As I started to write about industriousness, I felt myself smiling, as my recent results from the Virtue Strengths Survey listed industriousness as my “lowest” virtue! Honestly, I have been trying to cultivate it for a while without realizing it. Industriousness means being diligent and staying focused on a task from start to finish—to put aside distractions and resist the urge to move to another “to-do” task. To help me grow in this virtue, I will use one of my strengths—circumspection—to plan my time and finish without moving to something else. Please pray for me! 

In the next week, try to pay closer attention to how you use your time. Do you complete your tasks? 

FAITH 

“We must treat all people with respect because God made them for friendship with himself.” Echoing the Mystery, 41:5

This essential from Echoing the Mystery struck my heart. Lately, I’ve been reading the Dialogue of Catherine of Siena, and she profoundly states that our love of God and neighbor are closely related. The key realization is that every person is created for friendship with God, and they experience Him in how we interact with and treat them. This aligns with the truth that living the virtue is what it “looks like” and “sounds like” to be a Christian, a follower/disciple of Christ. If we keep before us the words of Jesus, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40), we may be more willing to smile or offer a kind word instead of responding with annoyance or sarcasm. Granted, it isn’t easy, but Jesus told us we must pick up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).