DECEMBER 2015

developing disciples of christ
New program teaches the virtues
BY VANESSA DENHA GARMO
A
few years ago a Dominican
sister from Columbus, Ohio,
was planning to implement
Sean Covey’s “Leader in Me” program
at her Catholic school, but never
could really figure out how to incorporate
the principles from a Christian’s
perspective. At the same time Sr.
John Dominic was working on a virtues
program. “We were in the stages
of what the virtues themselves look
like and sound like,” she said.
From that birthed the “Education
in Virtues Remain in Me” program.
The Dominican Sisters of Mary,
Mother of the Eucharist, were on a
mission to create Disciples of
Christ. Formalized in 2013,
today more than 250 Catholic
schools in the country have
implemented the program including
Our Lady of Refuge,
where more than half the students
are Chaldean.
The “Remain in Me”
names come from the scripture
teachings found in the Gospel
of John: “I am the vine, you
are the branches. Whoever remains
in me and I in him will
bear much fruit because without
me you can do nothing.”
“We had been looking at
teaching virtues to students and
parents,” said Sr. John Dominic.
“Teaching that to a first-grader
is challenging and we struggled
with this for a bit so we looked
to our sisters who are teaching.”
They looked to St. Thomas
Aquinas’ teachings on the virtues
and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They
began to focus on the Cardinal Virtues
of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude
and Temperance and within those
virtues are other virtues, which they
began to color code.
Along with the Cardinal Virtues
are Theological Virtues, Gifts of the
Holy Spirit, Fruits of the Holy Spirit
and the Beatitudes.
“We brought our children to SSA
thinking it would change our child’s
life bringing them into virtue and an
everlasting joy that this earth cannot
give, but turns out it is changing the
parent’s lives just as much, if not more,
than the child’s,” said Alivia Arabo,
a parent at Spiritus Sanctus Academy.
“The Dominican Sisters of Mother
Mary of the Eucharist are a gift of joy
to our family; they have brought us
the joy of Christ with abundant graces
pouring out from Heaven.”
Many of the schools are tailoring
the program to fit their needs. The
Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, for example,
is using the program to incorporate
standards for physical education
and health.
“We began giving our students
Some of the materials used in the Virtues program.
concrete examples and practical
ways to live the virtues,” said Sr.
John Dominic. “All of us are called
to Holiness and all of us are called to
be saints.”
The virtues begin to shape behavior
and character. “The beautiful
thing about virtues is pattern of goodness,”
said Sr. John Dominic. “No one
wakes up saying ‘I am not going to be
good today.’ Chaldeans love their
children and want them to be good.
We know Chaldean parents. They
want their children to be princes and
princesses of the world – to be good.”
Children taught in the virtues
learn that one becomes holy in the
little things done in a course of the
day. Sr. John Dominic gives some examples:
“Being patient at the grocery
store, keeping your dresser drawers
neat, doing your homework, completing
tasks, or noticing a sad person
and speaking to that person, trying
to make him or her feel better. These
are ways we grow in the virtues.”
This process enables children to
expand their critical thinking. When
approached about her behavior, the
student is given a Saint Card to read
and reflect on while assessing her own
behavior and looking at ways she can
improve by learning from the saint.
“It is a whole language and broadens
the vocabulary,” said Sr. John
Dominic. “They are learning words
that help them acknowledge their behavior
and enable a child to change
behavior and be more kind and courteous,
such as ‘don’t let the door slam
in your mom’s face.’ There are all these
little things that mold behavior.”
She also tells students that the
virtues supply them with words to
describe themselves.
School administrators across the
country have seen positive changes
in students since implanting the program.
“Kids and adults have set the
bar higher,” said Sr. John Dominic.
“They are more conscious of their
behavior and how friendly they are
to others. Kids have written me that
living virtuously is about living as a
Disciple of Christ.”
The program defines — for students
and parents — what it truly
means to be a Disciple of Christ.
“You hear people say you have to live
as a Disciple of Christ but you really
don’t know what that is like,” said Sr.
John Dominic. “You don’t have to
spend all your time at church;
we really want you to go out
and make a difference in the
culture. You want your friends
to notice you are different because
you are kind, trustworthy,
and loyal — you are living
the virtues of friendship.”
Sr. John Dominic has also
developed the Life of Christ
Journal, a tool to guide people
into living a “Life of Christ.” It
introduces both students and
parents to prayerful readings
and understandings of Jesus’
life as recorded in the Gospels.
It is a journal of reflection and
helps people listen to the Voice
of Christ as they focus on following
Him, and glean a deeper
meaning as to why someone
would want to live virtuously.
“When we live as Disciples
of Christ, we are seeking life in
the virtues,” said Sr. John Dominic. “It
is knowing Christ and establishing a
friendship with Him. If we don’t have
this personal interior relationship with
Christ, it is harder to be good.”
There is a lack of desire in today’s
culture to develop one’s spiritual life,
she said, “a ‘who-really-cares’ attitude
that has quietly gripped the
culture. There are so many distractions
in the world – social media and
technology and there is not time to
pause and be silent and reflect, and it
so important for brain development.
We need time away to be silent.”
36 CHALDEAN NEWS DECEMBER 2015