who later joined Religious orders, including their youngest, the beloved St. Therese. Sts. Louis & Zelie are today recognized as the patron saints of marriage, families, and widowers.